From my perch in the treehouse (sunroom), I see the garden slowly fading as nighttime temperatures regularly fall into the thirties (Fahrenheit). The large leafed, blue-green hostas nestled beside the pond just below the window have turned to yellow while others retain their color, at least for a few days.

Leaves of the Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia tomentosa), that climbs high into the tree lilac (Syringa reticulata ‘Ivory Silk’) just beyond the hostas vary in coloration, but soon all will turn to yellow before falling. The late spring flowers of the Dutchman’s Pipe are small enough that they are barely seen from the window. The lush foliage serves to cloth the bare lower branches of the lilac, and the thick, climbing stems facilitate squirrels’ ventures through the tree canopy.

Leaves of nandinas have turned to red, matching the large clusters of berries. The deeply incised leaves of the ‘Atrolineare’ Japanese maple (above) turn darker red by the hour. The red leafed maple is marginally red through much of the season in the shade of the upper rear garden, so this is its most brilliant color while nearby ‘Trompenburg’ and ‘Burgundy Lace’ (below) are slower to change.

The leaves of the variegated ‘Butterfly’ maple turn only to yellow before dropping, but just beyond, the Lion’s Head maple (Acer palmatum ‘Shishigashira’) is deepening in color but a few weeks  from its peak. The ‘Moonrise’ maple planted a year ago has grown splendidly, but it lacks its typical autumn color.

The star of the moment in this upper rear garden is the columnar camellia ‘Autumn Rocket’ (below). I haven’t had great luck with autumn flowering sasanqua camellias, while hybrids flower dependably, but ‘Autumn Rocket’ is blooming with more buds still to open. It’s grown splendidly this year, and while it’s likely I’ll have to do a bit of pruning once it adds a few more feet, the camellia is a perfect fit.