Memphis in Autumn

What's your favorite time of the year?  Leading question, 'cause now I'm going to tell you mine:  it's autumn!  I love, love, love the colors.  The good news is, you don't have to go far to see perfect examples of the real colors of leaves.  You knew that, right?  These oranges, reds, yellows, bronzes and everything in between are the real colors.  They're there all along, just masked by the chlorophyll that reflects green.  Autumn is the time to get real.

Since this climbing hydrangea has NEVER bloomed,
it'd better do SOMETHING!

Crepe Myrtles in their fall glory

I think this is a maple, but maybe not

Japanese Maple

My dogwood that I considered removing, thanks Julie

Notice the construction going on beneath the dogwood?  It's the new herb bed!  More about that later.

My friend David sent this to me.  Gingkos are the best.

David's photo looks like the Regions Bank building on Poplar in East Memphis.  All of the other photos were taken within a half block of my house.

Post your favorite Memphis in Autumn photos on our Facebook page here.  We should just waller in it!

The best red maple for fall color

Acer rubrum Red Sunset®

The oaks and hickories that dominate the tree canopy in West Tennessee provide various shades of yellow and rich browns in autumn. Species with orange and red fall foliage offer striking accents to this color palette. 

According to Michael Dirr, Acer rubrum Red Sunset ®, is one of the best species for “orange to red fall color.”  The glossy green summer foliage begins to turn to brilliant red by mid-October. Throughout the year this tree is a landscape asset. As it ages, the smooth gray bark becomes darker and develops ridges. In the spring the samaras are a favorite of birds and squirrels.  The University of Florida Extension recommends it as “well suited for the south.”

The Acer rubrum Red Sunset® is a fast growing pyramidal to oval shaped tree that can reach 40-50 ft. with a 30-40 ft. spread. This low maintenance tree well suited to parks and makes an excellent specimen tree for lawns. Since it prefers moist sites, both UT and Missouri Botanical Garden endorse Acer rubrum Red Sunset® for rain gardens and bioswales.

--Jan Castillo

(Note:  the photo was taken at Memphis Botanic Garden, northwest of the parking area.)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Autumn...

At least it is in North Carolina!  Check it out:

Time for pumpkins and mums

and bittersweet wreaths!

does anyone know what this is?

I love "antiqued" hydrangea blooms

the leaves are turning purple, too!

Poem for the First Day of Autumn

Walking in Autumn

Read the poem here.

Watering Lawns & Beds in Autumn

Not my house!

Several of my neighbors still have their irrigation systems on their summer watering schedule.  For some of them, this means every morning.  Now that temperatures have changed, should the irrigation timing change as well?  In a word, yes.

We're accustomed to thinking of spring as a transition time.  We gradually move our houseplants outdoors and we give our seedlings a little more time in the sun each day in order to "harden them off."  We increase our watering as the temperatures rise.

Autumn is a transition time as well.  As the temperatures get consistently lower and we, thankfully, have more rain, our plants need for supplemental water lessens.  In addition, we need to prepare the plants for winter by doing a fall "hardening off."  We want to discourage new growth that may be damaged by sudden drops in temperature.  Do this by watering sparingly in the early autumn.  This provides the plants with another cue to go dormant.

In our part of the South, we continue to get an adequate amount of rainfall in the winter and we don't experience many hard freezes.   The rainfall usually provides the watering we need and most of us even turn off and winterize our irrigation systems.  Depending on the rainfall this winter, you may want to take advantage of a warm(er) winter day to get your hoses out and give everything a good deep drink of water.  And if a hard freeze is forecast, a good watering beforehand will protect the roots of your plants.

I've turned off my irrigation timer.  I send it through a manual cycle if we go for a week without rain.  In a few weeks, I'll get it winterized for the season.  And I guess I'd better start thinking about bringing my houseplants indoors.  Dang!  They're so much easier to water when they're outside!

A summer outside does wonders!