Japanese Maples Set Yard Ablaze

'viridis' cut-leaf japanese maple

We had our first snowflakes for the year today. Sadly, the weather that brought those fluffy flakes also brought strong winds that cleared most of the leaves from the trees in our yard.  It was a real pity because my two japanese maples had just turned color a few days ago, after our first frost.

Most of the fall color in my yard is yellow, with a smattering of red but almost no orange.  Luckily I've got  'Viridis', a cut-leaf japanese maple that turns from yellowy-green to bright orange in the fall-hot, hot, hot!     Not to be outdone, another cut-leaf maple, 'takeyuma' turns from a greenish-red to a red so bright it reminded me of the male cardinal that often comes to my cedar to eat berries.

I feel fortunate to have seen the show, even if only for a few days, because right before the maples changed color, deer came through my yard on a mission of destruction.  They ate my oak leaf hydrangea almost to the ground, reshaped my arborvitae (which they've never touched before) and, worst of all, they ripped apart the weeping mulberry that was my splurge purchase for the year.   These plants weren't on their trail and in a part of the yard that isn't easy to get to, so I was shocked at the damage.  It's a miracle that they didn't go after the maples too, which I had also purposely planted on hilly areas near the house to minimize their accessibility.  Needless to say, I was spraying Liquid Fence like a fiend the next morning.

'takeyuma' doesn't keep it's red color
in the summer shade but I like it anyway

When I was gardening in central Wisconsin, I pined for the chance to grow Japanese maples.  I've heard that they only last a few years before succumbing to the cold but now that I can grow them, I can't imagine not having a couple around.





There's a garden in Rockford, Illinois that is a must-see in October if you like Japanese maples.  Anderson Japanese Garden is a highly-rated Japanese garden that is lovely in the fall.  Once those maples change color,  Wowza!  It's like an electric shock seeing them beauties!

Cut-leaf maple leaves are so feathery!