Fall Foliage - Weeks 3 & 4

Between home and work, life has been a little crazy lately.  The good part is I feel like I'm finally starting to catch up with things (projects, social obligations, laundry).  The downside is, I'm not spending as much time online, so I'm not posting as much.

I took these photos last Sunday, so this should really be week 3.5.

The oakleaf hydrangea (above) is starting to turn a really deep, rich, red.  Right next to it, the viburnum (below) is a deep, brownish red.
 

The tree I mentioned two weeks ago, with delicate yellow leaves, turned out to be a beech (above, left).  Between the yellow buckeye, the tulip poplars, and the three beech trees I found in the woods, we have yellow covered. 

The really big oak tree out front (above) still has a bunch of leaves, but they're starting to turn.  Our Japanese Maple (below, left) is starting to turn bright red and the kousa dogwood (below, right) is mostly green, but some leaves are turning almost purple.

I'll try to post more over the next few weeks as we finish up our garden prep for winter.  I'm especially looking forward to Friday -- I get the day off, my daughter is going to daycare, and I have about 250 bulbs to plant.  It will be fun.

Fall Foliage - Week 2

The days are getting shorter and it's usually dark by the time I get home from work.  I didn't think I'd be able to get foliage pictures this week, but I was able to snap a few pictures from my deck this morning.

On the left, you can see a yellow buckeye just starting to turn yellow.  On the right, the native dogwoods are still the highlight of my fall garden.  They seem to get even more red every day.

Most of the "filler" trees in the backyard are tulip poplar.  On the left, you can see they're starting to turn yellow.  The white pines are also losing a lot of their needles.

While I was snapping a close-up of the dogwoods, I noticed a smallish tree with delicate yellow leaves (see left).  It would have been hidden behind the juniper bushes in the spring...I'm planning on going out this weekend to try and identify it.  On the right, you can see the oaks in the backyard are still fairly green, but do have some clusters of leaves that changed.

I will try to get better pictures next week.  I think the next few weeks will be really colorful.

Exfoliation

Exfoliation usually refers to the removal or loss of leaves from a plant, either as part of the plant's natural life cycle or due to some other cause (pests, disease, weather, etc.).  Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting a lot about exfoliation!



Peeling Bark



Some trees also have exfoliating bark.  These photos show my crapemyrtle, but other trees with exfoliating bark include river birch, paperbark maple, and shagbark hickory.  As these trees grow, the outer layer of their bark is split and eventually replaced with then new bark underneath.  The difference in color and the texture of the bark adds interest, especially in winter.  The process also helps the tree rid itself of scales, insects, bacteria, fungi, lichens, and mosses.

Bark Debris

As far as the bark on my crapemyrtle goes, I don't find it nearly as appealing as the exfoliating bark on a river birch.  It's, honestly, pretty messy.  You're not supposed to peel the bark off to help the tree along, so a lot of times, the bark on my crapemyrtle just hangs there.  When it comes down, it piles up in the joint of the trunks or makes a mess in the bed.  However, the patterns that are left once it comes off are really beautiful and add a lot to the already attractive multi-trunk structure.

Fall Foliage - Week 1

Today marks the six month "anniversary" of this blog.  I realize I essentially missed two of those months, but it is still pretty amazing that I have stuck with something for so long.  Hopefully, I'll be able to come up with enough garden-related stuff to talk about over the next six months.  When I started the blog, I didn't really consider what to talk about over winter!

Until winter gets here, and all of the deciduous leaves are gone, I'm going to try to document the fall foliage in my garden on a weekly basis.  This should help future garden planning.

The big oak tree out front was the first to start dropping leaves.  It seems like the leaves turn and fall in giant clumps.  The bright yellow clusters look nice on the tree, but not so nice on the lawn.





  

The native dogwoods (left) and the Kousa dogwood (right) are both starting to change color, although the natives are a little farther along.



The leaves on the viburnum (left) are changing to a rich, chocolaty brown.  An azalea out front (right) has a handful of bright red leaves.

Look what I found: Acer palmatum

What a weekend!  We went camping and got rained out almost immediately.  I was a little relieved -- since we came home early, maybe I would be able to get some work done in the yard, right?  Of course not.  The bag worms are still out front.  I still have plants to divide/trim/bring inside.  It looks like we need to rake already...

Spring

For the last few weeks, it has been ridiculously gray and rainy.  Fall is here with a vengeance and it will only be a matter of time before the leaves start to fall.  My native dogwood trees look like they're starting to change color.  But I can't show you because I haven't taken pictures outside in at least two weeks.



Summer

 So, here are some older pictures.  This is a Japanese maple tree from our front yard.  It is a really nice, mature, specimen tree.  In the spring, the leaves are a deep maroon.  Over the summer, they lighten until they are almost green.  I'm excited to see what they do in the fall.


Bark

The tree has a really nice structure and bark.  It's right next to the crapemyrtle and their multiple trunks kind of echo each other.  This is also my daughter's favorite tree.  She's able to swing on the lowest branch and has even been able to climb up it quite a bit.  As a former tree-climber, that just warms my heart.

I hope to get out sometime this week to try and capture some of the changes fall is bringing as well as finish some of the "clean-up" that needs to be done.  Are you starting to see signs of fall in your garden?

Look what I found: Lagerstroemia indica

Also known as crapemyrtle, crape myrtle, or crepe myrtle.  There is a lot of discussion online about how to spell the common name of this plant.  For fairly arbitrary reasons, I typically spell it as crapemyrtle.

We have a fairly large multi-trunk crapemyrtle tree with white flowers and really attractive peeling bark.

From a cursory search, I believe this might be a Natchez variety due to the bloom time (it's reblooming now), bloom color, bark color and size.  I've never been a huge crapemyrtle fan, but I do really enjoy this tree and have taken about a bazillion pictures of the trunks.

Even the seed capsules from the previous blooms provide interest

I'm not quite as fond of our other crapemyrtle.

It's only just now starting to bloom.  The blooms are garish and it doesn't have any of the winter interest the tree has...in the winter, it looks like a dead shrub.  Since it takes quite a while for crapemyrtles to leaf out in the spring, I really found this shrub to be an eyesore.  Of course, it could just be the entire area of the island I object to.

I'll wait until the entire bush is in bloom before I pass judgement, but I have a feeling this shrub will be moving at some point next year.

Cornus Kousa - Revisited

Back in May, I wrote about our Japanese Flowering Dogwood.  As predicted, the tree now has a mass of edible fruit.

I guess I'm not really as brave as I like to think I am.  I did break one open and nibble on it.  The taste was pleasant, but the texture was a little mealy and put me off.  I didn't eat the outside red part, and there just wasn't much pulp on the inside.  It looks like it is possible to make jam from the fruit, but that seems like it might have texture issues as well.  It's possible the fruit on my tree is not yet fully mature.  I'll be trying them again over the next few weeks, so I'll report any change in taste or texture (along with any side-effects).

According to wikipedia, the fruit of the Kousa Dogwood are actually compound berries!  Even though I wouldn't grow this tree exclusively for its berries, they are attractive hanging from the tree and provide food for wildlife.  Between spring flowers, late summer fruit, and pleasant bark/structure in winter, I feel comfortable calling the Japanese Flowering Dogwood a plant with year-round interest.

Look what I found: Liriodendron tulipifera

Also known as the tulip tree, yellow poplar, or tulip poplar (even though it's not related to tulips or poplars).

Tulip poplar is native to the eastern United States and is one of the largest eastern hardwoods.  According to the Maryland State Champion Tree List (who knew there was such a thing?), the largest tulip poplar in Maryland is in Anne Arundel county with a  height of 126' and a circumference of 23'.  That's pretty darn big -- there were only a handful of other trees on the list that were taller. 

I've always admired this tree from afar.  I love the unique shape of the leaf and the orange/light green coloring of the flowers, but I've shied away from planting it because the tulip poplar gets a bad rap in this area.  Since the it is so tall, it doesn't always fit into the suburban landscape well.  It's fast-growing and tends to be a little weak wooded, so it's prone to falling in bad storms.  Tulip poplar trees also attract aphids, which can leave a sticky mess beneath the tree.

We have at least three in the woods, but I don't think ours are anywhere near 126'.  They're far enough away that they won't fall on our house and if they get aphids, it shouldn't bother us.  I can't wait to see what the leaves look like in the fall.

Are there any trees you've admired from afar?

Look what I found: Cornus Kousa

We have another dogwood!  This one's not a native - it's a Kousa Dogwood, also known as a Japanese Flowering Dogwood.

This looks like a flower, but it's actually a bract.

Now - in most cases, I prefer native plants.  They're better suited to the local environment, they're usually more pest resistant than exotic plants, and they provide valuable shelter for local wildlife.  However, I'm not one of those people who insists on only having native plants, so I won't be digging up this lovely tree any time soon.

In many ways, the Kousa dogwood is better than the natives.  It has more "flowers" and a longer bloom period.  It is more resistant to the dogwood anthracnose disease than the native flowering dogwood.  Finally, the Kousa dogwood has large, supposedly edible, fruits.  The little green bauble in the middle of the "flower" that looks a little like a raspberry will turn pink, and then eventually a dull red.  I look forward to giving them a try in the fall. 

If you're a native plant lover, do you ever make exceptions for exotic plants? 

A plant I fancy: Oxydendrum arboreum

*Updated to ensure pictures are properly credited
Scientific name: Oxydendrum arboreum
Common name(s): Sourwood, sorrel tree
Height x Width: 25-30' x 20'
Growth rate: slow
Hardiness: Zones 5-9
Soil: Prefers acidic, well-drained soil that is high in organic matter
Light: Full sun to partial shade



Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

 Reasons I like it:

• It's a native plant and although it normally appears in more mountainous areas, sourwood is local to Maryland
• It provides multi-season interest with flowers midsummer, bright red foliage in the fall, and interesting fruit capsules and bark during winter
• It has a fairly narrow canopy



Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

 Where would I put it?
In the front yard, either in the island or along the left property line


Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

I've been considering a combination of serviceberries and a redbud for the front yard island bed, but now I'm leaning towards a sourwood instead of the redbud.  It's a more slow-growing tree, so it probably wouldn't outgrow the space any time soon.  Furthermore, it has a much more narrow canopy, so it wouldn't shade out all of the grass my husband is working so diligently to grow.  Finally, it's a little more unique and a little less showy than a redbud. 

We have so many other flowering shrubs in the front yard, a redbud that flowers pinkish purple at the exact same time wouldn't make as much of an impact as a tree that blooms when everything has finished and then has really brilliant fall color.  Since it has similar soil preferences to azaleas, it should do well in a bed with them.  I've also see the suggestion to plant it with pieris japonica and lily of the valley which would echo the delicate urn-shaped flowers. 

Although it is a native tree, I can't remember ever seeing it and I'm not even sure it's available in the local nurseries.  Have you ever see a sourwood tree?  How do you think it holds up against a redbud?

Look what I found: cornus florida 'White'

cornus florida 'White' - Flowering Dogwood

A lot of the plants I've found in the garden are pretty easy to identify.  Either there are only a few species of the plant or they have some sort of distinctive feature that sets them apart.  Others are not so easy.

There are between 30 and 50 species of dogwood.  Some are trees, some are shrubs, some are even groundcover.  There are native* dogwoods, European dogwoods, and Asian dogwoods.  To make matters worse, dogwood trees grown in the shade look quite different than trees grown in full sun.


My three are quite leggy and sparse in the shade

For the dogwoods, and for a few other trees I'm trying to identify, I haven't found a good way to definitively say, "It is this exact species".  I was hoping for a website that might walk through each feature of the tree: the bark, the flower, the habit, etc. and then spit out an answer.  I've settled for browsing through dozens and dozens of images and then making a best guess.

These three dogwoods are situated along the edge of the woods.  It is really the perfect spot for them and seems very natural, as if they sprung up there on their own.  They add a nice bit of spring interest and let enough light through to the mixed flowering shrubs below.  I don't remember whether their leaves were particularly interesting in the fall, but I'll be sure to take note this year.

* Yet another native plant sale this weekend: Historic London Town and Gardens (Edgewater, MD)