Autumn Colour Watch Blog: between two seasons
Autumn is a spectacular time of year at Westonbirt. This photo-packed blog will take you through the weekly highlights of what’s looking good and where.
Photographs featured here have been taken in the few days prior to publication. Visit the Forestry Commission website for more information about what’s happening at Westonbirt during autumn
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This week will be the final Autumn Colour Watch Blog for 2011. That is not to say that there is not any autumn colour to see - the oaks are still clinging to most of their leaves as I write, as are many of the Persian ironwoods and Euonymus. But autumn is certainly past its height now and thoughts here are turning to winter and our Enchanted Christmas event.
In the Old Arboretum, there are some interesting plants still hanging onto their leaves. Pictured above are Acer pectinatum ssp. maximowiczii, (which doesn't conform to our idea of the palmate leaves of most maples), Enkianthus perulatus, and a Japanese maple which has still got green tips on the leaves.
Over in Silk Wood, Maple Loop looks surprisingly unchanged at first glance - there are perhaps a few more bare branches, but as you can see, there are some lovely yellow, orange and red leaves still glowing in generous abundance. We will have to see how this situation progresses, as so far we have avoided the frosts that will probably bring this display to an end.
Bare branches, however, do not mean an end to bright colours in the arboretum. The interim period between autumn and winter offers some interesting contrasts - a tree in full leaf acting as a backdrop to another that has completely dropped its leaves - and gives the spotlight to plants that might be less noticed during the rest of the year, such as the glossy red stemmed willows that you'll see in the car parks. These continue to provide welcome colour during the winter months, as do the dogwoods, which currently contrast with bright yellow maples, but are equally striking against an dark yew background.
And then of course, there are all of the wonderful and varied barks (I've been led to believe that the pursuit of barks is called 'barking', but I'm not entirely sure this is an official term…). The range of colours is amazing - amongst the Acers alone there is wonderful variety, from papery rust red to smooth stripy green. Birches again have vast variety, both in colour and texture. I was pleased to rediscover the bark of Stewartia monadelpha. This genus of plants became a favourite of mine through the spring and summer months, with its photogenic buds and flowers, and now, in bare branch I still say it is difficult to take a bad picture of it. Wonderful!
So, the Autumn Colour Watch Blog may be over for another year, but that certainly won't stop me continuing to explore Westonbirt between now and the spring - I hope you feel the same! My colleagues and I will continue to add our images to the Facebook page, so keep an eye on that.
Useful links:
Directions to Westonbirt Arboretum (our postcode is GL8 8QS)
Buy tickets to the Enchanted Christmas
Find out about Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum membership. It is great value!
