2018 NH Autumn/SH Spring Photo Thread

St Helens looking good.

Fall colors got an early start this year in Saskatchewan, I suspect because of the combination of the extreme dryness we've had all summer (a few trees were already starting to change color a month ago due to stress from lack of moisture) and the cooler temperatures that moved in a few weeks early. Either way, these colors are a couple weeks ahead of where they'd normally be (these pics were taken a few days ago, the change is progressing pretty steadily).

Went to the arboretum by the rapids yesterday.







Farmland nearby. Potato to the left. Idk what the right side is.


I don't really understand how this Ginkgo has survived since at least 2014 (I think) here. On Swedish gardening forums people seem to be apprehensive about growing them anywhere colder than Stockholm. Says on the sign they're going to be the host of one of 6 Ginkgo trees that survived the Hiroshima explosion. Feels risky. Imagine if we kill it.


Apparently this is a red-listed section of forest for being very "natural" and having lots of red listed species. All it really means is there are a lot of dead trees there.


Seems to me there are fallen trees everywhere in the area, even in the Arboretum parts. This small "gorge" seems to be some kind of expansion project; no trails there yet but a few hornbeams, hazels, sweet cherries and beeches planted from seeds and saplings.


One of the paths in the main area was a bit obstructed.


Kinda sketchy trails.


Sad to see "giants" like these go down, but it's all just a natural cycle of ecology. Imagine a tree next to you starting to fall though...


These guys like it when trees die.


Hardy Kiwi seems to love the climate here. They grow really quickly, and even though they were planted relatively recently I think, they've all climbed higher than like 3-4m with a sizable spread.


I don't know if the kiwis were ripe yet. Tasted a bit like unripe apples, although slightly sweeter after sitting in a fruit bowl for a day (I picked a few to bring home. Not really sure if you're allowed to do that but there were hundreds of kiwis so it didn't really seem that big of a deal).


They've got one single grape vine. Seems a little pointless to me. They're not self-pollinating so if you only have one you cannot have any grapes...


It's difficult to know what's planted and what's self-spread. They've gps-tagged like 2500 different trees on an interactive map, and this one and many others of the same species (and other exotic species) weren't there. Don't know what it is. Maybe some kind of ash? Doesn't look like normal ash though.


Apparently this is their "crown jewel". An American Chestnut tree seeking haven in Sweden where there's no chestnut blight.


I didn't expect their red oaks to actually have acorns. Never seen red oaks with acorns before; maybe because there are none that are big enough in the city? I wonder if they can germinate.



Surprisingly tall manchurian pear tree without any pears.


Manchurian pear tree with what looks more like apples than pears. Taste pretty shit.


Stupid sun gets really low in the sky really early now (not that it's ever very high in the sky to begin with).


Basically early October in most Cfb/Cfa/Dfa climates.


Sets early too. This was like 20.30 or something.


As soon as the sun went down, the fairies started dancing on the river, as we say in Sweden when there's ground fog.


Overall I think it's a lovely place. Beautiful scenery, and apart from the arboretum there's also the rapids with interesting rock formations, as well as a science center across the river. It's also fun if you're very nerdy about exotic plants. However, their different sections are named Sibiria, NE America, NW America, Asia etc. but 95% of all the trees are still normal Swedish spruce, bird cherry, and goat willow, so it kinda ruins the immersion a little bit...

I had to pop into Valletta yesterday morning so took a few photos...

The Triton fountain at the entrance to Valletta



I had to go right to the end of Valletta (it isn't very big) so I had a stroll around the Lower Barrakka Gardens. Perhaps the most well known feature in this garden, that overlooks the Grand Harbour, is the monument to Alexander Ball who was a British naval officer sent to Malta in 1798 to help the Maltese in their blockade against the French. He later became the first Civil Commissioner of Malta & after his death in 1809 the monument was built as a memorial to him in 1810.









There are a few other monuments/plaques around the gardens & this statue "ENEA" by the Italian painter & sculptor Ugo Attardi


Not in the garden itself but seen from the edge of the gardens is the Siege Bell Monument to commemorate all those lost during WW2. Unveiled by the Queen in 1992 it is located at the furthest point of Valletta within the Grand Harbour on Castille Bastion. Every day at noon the huge bell rings & it can be heard right across the harbour



The garden has lots of interesting plants & trees too, including this one with orchid like flowers that hang down. It is an African Sausage Tree, quite appropriate to be growing on African rock jajajajaja


And finally some shots looking out across the harbour, starting at the breakwater

I went to Padise today in the west. Under the low and feeble sun, temperature reached a high of 26°C. Fortunately the insanity will end next week.

Only a few confused trees are starting to turn colors this early. The crops seem to be turning brown earlier than normal, maybe because summer was warm and wet?

Corn on July 7th: fully green, also almost the full height too.


September 7th: Turning brown the past few days.

This section is all brown, except for the first row that didn't grow much.

Nice shot. They look much better with snow. Adams has a really nice conical shape, which St. Helen's used to have before its infamous eruption.

Why does that hornbeam have pink seeds?

Morningrise

I'm guessing the foliage has changed quite a bit in the last week?

It looks ahead of schedule for here too but still quite a bit of green around still of course.