The Glow of Fall

Fall--in terms of colorful foliage--comes relatively late to north Georgia.  The peak color usually comes around the time of October 31-November 7 or so, with good viewing another week on either side of that interval.  Weather plays a role; if it's relatively dry and not windy, with good weather in late summer to set up a nice leaf-turning season, color can persist for as much as five weeks (in varying stages).

I don't know that I've ever adequately captured the almost luminous quality some fall foliage has--the right lighting can make it almost glow.  That seems lost in pictures.  The sassafras seedling at the top of the page is nice but not quite there.

Adverse weather can trash the fall leaf-viewing season; once leaves get to a certain point wind or rain will knock them down.  About three years ago, north Georgia got a dusting of snow in early November; it might be common up north but is a rarity here.  The snow came in on a strong cold front that had high winds, as well, bringing down the curtain on leaves for the year.

The specimen hickory is small and in my back yard.  It's showing pretty good fall color most years now.  For yellow color, hickory is my favorite.  Some maples turn yellow, too--sugar maples can be yellow, or orange (or a mix); Norway maples (which do not grow commonly or well here) are also predominantly yellow.

For reds, red oaks are the most striking to me, although sourwoods (shown above with the gold tassles) and black gums also turn a nice color.  Sweet gums can be anywhere from yellow to dark purple.  I have a purple seedling I'm going to transplant soon.

So what's the point of all this?  Not much.  It's just a nice time of the year.  It's beautiful, ephemeral, and sometimes fails to reach its potential--not unlike us.