Autumn acer leaves

There isn't a season (winter, of course, excepted) when an acer tree doesn't have a show of beautiful leaves. In previous gardens we have had a few acers; in the present garden just the one. But this solitary specimen has beautiful red leaves in spring, foliage that goes well with a blue sky, and a fine mixture of orange and greens in autumn that even that season's ravages of insects, wind and rain cannot dull.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Acer keys

Acer trees are planted mainly for the beauty of their leaf colour that is an attraction particularly in autumn. For some, however, it is the many variations of their leaf shape that appeals. What doesn't figure in people's choice of acer, as far as I know, is their winged keys, technically known as "samaras". When I looked at them on our acer the other day I was struck by their delicacy and colour, and was motivated to photograph this small cluster.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Four-colour Acer tree

Walking through the Old Market (most of which is quite new) in Hereford we came upon this Acer tree with its remarkable show of colour. The leaves were, from the bottom working upwards, green, yellow, orange and red. Set against the blue sky it made a splendid sight that too few people seemed to notice. When I stopped and pointed my camera at it I saw a couple look at me and then at the tree. I hope it brightened their day like it did mine.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

More autumn acers

Gardeners generally call the Acer genus of trees and shrubs by their Latin name: to the layman they are more often "maples". The distribution of the 132 species extends across Asia, Europe, North Africa and North America. Only one species is found in the southern hemisphere.

 In the UK the most common Acer or maple is a the sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), a tree that foresters often describe as a weed species. However, such is the popularity of the ornamental acers they can be found growing in the wild having escaped the confines of gardens and country estates. The examples in this post were photographed at Westonbirt National Arboretum in Gloucestershire.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Autumn acers

The Acer family of trees are renowned for their colours in spring and autumn. Consequently they have been the subject of breeding programs that have sought to extend and deepen the range of colours that they can produce and also broaden the shape and size of their leaves. The three photographs today were taken at Westonbirt, the National Arboretum near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, that has a fine collection of these trees.

 

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Red acer, blue sky

Can there be a more popular genus of tree than the acer? Flowering cherry I hear you cry, and I must admit they do seem to be equally beloved. I currently live in the well-wooded county of Herefordshire and here it seems that the acer almost competes in numbers with the fruit trees in the plentiful orchards. Breeders have ensured that an acer with almost any tint of red, orange, yellow and green is available and in gardens, parks, roadside verges, even supermarket car parks, they are currently (mid-April) showing their leaves to great advantage. This example is in our garden. We had a similar variety in our previous garden but it succumbed to successive hard winters. I have higher hopes for this tree.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10