The Ginkgo Trees at My Farm
At my Bedford, New York farm, I have thousands and thousands of trees. Many were already well-established when I purchased the property, but the rest I've planted - in allées, in groves, as privacy hedges, and in rows within my living maze. One type of tree, however, stands out this time every year - the mighty ginkgo.
Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, and also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta. It is found in fossils dating back 270-million years. Native to China, the ginkgo tree is widely cultivated, and was cultivated early in human history. In the sunken garden behind my Summer House, I have a stunning ginkgo tree that's probably about 250-years old. Although not as large as others I've seen during trips to Asia, my tree is quite massive - its trunk circumference measures at least 14-feet. Ginkgo trees have beautiful green leaves that turn a luminous golden-yellow in autumn. Then at some time after a hard frost sweeps down the east coast, this ginkgo, along with others at my farm and countless more in the area, drops its leaves to the ground leaving a gorgeous carpet of color below.
Enjoy the season's changes on the ginkgo in these photos.
-
- This is the great ginkgo tree in the back of my Summer House sunken garden in June. This parterre garden is very formal and focused on the giant tree. Growing beneath the ginkgo is a beautiful chocolate mimosa tree, a fast-growing, deciduous tree with a wide, umbrella-shaped canopy. The other green trees are younger ginkgoes.
-
- The leaves of the ginkgo are unusually fan-shaped, up to three-inches long, with a petiole that is also up to three-inches long. This shape and the elongated petiole cause the foliage to flutter in the slightest breeze. They are bold green in summer.
-
- The younger ginkgo trees are planted on both sides of the footpath in this garden. The ginkgo is considered both a shade tree and an ornamental tree. It features a spreading canopy capable of blocking sunlight and adds visual interest and beauty to the landscape. The ginkgo grows to about 50 to 80-feet tall with a spread of 25 to 35-feet at maturity.
-
- Starting in late September, one can see a slight change to the color of the leaves – they’re starting to turn.
-
- A couple of weeks later, many of the changing leaves are two-toned, with separate bands of gold and green.
-
- The season’s changes can be seen on the ginkgo trees planted at each corner of my herbaceous peony bed. This ginkgo in the northwest corner of the bed was still mostly green in late October.
-
- On the same day, the tree in the northeast corner shows a few more golden-yellow leaves.
-
- Each mature leaf often has a single vertical slit in the top center. This forms the fan with a cavity in the middle separating it into two lobes. Bi-loba means “with two lobes”.
-
- This is the tree on the southwest corner taken on the same day as the others, also showing half green and half yellow leaves.
-
- And here is the southeast ginkgo tree – mostly yellow.
-
- Here is the giant ginkgo tree in late October. This tree is a female specimen. Female ginkgo trees produce tan-orange oval fruits that fall to the ground in October and November.
-
- Here is the great ginkgo tree two weeks ago. It is still quite full, but its leaves are all bright golden-yellow. The smaller ginkgoes are also more yellow than green.
-
- As soon as the giant tree turns color, every day all of us at the farm check to see whether it has dropped its leaves. This is a view from the carriage road outside the garden.
-
- Inside the garden, the trees are sill full, but many of the leaves have already fallen to the ground in the beds and on the footpath. Ginkgoes are grown as hedges in China to supply the leaves for western herbal medicine. The leaves contain ginkgolides, which are used to improve blood circulation to the brain and to treat many cardiovascular diseases. It is usually Europe’s number one selling herbal medication.
-
- Earlier this month, these two ginkgoes outside my new raised bed vegetable garden gave off a beautiful autumn show.
-
- But here are the same trees now.
-
- And here is the Summer House garden. The leaves have fallen – in almost a synchronized leaf drop. With such mild temperatures this autumn, the “great fall” seems less dramatic. Some of the leaves blew off in the wind, with some still clinging to the branches.
-
- Now the fruits are also falling. They can be found all along the footpath. The most noticeable thing about these is their smell – it is hard to miss, and the stench is quite disagreeable. The outer, nasty smelling pulp is known botanically as sarcotesta. Inside is a single hard-shelled seed enclosing an edible kernel. The kernels are often roasted and used in Asian cuisines. This year, a bucketful of my ginkgo fruits went to New York City’s Masa Restaurant.
-
- Here is a closer look at the fruit, which is small and fleshy – about the size of small jujube, or Chinese date.
-
- All the ginkgoes are now bare. This is the ginkgo tree outside my Winter House, with the gorgeous carpet of yellow below.
-
- And across the carriage road – the trees around my herbaceous peony bed. Look, very different now.
-
- And these are the ginkgo trees behind my chicken coops. All showing their bare winter branches. It’s a cycle of growth and bloom, followed by a period of dormancy – until spring, when nature’s cycle begins all over again.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
