It Was All Green, Until It Wasn't

In the summer the tree canopy is green, green everywhere you look. In the fall that all changes. Suddenly you notice reds, yellows, golds, russets, and even purples. Tree identification becomes a little easier when you see what colors they turn in the fall. Some years are more colorful than others. 

This past summer our Fling was in Buffalo. One place we visited was Draves Arboretum. This arboretum is the personal collection of Thomas Draves. Located on thirty acres, Thomas Draves planted over 900 tree and shrub species to test their viability in Upstate New York. It is located in Darien Center, NY. 

The Arboretum is a Level III accredited arboretum. In 2021 it was also recognized as an American Conifer Society Reference Garden under Barbara Evans'  guidance. Of course, since it was summer, all the hardwoods were green. 

There were a few trees in bloom while we were there: a Tilia tomentosa and a Catalpa.

Tilia tomentosa 'Sterling' Sterling Silver Linden

Tilia tomentosa 'Sterling' Sterling Silver Linden

I am not sure of the species of the Catalpa tree, he has four listed species of Catalpa. 

Catalpa sp.

If you have an opportunity to visit an arboretum, go, and go often. Visits to an arboretum over the course of a year will highlight different trees as they change with the seasons. 

We had lunch at Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin home and there was a gorgeous European Copper Beech. This beauty was planted by the Martins. The home was built between 1903 and 1905, so this tree is at least 100 years old. 

Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea

European Copper Beech

Be observant; see the trees in your environment. Do you have red leaves from a Dogwood? Or the shiny red of the Black Gum? While Sweet Gum gets a bad rap because of the spiky balls that drop, its fall colors really span the color wheel- every color from red to gold to purple and anything in between. 

While most of the fall color is done or almost done, you can still enjoy the changing colors while walking through your garden. Here are a couple photos of my fading fall color. 

Side yard with dry creek bed and lots of leaves

Dogwood, Cornus florida's fall color

Have you discovered a tree you hadn't noticed before? What color made it stand out in the fall?

©Copyright 2026 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

How is it Fall Already?

I see my last post was in the Spring. Where did the time go? I did have quite a few posts on my Instagram page, sharing the Buffalo Fling. Be sure to check them out. 

We have lots of fall-blooming weeds/flowers in our area. One that is prevalent in open landscapes resembles dandelion seedheads. It is Burnweed, Erechtites hieraciifolus. I was surprised to read that it is a member of the daisy family. This plant is native to North America and is a pioneer species, meaning it will sprout and grow soon after the disruption of soil. There are trees that are pioneer species, as well as mosses and fungi. These are plants that need full sun and sprout quickly. Burnweed seedheads have numerous seeds. The best control is to remove it by pulling the plant before the seedheads open. 

The leaves are elliptical with toothed margins and have an unpleasant odor when crushed. The stems are grooved. If the plant falls over it will easily root from the stem wherever there is soil contact. It can grow quite tall, 8- 10 feet! 

The flowers are barely visible. When I first observed it, I kept waiting for the flower to open. Apparently it doesn’t really open. It is pollinated primarily by wasps. Once the flower has been pollinated, it will open to white fluffy hairs that will distribute seeds far and wide. 

Burnweed has medicinal uses, both topically and internally. Native Americans used it to treat poison ivy and other plant-induced rashes. It can also be used to induce vomiting. I do not advocate using this for any digestive ailments. 

Burnweed reduces atmospheric nitrogen dioxide pollution. It absorbs the greenhouse gases and changes it into organic form. Natural pollution control. 

Do you suffer from seasonal allergies? Is fall your worst season? Is it Goldenrod or is it Ragweed? Both are fall bloomers. 

Native bees, moths, butterflies, wasps, and honey bees like Goldenrod, a beautiful yellow flower that is blooming now. Unfortunately, it gets a bad rap because it blooms at the same time as Ragweed, a primary cause of allergies. Here are the facts about the two fall bloomers. 

Solidago sp.

Goldenrod, Solidago sp has large pollen. It needs pollinators to move the pollen from one flower to another. This is apparent when you stand nearby and watch all the activity. Large pollen is not airborne; you can’t breathe it in. Goldenrod is native to the United States, and there are dozens of species in the Solidago genus. One that we see in our drain fields and meadows is tall Goldenrod, Solidago altissima, that can grow over 6 feet tall! 

Ragweed blooms

Ragweed plant

The allergy culprit is Ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, a green leafy ‘weed’ that grows in the woodlands, meadows, roadsides, and sometimes- your garden! The flowers are tiny and are pollinated by the wind. See the photo of the small flowers. The pollen needs to be airborne to move from the male flowers to reach the female flowers. The only interaction from wildlife may be by birds, who eat some of the seeds, thereby spreading the seeds to new locations. 

Next time you sneeze and blame a fall blooming flower, its name is Ragweed!

©Copyright 2026 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Spring has Sprung in South Carolina

Last week I returned home from a week-long trip, and my garden has exploded with spring blooms and fresh green foliage on the trees. My trip was to the beach and a visit to Brookgreen Garden, more about that in another post. First let's see my favorite views in my garden.

As you come down my driveway you will see six Spirea x vanhoutei in bloom. Beyond is a mature dogwood, Cornus florida. Closer to the house is a fringe tree, Chionanthus retusus. White flowers in many forms dot the driveway.

The view from the front door might be my favorite. The weeping redbud, Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls' is just starting to leaf out with its burgundy leaves. A little closer to the door is a Loropetalum chinese 'Purple Pixie' (I got it when I went to my first Fling in Asheville!!). Planted around the loropetalum are Bletilla striata 'Big Bob' and Dianthus- maybe Firewitch?.  From left to right beyond the redbud is an unamed Japanese maple, a very large tea olive, Osmanthus fragrans, on the corner of the shed, an unknown Viburnum, a pink dogwood, a burgundy redbud, and another Japanese maple, Acer palmatum 'Butterfly'.

I was happy we got a little bit of rain, love the raindrops on the Dianthus. Their clove fragrance is wonderful!

In the lot where our bee hives are placed are a handful of Paw paws. This is not the Asimina triloba but Asimina parviflora, a small fruited Paw paw. See the tiny flowers?

In the backyard one of the native azaleas is blooming, this one is 'Admiral Semmes'. The deer have not totally eaten this one, thank goodness. 

I think this is the first time this Barrenwort has bloomed. Epimedium x rubrum. The Epimedium x vericolor 'Sulphureum' bloomed earlier in March. There is a third one in the woodland garden, somewhere, but it may not be with us any longer.

The Solomon's Seal is up and blooming. I have some native ones that appear every so often, these are not native. Polygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum 'Variegatum'

The Pieris japonica 'Cavatine' is doing well, at least two of the three. One had a limb fall on it, breaking a third of the shrub apart. The bumble bees love this shrub!

There are three different Serissa foetida in my garden, a double, a single, and a single with variegated leaves.  Here are two of them. It is a nice small shrub, semi-evergreen. The blooms are about the size of my thumbnail. 

Another Epimedium, Epimedium wushanense 'Caramel' is thriving in my side yard. Love those spidery blooms.

The Red Buckeye, Aesculus pavia, is blooming, making the hummingbirds happy as well as the Hummingbird moths. I brought two seedlings with me from Seaford when we moved here. One is doing better than the other, though both are about ten feet tall. 

Finally, Amsonia x 'Seaford Skies' is blooming and it is before I was able to cut back last year's stems, so it will be a little messy this year. Oh well. 

This is just a portion of what was open in my garden when I came home. It has been an explosion of spring. I am enjoying every corner of the garden as more and more plants come alive. How's your garden? Are you under snow or well into spring?

©Copyright 2026 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.