Where did fall go?
A queen butterfly on blue mistflower
Here in Austin you take fall color wherever you can find it. It’s slim pickings for leaf-peepers, but at ground level things are happening. Perennials rebloom after biding their time through the summer. Migrating orange monarchs and other butterflies arrive. Pecans litter the sidewalks. Ornamental grasses feather, and berries ripen.
Now if only we could get some cool, fall temperatures. Yesterday’s high was 86 degrees, and today and tomorrow it’s expected to rise to 88 degrees. Admittedly, it isn’t so humid nor the sun so high as in summer, so these temperatures have been relatively pleasant. But I’m ready for a reprise of the 60s and 70s we enjoyed recently.
In the garden this morning, I braved aggressive mosquitoes and took these photos of fall color and texture in my back yard.
Yes, I know my back yard is still green (I’ve been reading several northern garden blogs, so I know this must look summery to some), but the flush of red roses and feathery muhly grass signal Austin’s autumn.
Red Texas betony and yellow zexmenia add color near the muhly grass (species unknown). Back by the shed and red chair, a flameleaf sumac is holding out on fall color so far.
The yaupon holly’s red berries, strewn along the length of its branches, contrast with the toasty-brown seedheads and apple-green foliage of inland sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium ).
Yaupon berries. Good eating for birds, bad eating for humans, hence its botanical name, Ilex vomitoria.
The cedar elm is giving a decent show of yellow, though its small leaves are falling fast. The crown of this tree is nearly bare already.
More yellow cedar elm leaves
I just noticed how attractive the bark of the Mexican plum tree is. Its satiny, gray skin peels up here and there like cedar shavings.
It’s not your traditional fall color, but this prickly pear turns purple when cold weather arrives. I recently transplanted this devilishly spiny plant into a purple pot that matches its winter color. Even though I wrapped the cactus with a thick towel and used gloves, I felt like a porcupine when I was done. Just brushing your hand against a pad will result in 15 minutes of plucking invisible spines with a tweezer afterward. Still, I love its unusual winter color.
One more fall surprise: the Carolina jasmine vine is budding. It usually does flower a bit in fall, but it saves its big show for early spring.
I miss the leaf-peeping opportunities I enjoyed growing up in South Carolina and, after college, in North Carolina. But you take your fall color where you can find it. I wonder what passes for autumn farther west, in the desert states?
It’s so nice to see some color. The prickly pear is such a perfect match for the pot! Looks terrific. Sorry to hear it was painful, though. There is a species or two hardy in Connecticut — they flop over for the winter. That never looked to me like a good survival strategy, to be down in the damp in the cold wet months, but then they’d miraculously perk up as the weather warmed. Those hardy varieties weren’t as colorful as ‘Santa Rita’, though.
Hi, Renee. Thanks for commenting. I visited your blog and tried to comment on your Indian mound post, but your comment field is not set up for non-Google or non-Blogger commenters yet. Can you also allow “other” commenters? Anyway, I’ve enjoyed seeing what’s happening in your area. –Pam
I love the purple on the prickley pair! I’ve never seen anything like that. My husband and I are trying to get some fall color through foliage: we have both a struggling big-tooth maple and a ginko. Both almost died over the summer, so I don’t know if they’ll fully recover. We’re keeping our fingers crossed!
Those are pretty trees. They may be only marginally hardy here, but I do hope yours survive. I’m interested to know how they do long-term. If I had room, I’d try a Mexican buckeye. The one I saw at the Natural Gardener sure was pretty. —Pam
Fall for me is the arrival of rain, shorter days and cooler nights. I do have two Crepe Myrtle’s and one Buttercup Tree that are deciduous this time of year. My most spectacular signal of autumn is the blooming of my Mexican poinsettia, Euphorbia leucocephala. It has small white fragrant flowers and the whole shrub turns solid white and looks like a fluffy cloud. I am photographing it’s change for a post. They are about 4 to 5 days away from full bloom.
“Fall for me is the arrival of rain, shorter days and cooler nights.” Yes, most importantly, that’s what it is for me too! The colors of fall are just icing on the cake. —Pam
I love your pictures, they remind me of summer which seems all too distant now! We had an “Indian summer” day in central Indiana today… sunny, “unseasonably warm” around the mid 60’s. Most of the leaves, however are off the trees.
I have some hardy prickly pear cactus growing in a little spot on the side of my house. I have spent time pulling those little pricklies out of my hands, even wearing gloves. I now handle with pliers only. They call it “Devil’s Tongue” for a reason.
I hadn’t heard that name, but it’s apt. —Pam
That is the PERFECT POT. How lovely!
I too, have a prickley pear. I should take a photo of their sad winter selves. They don’t look promising, that for sure!
You should indeed. I’m curious to know how they look in the winter in Michigan. Do they survive all that snow? —Pam
Maybe your sumac will be flame-colored soon – I saw a large group up on Lake Creek Parkway that were quite stunning. Your sumac will have the blue accents around them so that red should pop!
Thanks for mentioning the Carolina Jessamine. Maybe ours will also makes some fragrant fall flowers. You caught them at the perfect moment, right before they open.
Annie
The mosquitoes were terrible in my yard last week, too. They seemed much more vicious than during the summer.
Your remarks about green reminded me of driving down the MoPac the other day. All the grasses along the roadside looked so lush. All summer they’ve been deathly brown. I smiled seeing them rejuvenated.
People from other places must think we have it backwards but I like reveling in our own cycles. Austin weather marches to a different drummer.
I can’t believe how warm it’s been there! Well, I guess I can, but it’s hard to feel that reality when we think warm is in the 40’s now. 🙂 Your picture of the bark reminds me of the gray birch trees up here, and the cactus is beautiful. I remember my jasmine blooming in late February/early March. What a delight, and just around the corner, really. We’ve got until mid-May before we smell spring. Happy fall, however hot, cool, and colorful (or less so) that it is!
Thanks for another great post. You always make me feel like I’ve visited there. Susan