Today was a fabulous day to be outside. It is almost 70 degrees, bright sunshine and low humidity--a gardener's dream. That dream is going to be shattered if the forecast is correct this week. They have moved the forecast of teens back to Tuesday night, but Tuesday's high is only supposed to be 37 degrees! That should take care of those summer annuals that are lingering,
and the Encore azaleas that are blooming their hearts out right now.
I had a light layer of leaves, so I decided to mow one last time with my mulching lawn mower.
The yard looked pretty good when I was done, but there are a lot more leaves yet to fall, so raking will be in my future.
The fall color has been pretty impressive in central Arkansas this past week, with shades of red,
yellow,
and orange.
The ginkgo trees shed all their leaves at once. It is like Mother Nature flips a switch. One day they are attached,
the next day they are all in a pile under the tree.
I saw several in Fayetteville yesterday that had just dropped.
If you are looking for a tree with great fall color, choosing one with its fall show will give you a good idea of what to expect. Most people assume that all Japanese maples have outstanding fall color,
and most do, but not all. I have one that starts changing so late, that it basically goes from green to gone. I have two colored leaves on the whole tree right now.
It obviously has the right pigments, but doesn't know when to turn! The chlorophyll in leaves which makes them green, breaks down with shorter days and cooler temperatures. As the green fades away, the natural pigments shine through. Red comes from anthocyanins, yellow from xanthophylls and orange (plus a little yellow and red) comes from carotenoids. The best fall color occurs if we have cool nights, warm days, ample sunlight and even moisture. Our late rains saved the day for some of our plants.
While we typically think of deciduous trees for fall color, there are some deciduous shrubs that are putting on a show now too. The burning bush euonymus is glowing right now,
and oakleaf hydrangeas
and itea are beginning to turn.
Enjoy this weather and fall color for the moment, but it looks like winter may be hovering on the horizon! Windows are wide open now, but the heat will be back on soon.