Fall : A Seaon of Colors

Did you ever wonder how and why a fall leaf changes color? Why a maple leaf turns bright red? Where do the yellows and oranges come from? To answer those questions, we first have to understand what leaves are and what they do.

Leaves are nature's food factories. Plants take water from the ground through their roots. They take a gas called carbon dioxide from the air. Plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose. Glucose is a kind of sugar. Plants use glucose as food for energy and as a building block for growing. The way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar is called photosynthesis. A chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color.

As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees "know" to begin getting ready for winter. During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. We just can't see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll. The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves.

It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful colors we enjoy in the fall. Here are some fall colors from our yard.

A lonely spring flower in Fall

Did you know how the plants growing in extreme climates know when its spring & when its winter..?

The trees, shrubs and flowering perennials have adapted themselves in such a way that they can protect themselves in extreme temperatures. Evergreens are the ones which can stay green all through the year. So these trees has leaves which are modified to spikes or scales which has less water loss compared to the leaves. Deciduous trees /shrubs are the ones which lose there leaves in fall. Perennials are the ones which die back to their roots and start growing once the weather is conducive.

As the temperature begins to drop down, all the plants start preparing themselves for the winter. When they are almost ready for the winter and suddenly when the temperature starts rising on the following days, the plants get fooled that spring is arriving. Its the temperature which makes the plants think of the seasons.

This year we have planted a total of 18 trees, lots of evergreens, decicuous shrubs and perennials. Of these one tree got fooled with the temperature ups and downs for one flower. The flowering crabapple which is known for its enormous white blooms in spring had one single bloom. This was very surprising, but also very exciting that one bloom took the initiative to show what it will look like. The flower had 5 petals with milky white color and it was an absolute beauty. We are eagerly waiting to see the tree fully covered with such beautiful blooms in spring.

Corner Berm

Ever wonder what a Berm is..? It is an area which is raised to a mound with the mixture of soil on the flat ground to give a hilly view. This area was created on the SouthWest corner of our front yard. The main aim for this area is to give privacy from the pathways. Ours being a corner lot, berm also adds curb appeal.

The berm has 3 tall evergreen trees called White Fir as the main features. These trees can reach upto 100 feet in height. But, ofcourse it will take decades and decades for that. The shape of the berm is designed in such a way that there is a semicircle shape in alignment with the corner of the lot. This semicircle has an inner row of shrub roses called "Nearly wild" rose. These bushes will have tons and tons of blooms all throughout summer. In front of the roses is a semicircular row of perennials called "Zagreb coreopsis". The coreopsis adds softness due to its light and airy foliage which has continuous bright yellow blooms in summer.

This year the plants are just settling in their places, so did not expect to provide the seasonal interest.

Extended West side bedline

In the L-shaped bedline post I mentioned that the bedline extends all the way on the West side of the fence, crossing the fence and continuing in the front yard.

After the Vanderwolf pines is a flowering crabapple on the outside of fence, surrounded by some lilacs inside and outside the fence. This continues with couple of maiden grass and some sunny border speedwell. The extreme corner of the fence is highlighted with a gracefully arching tree called Honeylocust. This is followed by some tall deciduous shrub called Witchhazels which are known for the earliest spring attraction. The witchhazels are surrounded by some flowering perennials called "Moonshine yarrow" and some deciduous shrub Spirea.

On the outside of the fence, the bedline follows a curve pattern leaving a concave area of grass. Onto the extreme other end there are some Karl Forester grass and some Sea green juniper.