Early Autumn Colors at My Farm
Today in Westchester, New York, we're expecting abundant sunshine with temperatures in the mid-70s - more springlike than early fall, but autumn is definitely here, and if you live in an area where foliage changes with the seasons, you know how exciting and beautiful this time of year can be.
The changing leaves are already providing lots of color - red, orange, yellow, and brown can be seen in areas across the landscape. I've planted thousands of trees and shrubs at my farm, so it's a fantastic place to take in the season's changes and enjoy all it has to offer.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Here, the changing leaves haven’t quite peaked yet, but the fall foliage is already looking so pretty around the farm. Some trees change early, others late – usually from October to November in the Northeast.
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- My pin oaks, Quercus palustris, have done so well over the years. In fall, because of changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature, leaves stop their food-making process. The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to gold and orange colors come out and give the leaves part of their fall splendor.
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- The perimeter around my paddocks displays such wonderful shades of orange, yellow, amber, brown, and green. I love the layers of color created by the changing leaves. Although some autumn coloration occurs wherever deciduous trees are found, the most brightly colored foliage is seen in Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia, northern and western Europe, the Caucasus region near the Black Sea, Russia, eastern Asia, Argentina, Chile, southern Brazil, Korea, Japan, and New Zealand’s South Island. Here is my grove of American beech trees seen from across the pasture.
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- Another popular vantage point is this one looking down between the paddocks with the corn crib on the right and the changing sycamores and allèe of lindens.
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- Here’s a view through the woodland. Many of these trees are deciduous, meaning they tend to seasonally shed their leaves after showing off their brilliant fall colors.
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- Even the potted tree seedlings are changing. I have thousands of young trees potted up behind my stable. They are doing very well and will eventually be planted in the ground and added to the ever-evolving landscape at my farm.
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- The white pines in the distance are majestic. Seen from nearly every angle on this side of my farm, these trees stand tall in the changing landscape. Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, white pine, northern white pine, Weymouth pine, and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America.
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- These are the horse chestnuts, Aesuclus x carnea, at the foot of my Boxwood Allee in front of my stable. These trees are changing to yellowy-red for fall before the leaves all drop.
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- Here are the weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus Pendula, on one side of my “soccer field” where my grandson plays whenever he visits. I love these weeping hornbeams – the branches of these trees gracefully weep creating an umbrella of foliage that reaches the ground. The leaves are beginning to change – the foliage turns a bright yellowish color this time of year.
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- Up close, one can see the seed catkins hanging from the branches, holding about 10 to 30 seeds each.
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- This is a Japanese Stewartia, Stewartia pseudocamellia, just behind my gym building. Native to Japan, this tree is known not only for its brilliant shades of orange that emerge in fall, but also for its interesting exfoliating bark and delicate blooms. I love Stewartia trees – do you know why? Here’s a hint: it’s in the name.
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- These are my bald cypress trees that line one side of the carriage road to my Winter House. These too are just starting to change color. Bald Cypress trees, Taxodium distichum, shed needlelike leaves. In fact, they get the name “bald” cypress because they drop their leaves so early in the season. Their fall colors are tan, cinnamon, and fiery orange.
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- Not far is this striking burning bush shrub with fiery scarlet foliage just starting to show. This bush is as low-maintenance as it is dazzling, making it exceptionally easy to grow as either a single specimen plant or in a grouping.
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- Persian parrotia or Persian ironwood is a small upright tree or large, rounded, multi-stemmed shrub. It is related to witch-hazel. The oblong green leaves turn various shades of red, orange and yellow in the fall, often persisting into the winter months.
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- Here are the bright yellow branches of the American larch, Larix laricina, out in the pinetum. This tree is commonly called tamarack, eastern larch, American larch or hackmatack. This deciduous conifer will drop all these showy needles just as winter approaches.
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- These sugar maples above my tree peony garden bed also display gorgeous color in fall – the leaves turn vibrant shades of yellow, burnt orange, and red.
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- This maple is also beginning to transform for the season. This one is just across the carriage road from my tropical hoop house not far from the chicken yard.
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- Guests that come around this time of year often ask, “what are those flowers that look like crocus?” The common name for Colchicum is autumn crocus, but they are not true autumn crocus because there are many species of true crocus which are autumn blooming. Also, Colchicum flowers have six stamens while crocuses have only three. The colchicum are all blooming now.
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- Here is another colchicum. Colchicum is a member of the botanical family Colchicaceae and is native to West Asia, Europe, parts of the Mediterranean coast, down the East African coast to South Africa and the Western Cape. When the weather is mild, colchicum’s flowers begin to unfurl. Most Colchicum plants produce their flowers without any foliage. This is why these flowers were first known by the common name “naked boys.” In the Victorian era, they were also called “naked ladies.”
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- And look what else is starting to bloom here at the farm. This is just one of hundreds of saffron flowers planted by my friend and colleague Hannah Milman. Planting is done in July, August and September either by hand or by machine. Harvesting comes at the end of October to mid-November, roughly eight weeks after planting.
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- And soon, my outdoor grounds crew will be busy blowing all the leaves. I’ll share more photos of the trees as they reach their peak fall colors. What does autumn look like where you live? Let me know in the comments section below.
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