The cries from everyone I know: "too cold, too suddenly."
It is true. The only indication that the calendar date is not November-some-late-date is that there is still an abundance of leaves on our deciduous trees. And watching them, as their colors slowly unfold bit by bit, before the outrageous autumnal cacophony of late October, is a visual delight in these early, too-cold days of October.
Right after navigating west through the intersection of West McGraw and Sixth Avenue West, your eye is caught by a stunning display of brilliant yellow at the end of the block, made even more brilliant by the dark band of an evergreen hedge behind the trees. These are Katsura trees in their full autumn color. It is enough to make you stop and park the car. Upon closer inspection, the autumn colors are a blend of soft yellow, pale green, a bit of pale - all translucent - and then there is a slight scent of burnt cinnamon. This is all pretty magical!
Once having identified a Katsura tree, you will find many plantings around the hill. All of them are providing this very early shot of color. You will also begin to see which exposure brings up the most color. Those planted with an eastern exposure generally do not put on quite as much color as those with a western exposure. But just as soon as you have made all these observations, along comes the exception. And it is a grand exception. At the southwest corner of West Galer and Seventh Avenue West there is a very old and stately stand of Katsura trees in front of a Ralph Anderson-designed home. There are two trees within the front courtyard walls, and three outside the walls. This grove is now 30 to 40 feet tall and will stop you in your tracks with its beauty, and perhaps even make your heart beat a little faster.
The house next door, to the north, has two magnificent Japanese maple trees by the sidewalk. These trees are beautifully cared for, with an open pruning design that successfully falls short of an articulated Japanese temple garden maple tree treatment. The maple trees will come into their full color after the Katsura grove to the south has finished its magnificent display. This is beginning to show a pleasing rhythm of neighborliness.
Along Bigelow Avenue between Lee and Comstock and again at Nob Hill and McGraw, there are wonderful collections of small maple trees in full color that very successfully play off against the dark color of the houses. There is, as a friend of mine said on one of our walks, a "beam o' light" at the complex intersection of McGraw and Smith. And once again, along the boulevard the chestnuts are being harvested before they are simply run over by too much traffic. The color and the harvesting really help us to "see" our urban "forests."
Finally, I want to mention the vine maples in all their glory at Eighth Avenue West and West Bothwell Street. The vine maple is a native plant that is entirely underutilized in our street tree plantings and our parks and our private gardens. This extraordinary stand on Bothwell shows the potential that this plant possesses. Yes, it is an art of pruning, but surely the city staff that is in charge of nurturing our urban forest can be trained?
Madeleine Wilde[[In-content Ad]]
