Bright Color

There's some real color in the bush clematis by the garage door this year. A bright golden yellow.

We're still only flirting with freezing temperatures at night. Every once in a while it gets down to 28 - 30 degrees at dawn. A freeze, but a light one and not for too long. I've unhooked the hoses but haven't brought them in.

Then for several mornings the low temperature is back up to high 30s and into the 40s. Afternoons are really pleasant.

But the vine on the back fence browned up long ago, and now the crabapple and the redbud are bare. The aspens and the cottonwood leaves are more than 3/4 down too. 

The Japanese maple and the plumbagos are deep scarlet red, mostly smothered by fallen cottonwood leaves, but still visible. The Texas betony and veronicas under the maple, and the columbines behind those, stay green.

The Wood's rose on the right, just planted this year, is still a tall skinny shape. It's turning golden, and that's a nice complement to the reds nearby. Rosa woodsii is a native wild rose, well adapted to high altitude and shade, and it is supposed to get to 7 feet tall and form great big thickets. "Careful placement in the landscape is recommended." Yikes. It's right in front of the window.

And here's some dramatic color captured the other night at dinner time.

Autumn is well underway.