Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)

Oriental or Asiatic bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus, is an invasive species in our area. There’s a fair amount of it about, climbing up into trees. This vine is growing into a small tree on the other side of the woods from my office. It gets full afternoon sun and it’s quite happy there. Of course, multiflora roses (Rosa multiflora), Japanese and Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica and L. maackii), porcelain-berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata), mile-a-minute vine (Persicaria perfoliata), and tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) to name only a few, are also in profusion through the area, so a little bittersweet is the least of our problems. It’s also quite pretty.

Dipsacus (Teasel)

Because it gets dark about the time I leave work, if I’m going to take pictures outdoors I have to go out during the day. It’s actually a good thing, because it breaks up my day and gets me out of my chair. It isn’t exactly vigorous exercise but at least I’m moving about. Today I went out shortly after noon and went along the edge of the woods. I took some pictures of bright red oak leaves and then saw these teasels (Dipsacus Sp.) growing on the bank sloping down from the road. I especially like the curly bits, which I think add a bit of whimsy to the spiny bracts.

According to Wikipedia, the species Dipsacus includes about 15 species native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa. They are considered an invasive species here, although I think in the scheme of invasive species, they are not as noxious as some others I can think of. This is most likely Dipsacus fullonum, the common of fullers teasel.

Zelkova Lane

No, this isn’t really called Zelkova Lane, but at least for this stretch of Norbeck, I think it could be. Zelkova serrata, the Japanese zelkova, is a really nice tree and should be grown more. As you can see, they turn a beautiful rust color in the fall. I’m not sure it’s the perfect tree for roadway medians like this, but then, few trees do well past a certain size when their root zones are so limited. These are just getting to that size where their roots cannot support any more upstairs and they are starting to die. Those on the side of the road are doing a lot better, though, and should have quite a few more years in them.

Fleurette Mums

Fleurette mums are a group of Chrysanthemum hybrids made between a domestic and a wild, Asiatic Chrysanthemum. They tend to be a more compact and are (like most mums) quite easy to care for and have flowers that last a good, long while. These are technically my mum-in-law’s mum, but that wouldn’t have been as good in the title. These are in a small pot on her kitchen table and are quite cheerful.

Japanese Maple

At the other end of our neighborhood is a yard with a few absolutely beautiful Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) and every fall I look forward to seeing them. This is often the more ‘plain’ of the two most prominent trees but at this point in the fall, it’s the more spectacular of the two. The other is not a pure a red but is more mixed with reds and oranges throughout. As I drove past this afternoon, I stopped, grabbed my camera, and took a few pictures from my car. It’s possibly not as good a picture as I could have gotten, but it does show the bright color of the tree. I’m really enjoying the autumn and it’s going to be done all too soon.

Walnut Shells

The walnuts are falling in great numbers from the many black walnut trees (Juglans nigra) around my office building. I suppose it would be strange if they were falling from anywhere else. The ground under them is covered quite densely, in some places the ground is almost entirely covered with walnuts varying in color from bright chartreuse in the newly fallen fruit to almost black in those that have been on the ground a little while. There are a couple picnic tables along the edge of the woods and the squirrels seem to enjoy using those for their walnut meals. I did move these closer together but they were on the table, along with a bunch of smaller pieces.

Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides)

I was in a different neighborhood this evening and went into an shopping center I don’t usually visit. On the way in a saw these little flowers and when I was done shopping I took the time to get some pictures. The bright red leaves with beautiful, blue flowers were quite striking. Cathy recognized it as plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides), which is a perennial hardy to USDA zone 6. I know I’ve seen it before but don’t remember seeing the fall color, which is reason enough to get some a sunny spot in the garden.

Hickory Color

As I was driving home, I stopped at a traffic light (like you do) and looked to my left. This is what I saw. I thought, that’s pretty nice, with the late afternoon sun shining on it. So, I picked up my camera (which I try to keep within reach most of the time) and took five pictures before the light turned green. From this distance, I’m not 100% sure what kind of tree is was, but at a guess, I’m going to say it’s a mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa. The dark red leaves in the lower right are on a Bradford-like pear (Pyrus calleryana).