This fall has been one of the times that I have been more aware of the foliage and plants around me.
Perhaps it has been the rain and moisture the area has experienced this year. Several varieties of trees have outdone themselves with color.
I have several oaks that were planted as the grandchildren were born. The scarlet oak was planted in 2001 and is a pleasant reminder of our grandson when he first came to visit. He was so pleased to see that he had his very own tree. And a beauty it is turning out to be, bold red foliage and a pretty cylinder shape.
His sister’s oak is smaller, planted for her in 2006. This Shumard red oak is going to be a glorious tree, if it can live up to its billing. Already it seems to be acclimating well and securing its place in the landscape.
Both of these trees need room to grow. They are not for smaller urban situations and I think that is why I felt the need to plant them. Too many larger trees are aging out and not being replaced. I may not make it to see them reach their full potential, but if they keep growing and showing flush green leaves in the summer and this wonderful fall color, I’ll have a pretty good idea of what they will be in another 50 years.
Another plant that has drawn me for years has been the oak leaf hydrangea. Many of you are familiar with the hedge at the corner of West Bank and Fulton streets, but did you know that they were oak leaf hydrangeas?
Their unusual leaf shape, which looks like a leathery oak leaf, on a shrub that can spread to 4 to 6 feet tall and wide with a four-season interest, makes this a most spectacular landscape plant.
Fall color for the oak leaf hydrangeas run the spectrum: ruby reds, burnt orange, yellow gold and burgundy. I have coveted this jewel ever since I first spied those on Bank Street. So now I have the full sized natives (hydrangea quercifolia) and the small PeeWee variety to anchor corners of the garden gate. Even as new introductions to my garden, they are showing their distinctive fall color. I can’t wait until bloom time early next summer.
Another fall worthy, but totally different in appearance shrub is the Beautyberry Callicarpa Americana. This native plant will take your breath in a good berry year. The large clusters of bright violet berries appear in mid-fall and hang on until either eaten by the birds or blown off by late winter winds.
I have another variety Callicarpa dichotoma (Japanese beautyberry) that displays the fruit all along the stem of the arching branches in what seems to be a constant flow of iridescent purple berries intermingled with yellow fall leaves. If we were to have an early snow, the contrast of these berries with the white landscape would be something. As it is, it’s still pretty spectacular.
And then there are the winterberry hollies. So many berries, so many different colors. Who knew? Go to a plant nursery, or sit down at the computer. Check out the Itex verticillta. My new favorite happens to be Winter Gold, a deciduous shrub with a delicious peachy-orange berry that turns to bright gold on bare branches in the fall. There are a great number of outstanding red winterberry varieties, but the gold is so unusual, why not?
As you can tell, there aren’t many plants that I have met that I haven’t liked. As I was trying to explain to someone, do not settle for the only one you know. A maple is not just a maple. Take the time to look around. Visit growers during all seasons of the year. Visit our botanical gardens. Take walks in the woods and note the natives, blooms and berries. Be thankful, as I am, for horticulture and the beauty it brings to our lives.
Carole Massey is a Master Gardener volunteer with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Salisbury.