What passes for fall color in my garden

Coastal Southern California isn't known for its fall color but we do get a bit.  Here's a rundown of what my garden has to offer this season:

Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku', recently pruned, always presents a good display

In contrast, my only other Japanese maple, Acer palmatum 'Mikawa Yatsubusa', a dwarf variety, never really colors up

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' looks especially good when backlit

My garden's star performer for fall color is this persimmon tree, Diospyros kaki 'Fuyu'

A side view of the same tree, which I have to admit looks better without the fence we recently removed crowding it

Closeup of the  'Fuyu' leaves shown on the left.  The fallen leaves are rapidly filling my compost bin (right).

Unfortunately, my other persimmon tree, Diospyros kaki 'Hachiya', quickly drops its leaves without creating much of a display.  Right now, it looks like a twiggy mess but I do intend to prune it.

In prior years, the leaves of the 'Hachiya' persimmon have been a dull brown but this year many of those that dropped did show off attractive color.  I can only assume the change was attributable to cooler-than-usual weather.

The ornamental pear, Pyrus calleryana, makes a terrible mess but it does produce some colorful leaves.  I spent over an hour cleaning them up on Monday but there are far fewer left since it's been pruned.

Roger's Gardens 'Celebration' Impatiens, sold to commemorate the destination garden center's 50th anniversary earlier this year, surprised me by displaying a bit of fall color, which isn't something I expect from Impatiens.  The plant was a gift from a friend.

Since I removed my out-of-control Pyracantha last year, the only colorful berries I have to offer during the fall season are those supplied by Auranticarpa rhomibifolium (aka diamond-leaf pittosporum).

Our neighbor's garden provides a much splashier display of fall foliage:

The neighbors front garden is lined with sweetgum trees (Liquidambers of some variety) with a few Ginkgo bilobas tucked in

More Liquidambers and Ginkgos on the other side of the neighbor's driveway with a yellow blanket of leaves below

The vast majority of my trees and shrubs are evergreens, as is common in a warmer climate like mine.  While I do wish we had more fall color, I nonetheless appreciate the fact that I don't have more leaves to sweep up.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Flowers are sparse

As I knew I was going to be otherwise occupied most of Sunday, I cut materials and prepared my vases on Saturday.  There are very little vase-worthy flowers to cut at the moment and I'm rather stuck in a rut.  The inspiration for my primary vase this week was the foliage of Cistus ladanifer 'Blanche'.  I planted it last year.  It didn't bloom much but the shrub itself has recently exploded in size, especially since the rain we've had the past two months.  The foliage is fragrant and attractive but there's some controversy concerning its flammability, which I discovered when I began a deep dive into flame-resistant landscaping earlier this year.  Because of the volatile oils in its sticky foliage, some studies suggest that it can self-combust when temperatures soar above 90F (32C) if conditions are right.  Frankly, I'm leaning toward removing it as soon as I find another plant suitable to fill its spot less than ten feet from the house.  In the meantime, I thought I'd go ahead and make use of stems to include in a vase.

As usual, I stuffed my vase more tightly than I'd planned.  My intention had been to play off the faint silvery tones in the Cistus foliage with white daisies and stems of Hypoestes aristata (aka purple ribbon bush).  I love the Hypoestes but it's not entirely happy here.  I grew it in my former garden and it reached 4 feet in height but the plant in my current garden is stuck at about a foot tall after 10 years in the ground!

Back view: The stems of the blue Salvia were a last minute addition just because they were looking good following our recent rain

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum 'Everest', Eustoma grandiflorum, Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Cistus ladanifer 'Blanche', Hypoestes aristata, Polygala myrtifolia, and Salvia 'Mystic Spires'

Last week's Protea arrangement looks almost exactly as it did when I presented it so it remains in place on our dining room table but I thought the small vase on our kitchen island could use refreshing.  Unbelievably, the zinnias I missed when I cleared out my cutting beds in October have continued to produce the odd bloom now and then.  I took advantage of two stems this week.

Views of the small vase in place from the front and overhead

From the upper left: Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Grevillea 'Superb', noID self-planted vine seedling (possibly Pandorea jasminoidies), and Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Coral'

Following several days of warm temperatures here last week, they're expected to sink back into the cooler end of our fall range this week.  Meanwhile, rain forecasts seem to flit in and out of the near term projections.  At present, the chances are low.

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party