Last leaves

The cold temperatures (down into the mid-20° F range) have triggered, finally, abscission layers in the last leaves. 

The sugar maple leaves were finally falling in the ravine behind our house.

Coming home after Thanksgiving away, a walk around the neighborhood found the venerable ginkgo on Cumberland shedding leaves as we walked by -- not in the all-at-once mode that's normal, but falling in a way that would have made a perfect video, if I'd had my phone in my pocket.

There was a golden carpet, mixed with green, below this huge old tree.  Beautiful.

Some of the red Japanese maples seem to be the last hold-out.  They're beautifully crimson, but haven't yet dropped their leaves, perhaps being from a colder climate in Asia, genetically-speaking.

Of course, all of the frost-intolerant plants have been zapped, but the greens in my vegetable beds are looking good.  And I'm hoping that the predicted soaking rains will come!

Comments

  1. Japanese maples tend to hold their leaves longer, too. We still have a few leaves on the trees, but mostly they're on the ground waiting for me to shred them. Happy Thanksgiving, Lisa.

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