With the official start of winter close at hand and much of the nation beset by an arctic blast, we're finally getting a bit of foliage color in coastal southern California. I thought it was late this year but, when I look back at earlier posts, I see that I didn't report on foliage color until
mid-January of this year so it appears that the schedule isn't running late at all.
The brightest spots of fall/winter color aren't on our property. They're across the street in the neighbors' front garden.
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| These noID maples across the street put on a good show every year |
But I do have a few plants that turn color when our temperatures drop, as they have in the last few weeks.
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| Abelia x grandiflora |
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| One of the 2 species of guava trees in my garden, neither of which I can definitively identify |
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| This peach tree was uncovered when the gigantic Yucca elephantipes was removed. It sits at the unfenced boundary line between us and our next-door neighbor at the bottom of our back slope. |
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| Persimmon 'Fuyu' produced some colorful foliage, while the leaves of 'Hachiya' simply turned brown and dropped |
I've got berries developing on the
Nandina domestica, the
Auranticarpa rhombifolium, the self-planted noID
Cotoneaster and the
Arbutus 'Marina' trees but nothing does berries here like
Heteromeles arbutifolia, commonly known as the California Holly or Toyon.
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| This tree-like shrub sits on the backyard boundary between us and our next-door neighbor |
Some plants are confused. The fig tree dropped most of its leaves in response to the heat in late summer and early fall but, when the temperatures cooled and we got some rain, fresh new leaves began to appear.
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| Fresh new fig leaves contrasting with one of the older leaves still on the tree |
Meanwhile, the ornamental pear,
Pyrus calleryana, the tree that produces the largest mass of colorful leaves on our property, looks as green as it did in mid-summer.
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| The tree is just now dropping its tiny unpalatable fruits and the first few leaves are coloring up |
I checked my photos to see
when the Pyrus turned color in prior years and it appears that it's also right on schedule. I should see more color within the next several weeks. I clearly need to shake the perception that foliage color is a fall phenomenon - here it's really a brief winter event.
Best wishes for a colorful weekend, wherever you are.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
