Acers for Amazing Fall Foliage

Today I had to take a breath and gaze in wonder when I stepped outside.For spectacular fall foliage, acers must be at the top of the list, and my property is blessed with about twenty of them. Most are Japanese maples. Some of these acers have fancy, hard to pronounce names, for which I paid more than I want to remember. Others are inexpensive, unnamed seedlings I planted in 1990, after a tornado wiped out the center of our property. My landscaping budget at the time was zero, because our heavily damaged house was taking all our money, and even a few tiny trees was a stretch. But now the humble seedlings have matured into magnificent specimens, as beautiful as any with grandiose pedigrees. I say I made a good investment!The red-orange foliage of the tree in the center of this view at the edge of the woodland garden belongs to 'Orido Nishiki.'

'Orido Nishiki' from inside the woodland garden

This is our "Marriage Tree." It was about four feet tall when it survived the tornado that brought down enormous trees all around it in 1990.

One of the unnamed seedlings that has grown into a beauty

As you can see, acer fall foliage comes in a wonderful variety of colors, ranging from gold to orange to ruby-red to burgundy. Many trees show multiple colors. They are incredible when backlit by the sun.

All of these beautiful leaves will soon be on the ground. We have many trees on our property, and we have already begun the months-long chore of raking our lawns and paths, as well as brushing fallen foliage off of shrubs. It is a labor of bittersweet love and joy. (And very good exercise!)

Deb's Garden, April 2017

April has always been one of the prettiest months in my garden. We are shaking off effects of last year's severe drought and a couple of mid-March freezes and moving forward. Here are views of Deb's Garden today: 

The lawn is bordered by the front garden. The Japanese maple on the left is our 'marriage tree,' purchased soon after Lou and I married 41 years ago:

This view of the front garden was taken near the patio:

Here is a red Japanese maple with a flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, in the background. This is one of our older dogwoods that survived last year's drought:

A few days ago we purchased Cornus florida 'Cherokee Brave,' a new variety of pink flowering dogwood bred for vigor and disease resistance. But how many dead dogwoods have we cut down? We plan to buy another Cherokee Brave this week. That makes two, a small beginning, but we are grateful that a number of our dogwoods still survive, including some younger ones.On the left is one of our original white flowering dogwoods. On the left is our new 'Cherokee Brave.'

If you follow my blog, you know how much I love Japanese maples! Japanese maple 'Aconitifolium' is one of my favorite green ones:

Here are views of assorted other Japanese maples growing in the garden:

Japanese maple 'Waterfall' grows in the woodland garden:

The blue bridge image is one of my favorite views of the woodland garden through the seasons. Here is April, 2017:

As I walked in the woodland garden today I noticed several butterflies. This Eastern Black Swallowtail was preoccupied with a native azalea and did not mind me taking its photo:

Also in the woodland garden today was an anole lizard resting on the side of a green watering can:

Here are assorted flowers currently blooming in the garden:Top row: Camellia japonica 'Gunsmoke'; Ajuga. Middle row: Fothergilla; Pink Columbine. Bottom row: Bloodroot; Hellebores.

Clockwise from top left: A white Encore Azalea; White double petunia; Variegated Solomon's Seal; Philadelphus (Mock Orange).I hope you enjoyed the tour! Have a great week!  Deb