Looking out of the windows, there is gold everywhere, the views that stayed green all summer, are now changing rapidly to yellow/gold. There are a few splashes of red and purple which form a contrast, making the month of November a very colourful month in the garden.
Field Maple, Acer campestre, one of our native acers, which forms part of the boundary of the garden.
Miscanthus sinensis malepartus is now joining in forming a beautiful golden fountain.
Hosta June is brightening up the border once more, just as she did in the summer.
A little green leaved Acer,which was in a pot, now planted in the woodland, has changed to gold, I seem to remember it turned red last year, maybe there is still time.
Also in the woodland and gleaming gold that I can see from the sitting room window is Hamamellis mollis.
Acer Senkaki in the woodland, the green leaves fade to buttery yellow.
They seem so delicate at this time of year, this is always my first acer to change colour.
The cherry tree by the entrance always puts on a good show, but it all depends on the wind how long these leaves stay on the tree, it is rather exposed to the north winds.
Evergreens are starting to stand out, they have been a supporting role until now, as everything else is dying back, they are beginning to take centre stage. We have had so much rain over the last few weeks, all the photos have been taken from paths in the garden as the lawn is far too wet to walk upon.
The beech hedge in the front is now forming a nice contrast with surrounding shrubs, Enkianthus, Camellia and Mahonia.
All the purple Berberis are changing subtly, here contrasting with the silver birch by the back door.
Silver Birch leaves are fluttering everywhere, they will soon all be down.
Cornus sibirica Westonbirt has a final fling before revealing her bright red stems for the winter.
This period of beautiful leaves is a bonus, the shrubs were bought for their red stems in the winter.
Viburnum plicatum Mareseii is also having a change of leaf colour going from green, through purple to almost chocolate brown.
Pittosporum Irene Patterson has been given a haircut, this shows up against the horse chestnut tree behind.
The large Acer in the back garden by the archway into the woodland has started to change colour, it still has a way to go to reach its full potential.
Acer Osakazuki has almost finished changing colour, thank goodness it is sheltered from the west wind that has been battering us for a while now.
Just love the colour of those leaves.
The view from my bedroom window at the moment, getting better every day!
We had such a storm 2 nights ago which meant the lawn and paving were covered with loads of leaves, but Neil, who comes each week to help me, has done a wonderful job and cleared them all up yesterday, they are now stacked in a corner of the woodland where they will rot down nicely to make wonderful leafmould in just one year.
From this……….
……..to this, beautifully crumbly black gold that the snowdrops, cyclamen and hellebores love.
This then comes back to the garden as a mulch and also gets added to any planting holes for new plants in the garden, definitely black gold is made from all the green, gold, red and purple leaves that drop each year.
Are you making your own “black gold”?
Beautiful autumn colours Pauline. This time of year really does hold its own with the other seasons. Your ‘black gold’ looks wonderful and I for one am certainly making my own!
I used to think that november was such a dull month in the garden Denise, not any longer, it is such a wonderful time of year! I’m so glad you are making the most of all your leaves, it is a wonderful addition to my heavy clay.
I always thought our autumn color was far superior to Europe’s, but you are showing me just how wrong I am. Your Japanese Maple (Osakazuki) is particularly stunning.
I think until about 20 or 30 yrs ago, you would have been right Jason, but now we have such wonderful autumn colour in this country. Also since garden visiting became popular and we have all seen what stately homes have in their gardens and arboretums, we now want the same in our gardens!
What a wonderful autumn display! So many beautiful contrasting colours! I do love your acers. What would we do without that black gold?xxx
Thank you Dina, I love all the colours that I have at the moment, so precious because they don’t last long! The leaf mould is wonderful stuff, the plants really appreciate it!x
A true gardener enjoys Nature in all her forms – love that you point it all and encourage us to appreciate it!
All my colours are blowing away now Jayne, they were lovely while they lasted, but gales are hitting us every day now, they will soon be gone.
It’s a lovely time of year in so many ways and it’s good to see yours in its finery. I don’t collect leaves every year but when I use ‘black gold’ from previous years I am always reminded that I should!
Half my finery has been blown away with the gales and torrential rain that we had this last week. At least this weekend has been fine, so that once again I have been raking up all the leaves and stacking them in a corner of the woodland. I can’t imagine being without my lovely leaf mould, the plants certainly love it!
Gorgeous! I love how your evergreens complement the autumn colors of those plants that go dormant. Cornus sibirica Westonbirt is amazing!
The evergreens and the lovely autumn colours set each other off, don’t they Deb, I think they go so well together. The Cornus leaves are such a stunning colour, they almost look artificial while they last, sadly the wind has blown them all down for another year.