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:
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| Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku', recently pruned, always presents a good display |
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| In contrast, my only other Japanese maple, Acer palmatum 'Mikawa Yatsubusa', a dwarf variety, never really colors up |
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| Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' looks especially good when backlit |
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| My garden's star performer for fall color is this persimmon tree, Diospyros kaki 'Fuyu' |
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| A side view of the same tree, which I have to admit looks better without the fence we recently removed crowding it |
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| Closeup of the 'Fuyu' leaves shown on the left. The fallen leaves are rapidly filling my compost bin (right). |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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:
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| The neighbors front garden is lined with sweetgum trees (Liquidambers of some variety) with a few Ginkgo bilobas tucked in |
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| 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
The persimmon is gorgeous. It looks like you have more than enough leaves to deal with as is! The berries are a great addition. I'm glad the removal of the fence is agreeing with you.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't decided how to best weave the cutting garden together with the drier area on what used to be the east side of the fence but then I expect it'll be a process of experimentation anyway ;)
DeleteThank god for evergreens! This fall I've filled our yard waste container every week plus a neighbor's container on one occasion and I've put out 6 of the paper yard waste bags we can purchase and fill. So many leaves! How is your gingko doing?
ReplyDeleteMy Gingko is a work in process I think, Loree. It still hasn't grown much, even though it's been in the ground for years now. Its leaves drop early without coloring up but I hope that is just part of its growing pains - my neighbors' much older Ginkgos seem to have no problem with the climate; however, I believe they've been in the ground for at least 20 years.
DeleteI think the persimmon wins for sheer color at the moment, though I will always think your Auranticarpa rhomibifolium is handsome in fruit. Most of our fall color is gone now. Off to grays and greens!
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky to have some shrubs with variegated foliage and trees with red bark to brighten things up. My garden could use more gray, though.
DeleteYou get a nice bit of color even in your climate, Kris. The persimmon and Japanese maple by the house are super pretty. (They did a nice job pruning that maple.) Eliza
ReplyDeleteConsidering that the maple got its pruning at the last minute when I pointed out that the tree service guys had missed it as they were packing up, I was surprised at just how nice a job they'd done!
DeleteThat's about the extent of fall color here in Davis as well. The next time somebody asks me what kind of fall colors we get, I'll simply refer them to this post :-)
ReplyDelete