
Autumn 2016 Color. This year’s autumn season in Northern Virginia has been very colorful with gorgeous cool weather. We had a bit of a drought period in the late summer. Fall brought us a lot of rain to catch up to our usual rainfall amounts. The leaves changed to beautiful colors prior to their eventual drop by mid-December.

The colors from my oakleaf hydrangeas have been spectacular this year. I always love their giant leaves. The deer don’t tend to browse the oakleaf hydrangeas so they are a great option for deer-prone gardens and landscapes.

It took quite a while for all of the leaves to change and then subsequently fall to the ground. During that time we were treated to such beauty.

As expected, my Japanese maples were spectacular this year. Starting out as some yellows and oranges, they all turned bright to deep reds over the Fall season.


My home office has a lovely view of our front property as well as the neighbors’ horse pastures. My Bloodgood Japanese maple tree turns deep blood red in the Spring, then morphs to a bright green in summer, and to a stunning apricot color in Fall. I love that tree!


Further back on our property, we were treated to a very golden show of beech trees, maples, and oaks. Our dog loves to go on nature walks through our back property.



My overall favorite tree on our property is our giant hickory tree. We only have a few hickory trees and this one is the most colorful. It starts out as a sunny bright yellow and morphs to a deep orange before dropping its leaves.




And by mid-December, most of the leaves have fallen. Leaves are a wonderful cover for plants for the winter by acting as a “free” mulch. We try to do very little leaf clean up. I wish my neighbors would do the same. Those constantly running leaf blowers are not only providing noise pollution but also kicking up dirt and allergens into the air. I’m all for a “quiet” leaf blower. Fingers crossed that someone will invent one someday.

And as a final comment on this odd weather that we’ve been having…The Fairy rose is blooming in my backyard. I guess she doesn’t care about the freezing to warm and back to freezing temperatures. The Fairy is a very old rose bush that I purchased even before we moved to this house.

Yesterday marked the first day of Winter. We will have a lot to see in the garden this upcoming winter. What was colorful in YOUR garden this Fall season? Leave a comment and tell everyone!!
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