I’m an early riser, and the October mornings are getting dark. Each day, I get up, make myself a cup of tea, sit down with my knitting, and watch the sun come up.
I sit by a west-facing window in the chaff house. The sun rises behind the mill, and illuminates this tree.
On a sunny October morning, it appears to be lit from within.
Each day it seems to me more beautiful…
…with its canopy of leaves in so many glorious autumnal shades.
Yesterday, I asked Tom to photograph the leaves, whose colourful variety is truly stunning
We were even able to produce a chromatic gradient!
And a colour wheel!
With the help of a great 1977 volume entitled Trees of the World, which was kindly left to me by the mill’s former owners, I was able to ascertain that this tree is not a maple, as I’d first assumed, but a variety of sweet gum, since its leaves, when crushed, smell resinous. (I’ve been reliant on the RHS app for identifying many plants in the mill garden, but it does have its limitations).
You can see the tree on the left, there, peeping over the old wall. At the far right you can see the edge of the chaff house, where I sit each morning. In front of that are my summer pots, with the last of the dahlias, and some gone-over sweet peas and pelargoniums, which I’ll be clearing out and replanting with bulbs over the next few days (having gone a wee bit bulb crazy). And there, on the back doorstep are some just-planted auriculas and muscari, which will be moved beside the window to provide a little winter colour, when the sweet gum leaves are gone.
I have been here since February now, watching the colours change throughout the seasons. Every day I feel more full of gratitude for this garden, and all the work that has gone into it. On these October mornings I am especially grateful for this sweet gum tree, and the corona of red and gold with which it lights up each day.
What’s bringing Autumn colour where you are?
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Lovely trees. Miss them in my city garden but my climbing hydrangea (can’t spell it) has gone a lovely lemon yellow and makes things probably the most colourful they’ve been all year. Thanks for your dose of fresh air.
We have gotten a little bit of Autumn color here in Denver, Colorado. I am loving the crisp mornings, and the darkness that closes in like a comforter. I know a lot of people don’t prefer the darker time of year, but I find it cosy and energizing at the same time.
It is spring here in Downunder and what we will soon have will be the jacaranda trees around here in full flower. The colours are glorious. People often think they are just one shade of lavender but they actually vary from light to dark and some have more blue than others. Our autumns tend to be muted because it does not get cold enough here.
Your jacaranda trees sound beautiful!
Beautiful photos. The tree is a Liquidambar styraciflua.
Thank you, Felicity!
We have a gum in the back yard and 2 black gums in the front. Love the fall color. :)
Sweet gum……not a tree I have known, mine are the Sugar Maples from northern NH/VT. BUT these colours defy expectations. What an array, lucky YOU.
We are finally getting some great color in Minneapolis/St. Paul. It was unseasonably warm for the longest time, so this feels pretty late.
No frost yet but tomorrow night the forecast is 33 F so we are skirting perilously close! I always have mixed feelings at this time because there are still flowers and green tomatoes on my plants. I harvested more than 50 habaneros from a single plant… talk about color! A most gorgeous orange. Pic on my Instagram @deeparathnam
Love playing with leaves. Sweetgums in my part of the world also showcase multiple colors on one tree in autumn.
Here in southern Alberta, Canada, the deciduous trees turn every shade of yellow, contrasting beautifully with the dark greens of the fir trees or magnificent en masse. There are some shrubs that turn deep red, surprising me every time I come across one.
Wow, you bought a house from people who really knew how to plan a garden. It looks fantastic.
What beautiful color! Our aspens provide fall color. They are a lovely contract to the deep greens of the spruce and pines of the Colorado mountains.
These are so beautiful! I especially love the colour wheel of leaves.
It’s so lovely to see your early morning spot, with its framing foliage.
I am the Orange Red
Red, yellow, gold in Stockholm. On Blidö the dahlia-bulbs are ondoors. Frost during nights!
waving to you on Blidö !
the sassafras tree. It is a reddish Orange color of spectacular beauty.
Hi Kate, I’ve got the Plant Net app for identifying plants. Not sure if it’s any better than the RHS one but might be worth a look.
Lynn xx
The leaves on my cultivated blackberry are turning from to green to a dark red but not as
beautiful as the colours of your sweet gum tree but I still enjoy them .