Mellow & not-so yellows
Is this the week of peak fall color (such as it is) in Austin? I think so. All over town crepe myrtles are turning a burnished orange, cedar elms shine pale yellow, and flame-leaf sumacs are, well, flaming red. The tint of my sunglasses adds richness to the colors, so of course I wear them at all times.
Pictured here, the little bit of fall color in my own garden thanks to Mexican buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa), a pretty, native understory tree.
It grows in the shade of live oaks with sparkler sedge, aspidistra, and a potted Texas nolina.
The big leaves of ‘Pam’s Pink’ Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus drummondii) are yellowing up too, even as a few pink blooms hang on.
More gold than yellow, the perky flowers of Mexican mint marigold (Tagetes lucida) brighten up the fall garden.
Paler in hue, forsythia sage (Salvia madrensis) tests the autumn waters with a few tentative, leaning flower spikes. Yes, the water’s fine. Come on in!
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Very nice, esp the Mx Buckeye turning w/ all the other plants. Thanks for sharing!
I just got some Mexican marigolds for my garden. I love their smell
I love the composition of the second photo and I’m glad to hear there is fall color in Texas!
Hello Pam,
I like your Mexican Buckeye. I think people need suggestions for understory trees and this is a great one to try 🙂
It is a beautiful time of year! Wish these pretty colors would hang on a bit longer.
A wonderful time of yr. Nature lets us have a peek at all her glory after we have toiled all yr to try to make her more beautiful.
I’m still loving that sparkler sedge! It is so pretty against the green of the gazing ball.
This afternoon felt like our first real winter day in quite a while, didn’t it? Brrr…
Even tho we had a much gentler and longer fall than usual this year, I’d still love to experience yours in person Pam. That Salvia is gorgeous. I’ve never seen it before.