Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Fall Foliage Envy

I've been enviously admiring all the wonderful fall foliage photos posted by other bloggers over the past month.  The color changes that accompany colder weather and shorter daylight hours in northern areas aren't as prevalent in southern California.  However, as I sat on a stationary bike running through my morning exercise routine earlier this week, a mirror in the room caught the reflection of colored leaves outside.  I'd almost forgotten that, in addition to colorful fruit, the persimmon trees on the northwest side of the house produced rather pretty fall foliage.

This is Persimmon 'Fuyu':






The leaves on Persimmon 'Hachiya' are running a little behind 'Fuyu' but the color changes are just as pretty.






The foliage on our Japanese maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku') is rapidly turning from yellow to brown.




The ornamental pear (Pyrus calleryana) is just beginning to take on some color but there's little in the way of leaf drop yet.





The toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is also producing masses of bright red berries, another hallmark of fall here.  This tall evergreen shrub, also known as California holly, was designated as the official plant of Los Angeles last year.  Yes, Los Angeles has its own official plant (as you can read about here).  We lost one toyon as collateral damage when the Eucalyptus tree was removed from the side yard earlier this year but there's another very tall specimen at the border of our property.




I also found some small-scale color changes:

'Bountiful Blue' blueberry

The color change on this Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' may be due to transplant shock rather than a seasonal change but it's pretty nonetheless

Trachelospermum jasminoides


This is fall, southern California style.

13 comments:

  1. As good as it gets and glad to see you're getting a fair share of autumn colour too :)

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    1. the fall color is there - one just has to look a little harder to find it!

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  2. I get fall foliage color envy, too. But, as I look around, I notice beauty here, too. Guess we just have to look a little closer. Glad you've found some fall color. Lovely berries, and pretty leaves!

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    1. I had been thinking that maybe I should plant some more Japanese maples to up the quotient of fall color but maybe I should focus on persimmons...

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  3. Your fall colors are so brilliant and inviting, what a gorgeous garden. Thank you for taking time to share it at this time of year when it is so beautiful.

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    1. It's nothing like the color you get up there in the PNW, Charlie, but it's still pretty. Thanks for visiting!

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  4. Yay! I'm glad you get a dose of fall color too...I didn't even realize that Jasmine turned colors in the fall...good to know!

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    1. The color on the star jasmine came as a surprise to me too when I first noticed it last year, Scott. Not all of these plants seem to turn color - just those with the most sun exposure and limited water so it appears to be a stress effect.

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  5. Our climate is like yours with very little autumn colour, still who's complaing? It means we aren't having cold nights!!!!!! I haven't noticed that my persimon changes colour much before the leaves fall but I think my tree is a bit stressed until it gets more established.

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    1. I inherited the 2 persimmon trees with the house so I can't tell you for certain how how they are but my guess is that they've been in the ground for about 4 years. Both are Japanese varieties so the fall color may linked to lineage.

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  6. Beautiful pictures...

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  7. I'll take it! (fall, southern California style)

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    1. We get a fair share of gray mornings this time of year but we also get mostly sunny afternoons with temps in the upper 70s to low 80s so, yes, fall, SoCal style is quite pleasant. However, I'd like just a little of your rain...

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