Acer Palmatum "Shidava Gold"

Our new Acer in the front flowerbed is almost at peak Fall color. As its name indicates, it has turned a lovely golden color. We have been watching it and watching it all Fall. It was among the last of our trees to begin changing color. We started joking that it had decided to just stay green. But finally, as Thanksgiving approached, the transformation began. Considering that it is still a young tree, and thus not very full, it is still putting on a really nice display.

Maple Blooms and Sky High Pollen

This year our native Big Leaf Maple trees look more like Golden Chain Trees. They are absolutely covered in long, gold tassels. The tassels are much more numerous than in a normal year and are much longer as well.

The two 80 degree spells that we have had this April have encouraged the Maples to come into full bloom earlier and with a vengeance. A high tree pollen count is 200 and one weekend here the pollen count was over 1200! I have had allergy symptoms this year like I have never experienced before and I am not the only one.

Another result of this massive maple bloom is our lack of Evening Grosbeaks at our birds feeders. The Evening Grosbeak arrive at this time of year to feed on Maple Blooms. While there is always a good food supply, they normally end up using our feeders quite a lot. But this year, they are mostly staying away from the feeders and feasting in the trees. The air is full of their distinctive "Churr" note and we can see them flying in the distance from one tree to another. But only a few birds have come to the feeders to supplement their diet at this point. I am hopeful that once the maple blooms fade, the Grosbeaks will return to our feeders for a few weeks before moving on to higher elevations.

Tree Planting

We took advantage of the dry weather today to replace our Maple Tree in the front flowerbed. The old maple, which I had "accidentally" grown from a volunteer seedling pulled from my Aunt's flowerbed years ago, had died over the past twelve months. It initially was stressed when we pulled it from its long-term bucket and planted it - finally - in the ground. Then it suffered through two cold spells. The bark on it split up the trunk and then the tree slowly died. Fast forward to late Fall. A local nursery specializing in maples was going out of business. Mom came home with this lovely Acer Palmatum "Shidava Gold". Today we pulled out the old Maple and planted out our new treasure. Right now, in the dead of Winter, it has lovely yellow bark on much of its canopy. In the Spring it is suppose to be covered in pea-green leaves that change to light green in the Summer and clear yellow in the Fall. It is considered to be a dwarf Maple and will top out around 6' in height which will be just perfect for this front flowerbed.

Maple

This is the second year we have had our Acer Palmatum "Emperor One". For most of the year it is covered with lacy, finely cut, dark red foliage. I am not a huge fan of red acers but I must admire this one. No matter how scorching and relentless the Summer sun, the leaves never fade. They were the same blood red color in September as they were in the Spring.

What I didn't remember from last year though, was the beautiful Fall color.

Suddenly, last week, the red leaves begun to turn lovely shades of orange and yellow. Within days the whole tree had transformed. Even nicer, the tree has only dropped a few leaves, allowing us to enjoy the full impact of this seasonal display.

November Color

Since the rains finally returned in late October, we are starting to see some decent Fall color here and there. The Big Leaf Maples have a bit of color now, after getting fairly stressed last month. They aren't too pretty up close, but from afar the browns and oranges are nice.

Our little Ginko bush has put on a nice display. That's what faithful hand watering will do for you!

I always forget what pretty Fall color the Witch Hazel plants have. This is the red Witch Hazel by the front steps. After the first frost we need to move it to a better location where it will have more room to grow.

Each leaf has all of the colors of Fall.

The three Sweet Gum trees are also doing well.

It is interesting that the leaves on the far right tree are turning a strong purple/red color while the leaves on the other two trees are turning red/orange.

It is so nice to finally see some lovely colors in the leaves. It wouldn't be Fall without colorful leaves, mild days, and cool nights.

I also discover a few other bits of color walking around the property. Scarlet certainly jumps out against the muted brown tones of Fall. Pictured above, one last wild blackberry hanging on the vine. Below, a spray of wild rose hips in the hedgerow.

More October Color

I had hoped to get a good picture of the potted Japanese maple before it shed it's golden canopy. As you can see, I am too late!

But there is still beauty to be found in the mass of fallen leaves on the ground.

A wet jumble of browns and golden yellows.

Our little Ginkgo tree is currently in full Fall color mode.

While they are an invasive pest, even the blackberries put on a show in the Fall.

It was hard to get a good picture of this wild cherry tree growing deep in the woods.

The big leaf maples have had a good Fall. Late September's rain stopped the leaves from turning brown and prematurely dropping as they have the past two years.

More glowing color in the forest. One of our wild dogwoods.

The bracken ferns have turned a caramel brown.

I was also too late to get a good piciture of this maple in our first meadow.

The ground beneath it's canopy is now buried with a blanket of yellow. And in the brush that surrounds the meadow, another blackberry species also glows this Fall day.

Maples through the Fog

After a solid week or more of foggy mornings that led to sunny afternoons, today I had a day off from work and the fog never lifted! It hung low in the tops of the Douglas Fir, completely obscuring the nearby hillsides and vistas. The day's color palate of green and grey was only interrupted by the orange and yellow of the big leaf maples.

The Neighbors Maple

About half a mile from our house, our neighbors have this volunteer maple growing on the edge of their property. For the past week it has been at peak color. I kept telling myself, every time that I drove by, that I needed to stop and take a picture of it ASAP! Thankfully the leaves hung on and today I was able to take a walk down to capture its beauty before it was too late.

October Color in the Garden & All Around

I took a walk around the property today. It was was a grey, overcast day in Oregon but I was out to capture the Fall color. The first thing that caught my eye was this Big Leaf Maple. Its yellow color really stood out against the steel grey sky. 

The leaves on the Sweet Gums are about 2/3 changed in color. It will still be a while before they have all changed to crimson and the trees are at "peak color".

One of the two yellow leaved maples that we planted, glowing in the forest.

The damp leaves of Vine Maple.

My garden has sprouted weeds badly now, but the dahlias are still blooming away.

I was able to pick 2 large bunches of blooms to make into bouquets at home.



And last, some wild berries hanging from a vine entangled in a small Douglas Fir.