Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Autumn, At Last
Over the last week the trees in the woods behind the house have finally started to turn. Many of the oaks are still very green, but the overall effect now is warm gold and red.
Why, oh why, did it take me so long to get around to planting Japanese Maples? I thought, for some reason, that they wouldn't grow well in the heavy clay, wouldn't like the summer heat/drought, wouldn't be worth the expense, or I didn't have room for them. What an idiot I was! First, I should have noticed that they grow perfectly well in all kinds of suburban front yards here. Second, how much do I spend on annuals which I intend to throw on the compost pile after a few months? Third, now that the woods are opened up a bit, I see all kinds of places I could fit in a few more. They're pretty through the growing season, but I didn't anticipate how much impact the fall color would make. Of the two I planted this year, Glowing Embers - a Michael Dirr selection, chosen for tolerance to southern conditions - is the best for fall foliage. And although Sango Kaku - the coral-bark maple - has pleasing soft yellow fall foliage rather than attention-getting red, I'm hoping the branches will liven up the winter woods with some color. In fact, now I'm casting a critical eye over some woody underachievers with a view towards replacing them with Japanese Maples.
A maple enthusiast in Japan has assembled quite a collection of maple information, including this page with a display of leaves from his garden.
2 Comments:
Sort of seems--just like with the cold weather as well--someone threw a switch and it all changed over night, doesn' it?
Drove up Skyline last Sat and was amazed that although a lot of leaves were already down, there was still so much color to be seen.
And amazingly, I'm still getting tomatoes and peppers and cutting flowers. Incredible, really.
Yes, the color change happened very fast, or it seems that way anyhow. I still see quite a few green leaves around, mostly oaks. The beeches have only started to turn yellow in the last day or so.
I still have tomato plants, but the fruit isn't ripening any more. I suspect the plants might not make it through tomorrow night, but gosh, it is November although it doesn't seem like it.
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