My Knockout roses are still going strong. All of them are still blooming extensively. The foliage of my Japanese maples is at its peak right now. My Paperbark maple is just beginning to change. The Bradford pears that line my street are also just beginning to change. My October Glory red maple is at its peak. My birch trees are slightly past peak but not by much. I have several perennials still blooming. My blueberry bushes haven't started changing yet but they should soon. My Rheingold arborvitae is changing from yellow to its rusty gold winter color. My Heatherbun False Cypress is changing from blue-green to its purple winter color. My Hakuro-nishiki variegated willow (tree form) still looks great. It hasn't lost any foliage yet. The woods behind my house are full of red, white, and scarlet oaks that are just changing color. Their leaves are either a blood red color or an orange-brown.

My kousa dogwood always keeps its bright red leaves later than other trees, but not as late as my Fothergilla 'Mt. Airy' (bright orange and gold) which even now has some leaves, my spirea (I can probably look up the variety if anyone is curious) which hasn't dropped any leaves yet and is a muted red, gold and orange, or my high bush blueberries, which are just dropping the last of their bright red leaves now. My other late favorite is a late double mum which is still blooming fully, usually right until snow. It's a lovely mix of pink to gold that from more than a few feet reads as a light copper color. Its only drawback is that it spreads, so I really should dig it up and replant in a restraining container.

Then I also have evergreens and red twigged dogwoods that have nice color, a pagoda dogwood that has a beautiful silhouette, and a striped maple that will develop orange and gold color to its twigs as the weather gets colder to complement the green and white striped trunk bark.

Here is an odd entry to the list, and not one that people will necessarily hasten to add to their lists. Ten years ago when I moved into my house, I planted out a packet of white alyssum seeds that I had for several years, a somewhat longer variety than short variety sold everywhere in the spring. I was not sure the seed was viable, but not only did I get many plants, but I unwittingly left myself an enduring legacy. This prolifically self-seeding annual returns faithfully, and blooms its head off all summer and into winter in the parts of the yard where my energy for removal has flagged. If the alyssum were a very modest seeder, I would treasure its offspring. I have nothing against its appearance. I plant purple alyssum at the base of a wall in a small pocket of earth between the wall and my driveway. It is still blooming, but alas the purple will not self-seed.

I have a Cornus Rutgers that is still full of leaves that are turning orange. Two viburnum carelesii that are full of leaves that are as different as night and day in two different locations. One is a dark burgundy color and the other is a bright yellow with bright red tips on the the top of the shrub. Two Azalea 'Girard's Purple' with multicolor foliage. One Clethra 'Sherry Sue' that is half yellow and still have green and no leaves dropped yet. One Oakleaf Hydrangea that is holding onto about half of it's leathery dark burgundy leaves. Just about everything else has just lost it's leaves since the rain we had. The Japanese Maple 'Bloodgood' was full of bright red leaves one day and the next day they were covering the ground. Still pretty out there.

As much as I'm sorry to see the show over, I also enjoy the increase of light in the garden after the leaves drop. Very pleasant part sunny day out there today.

Itea virginica leaves are a nice burgundy and green mixture, and the cotoneasters are mostly red-leafed with some berries remaining. My old berberis also has nice red leaves (yes, I know it's prohibited in MA, but this one is grandfathered in).

Normally the star of my garden would be my very big old winterberry, covered with red berries, but this year it's a dud. I don't know what happened - maybe the nasty heat and drought in early summer inhibited fruit set, or killed off the insect pollinators. I hope it's not a matter of the unknown male pollinator biting the dust. I have no idea where the male is. I took a look at the wild winterberries around the pond a half mile away and they have berries.

I really miss that wall of red berries when I look out the kitchen window. So will the robins.

Claire

I just posted some photos of my winterberry on the bush by the side of the road thread.

Something looking good today is my Pieris Little Heath (actually three of them). They're not known for flowering well, but no one told them. Last year they were the only pierises that flowered at all, and this year they're covered with pink buds contrasting with the variegated leaves. This one was moved last year but is still happy.

Not a blockbuster, but very welcome right now.

Claire