Garden Photo of the Day

Autumn in the Pacific Northwest

Flowers and leaves compete to see which is the brightest

By Fine Gardening editors

Today Lila Johnson is sharing some autumn beauty from her garden.

We’ve had a spectacular show of colors in the Pacific Northwest this year. Although we’ve had a fair amount of showery days, the leaves are still beautiful.

Enjoy scenes around my garden in Mill Creek, which is about 20 miles north of Seattle.

We’ve had one light frost, but the hardy fuchsias, of which we have many, are still attracting our two resident Anna’s hummingbirds. We also have a hummingbird feeder that provides daily entertainment right outside our kitchen window. One of our ‘Gardenmeister’ fuchsias, which is not hardy here, is still blooming in a pot, and the hummers hit it regularly too. Ahhh, nature—so much to marvel about.

The garden, seen through the delicate lace of a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum, Zones 5–9) leaf turning fall colors. I love the bright yellow fall color of the hostas in pots as well.

FuschiaFuchsia is often thought of as a genus of annuals, but there are some species that are hardy to Zone 7. Most of them also hate hot summer weather, so they are perfect choices for the Pacific Northwest.

The changing leaves echo the bright colors of the flowers still blooming in the garden.

Japanese maple
Now THAT is some intense fall color on a Japanese maple. Almost any variety of Japanese maple will put on an incredible fall show, but you’ll get the most intense reds when the weather gives you warm, sunny days followed by cool, frosty nights.

Brilliant red leaves look all the brighter for a dark green backdrop.

Fuchsia ‘Gardenmeister’
Fuchsia ‘Gardenmeister’ blooming its little head off, keeping the hummingbirds well fed.

A wide view of Fuchsia ‘Gardenmeister’ blooming in its pot, backed by a fiery Japanese maple.

 

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Comments

  1. User avater
    treasuresmom 11/05/2019

    Nothing like the beauty of fall colors.

    1. johnsonofmillcreek 11/05/2019

      Thank you, we've had a really beautiful autumn here in the Pacific NW. Enjoy!

  2. User avater
    meander_michaele 11/05/2019

    Yowza on the display of fall colors. Your photos are great and I love the impression of sneaks and peeks through the foliage...as if I was really there enjoying the views in person.

    1. johnsonofmillcreek 11/05/2019

      Thank you so much. I love taking photos of our garden year round. And obviously, we enjoy gardening, although find ourselves wishing we were younger so we can implement some of the changes we, well more accurately "I" dream about. My husband is happy with the way it is.

  3. User avater
    simplesue 11/05/2019

    I really enjoyed your garden photos and the story about the Anna's Hummingbirds! Because of your story I googled and found this very informative article to share with you, but you probably already know all this, it's all new to me https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/species-profiles/annas-hummingbird-our-winter-hummingbird/#
    The colors are just amazing, so many reds and just glowing in contrast against the greens.
    I love Hardy Fuchsia's I'm sure they all thrive in the Pacific Northwest...in zone 6b they come back from the roots.
    You've really created a beautiful garden composition with all the colors and textures, thanks for sharing!

    1. johnsonofmillcreek 11/05/2019

      Thank you for the link, I'll check it out. We're in Zone 8 and the hardy fuchsias come back from the roots here too. They are up and leaving out in late-May/early-June and don't actually bloom until July. (That's the only "downside" for me) But they bloom until the first hard frost here. We had such a frost last week, so they all look a little sad and droopy now. Thanks for the compliments on our garden and for the link too.

      1. johnsonofmillcreek 11/05/2019

        …..oppps, should be "leafing out"

  4. btucker9675 11/05/2019

    Beautiful!! Love those fushias - so delicate.

    1. johnsonofmillcreek 11/05/2019

      Thank you. Me too. And to think I didn't learn about them until about 10 years ago when I joined the local Garden Club. And most can take a fair amount of sunshine here in the NW, unlike the annual variety of fuchsia. We always have both kinds!

  5. nobita88 11/06/2019

    Autumn in the Pacific Northwest is so beautiful and so romantic, I really want to go there. driving directions

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