Fall Colors, Part 1

Forrest has done remarkable things with our garden spot this year. There's a profusion of flowery plants attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds, although we think our hummers may have already left for Guatemala.

Of course my favorites are always the beautyberries, with their gorgeous purple berries that serve, in these parts, to herald the arrival of autumn.

About the same time that the beautyberries turn purple, the night-blooming jasmine begins to perfume the air. We started our plant from cuttings from a plant at my parents' house, and our jasmine dies back every winter (winters are colder here than they are in Central Florida); fortunately, it regenerates every spring. Now, we are just starting to get the first subtle whiffs of sweetness when the sun goes down.

Autumn has always been my favorite season, maybe because my birthday falls near the equinox, maybe because of the new energies associated with the beginning of the academic year. I spent the largest part of my life either in school or working various jobs in higher education, so fall semester = fresh start, which is kind of odd, since autumn is traditionally a time for harvesting and weeding out.

And of course, there are other fall rituals as well. See next post.

First Fall Leaf

I was walking in the driveway in front of Meads Mountain House when I spotted it, all alone and small and glowing on the gray gravel--the first fallen leaf of autumn, my favorite season.

This year, I will be spending fall in Florida. I dream about someday being able to spend fall in Woodstock.

Mr. Shumard

Here is Mr. Shumard, the Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii) I planted right after I moved into my house. The back of the lot is filled with planted pines—probably slash pines—and if they were longleaf pines, I'd cherish them, but they aren't. So, the plan is eventually to have the back of the lot shaded by large oaks and other native trees.

Mr. Shumard telepathed to me, right after I planted him, that he was very happy here and would do very well. And so far, he has done well—unlike Mrs. Shumard, a companion that we planted near him, who has "passed on" (euphemism for "died" in this part of the world).

Shumard oaks are native from North Carolina south to central Florida and west to Michigan and Texas. I picked this tree because when it's mature, its leaves will turn deep purplish red to red in autumn. Autumn is my favorite season, so I want a lot of autumn color in my yard.

My copy of Gil Nelson's Florida's Best Native Landscape Plants (University Press of Florida, 2003) lists the following as among good companion plants for the Shumard oak:  pignut hickory, magnolia, flowering dogwood, and redbud. So far, I have at least one of all of these trees. Another listed companion is witch hazel, which I have searched for far and wide, only to be told that it doesn't do well this far south. Bummer; I'd love to have a witch hazel tree!

Mr. Shumard appears to be growing in kind of a cattywampus fashion. We are hoping he will straighten up as he gets a bit bigger.