Every year when autumn sneaks up on summer, I’m struck by the explosion of brilliant foliage and tantalizing fruit hanging heavily from the limbs of my trees. Sure, summer offered its abundance of tomatoes and zucchini, its long days and . . . more zucchini. But fall in the Bay Area is what really takes my breath away.
My persimmon tree (Diospyros kaki) is lit up with its plump orange orbs, and the leaves are just beginning to hint of the flaming show they’ll put on later this month. The fig tree (Ficus carica) continues to offer up enough plump, deep purple fruits to keep my dehydrator busy a few nights a week. The potted olive tree (Olea europea) outside my kitchen window is studded with elegant black jewels in dramatic contrast with its silvery green leaves. All of that incredible color and food is from my fruit trees alone!
The fiery fall colors of my many foliage plants grab more than their usual share of attention in autumn, as their leaves enjoy a last, blazing hurrah before dropping to mulch the soil over the winter. These beauties include smokebush (Cotinus coggigria), barberry (Berberis thunbergii), oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), dwarf pomegranate (Punica granatum nana), spiraeas and viburnums.
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Even this late in the year, there are plenty of flowering ornamentals putting on a show. Some of my favorites include the brilliant red-flowering succulent Echeveria ‘Black Prince’ with its handsome deep burgundy leaves, the warm orange hummingbird magnet Agastache ‘Coronado,’ and the tantalizingly fuzzy apricot whorls of the Lion’s tail (Leonotis leonurus) cousin Leonotis menthifolia.
As I ooh and aah over all this autumn wonderfulness, I never worry about how the garden will look once these plants finish their seasonal splash. Winter offers a whole new palette of happy-to-be-chilly species that will keep me smiling right into spring.
