Autumn Colors at My Farm
It's fall, and if you live in an area where foliage changes with the seasons, you know how exciting and beautiful this time of year can be.
Here at my farm, the season hasn't quite hit its peak just yet, but the changing leaves are providing lots of color - vibrant hues of crimson, orange, and gold. And they get more striking every day. I've planted thousands of trees over the years. It's a fantastic place to take in the autumn transformations.
Enjoy these photos.
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- There’s definitely a chill in the air this morning – temperatures are only expected to be in the mid-40s. These tall sugar maples above my tree peonies are some of the first to change color in autumn. Some trees change early, others late – usually from October to November in the Northeast.
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- In fall, because of changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature, leaves stop their food-making process. The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to gold and orange colors come out and give the leaves part of their autumn splendor.
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- And do you know why autumn colors vary? The range of colors is influenced by several factors, including the type of tree, environmental conditions, and the timing of the leaf drop. Weather also plays a part – cooler nights and sunny days are ideal for the brightest reds and oranges.
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- This is a young Japanese Stewartia just behind my gym building. Native to Japan, this tree is known not only for its brilliant shades of orange that emerge in fall, but also for its interesting exfoliating bark and delicate blooms.
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- I’ve planted many Stewartia trees. They are among my favorites – do you know why? Here’s a hint: it’s in the name.
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- I call this my Stewartia garden. It’s planted with several Stewartia trees. This garden has also been going through a different transformation. It was once home to all shade loving plants, but since the removal of some very tall trees a few years back, it is now an area that needs more sun-loving specimens.
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- Nearby, this viburnum is also showing off its fall color. These have changed to almost a purple-red. Other varieties show orange-red, red, and even yellow.
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- Guests that come around this time of year often ask, “what are those flowers that look like crocus?” The common name for Colchicum is autumn crocus, but they are not true autumn crocus because there are many species of true crocus which are autumn blooming. Also, Colchicum flowers have six stamens while crocuses have only three. The colchicum at my farm are blooming now.
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- Some of the berries persist into early fall, such as these kousa dogwood fruits, which are edible. The soft pulp is sweet with a similar flavor to a ripe persimmon but it also has hard seeds inside.
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- I love the layers of color created by the changing leaves. Although some autumn coloration occurs wherever deciduous trees are found, the most brightly colored foliage is seen in Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia, northern and western Europe, the Caucasus region near the Black Sea, Russia, eastern Asia, Argentina, Chile, southern Brazil, Korea, Japan, and New Zealand’s South Island.
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- This is one end of my Japanese maple woodland. As the colder weather progresses, the Japanese maples will become even brighter red.
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- This time of year, more specifically, September and October, I also see Osage Oranges on the trees. The Osage orange, Maclura pomifera, is actually not an orange at all, and is more commonly known as a hedge-apple, horse-apple, or mock-orange. Each one is about four to five inches in diameter and filled with a dense cluster of hundreds of smaller fruits
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- Persian parrotia or Persian ironwood is a small upright tree or large, rounded, multi-stemmed shrub. It is related to witch-hazel. The oblong green leaves turn various shades of red, orange and yellow in the fall, often lasting into the winter months.
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- Here are some that have completely turned a fiery red.
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- Just outside my large Equipment Barn in my pinetum is this American larch, Larix laricina. This tree is commonly called tamarack, eastern larch, American larch, or hackmatack.
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- Here are its bright yellow branches right now. This deciduous conifer will drop all these showy needles just as winter approaches.
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- Here’s a view of the carriage road to the woodlands. This view is one of the most popular here at the farm – in all seasons.
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- And here is one of the large sycamores. In the fall, sycamore trees exhibit a more subtle transformation, changing from bright green to muted yellow-brown, but still quite eye-catching. The mighty sycamore is the symbol of my farm.
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- In this area, the peak of the season is expected in mid-November, when the this year’s autumn color is at its best.
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- And look what else is starting to bloom here at the farm. This is just one of hundreds of saffron flowers planted by my friend and colleague, Hannah Milman. Planting is done in July, August and September. Harvesting comes at the end of October to mid-November, roughly eight weeks after planting. Fall is a beautiful season. I hope you can see some of its changes where you live.
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