In the Trees

Cycling to work these days is like riding into a rainbow, where the oranges, reds, and yellows of the trees en route take center stage, and the clear blue sky provides needed cool contrast.

The Fall color parade is all around us but not yet in my garden.

I look out onto the pine needle and leaf-enrobed space that is the garden and see mostly green. Actually, this is quite normal for our micro climate here in the trees. We get to enjoy the neighborhood spectacle first and then 2-3 weeks later, the first of our trees turns.

The large vine maple out front, native to the property and filling a void between a few Ponderosa Pines, is first, usually. This year though, the Clethra Acuminata, transplanted during the tree-trunk bed redo in September, is kicking off the show.

Clethra accuminata (Cinnamom Clethra)

It looks like the vine maple will be a close second; the upper leaves are beginning to turn, while the lower ones are still adamantly green.

After the vine maple, it’s anybody’s guess which of the maples are next. Some years it’s been the Thunder and Lightning Japanese maple,  while other years it’s been one of the laceleaf maples surrounding the lawn/moss patch out front. One thing for sure, the variegated Orido Nishiki is always last. Strangely enough, it’s also the first maple to leaf out in the Spring.

So the wait continues. Next week, I’m hoping things will change and the parade will begin in earnest. In the meantime, here is one of my all-time favorite Fall color photos, taken last year; the best year for color so far.