Fall Foliage Finale Festival November 26-27, 2011
Thanksgiving Weekend At Boyce Thompson Arboretum

        Plan a visit during the last two weeks of November to see Arizona's Fall Foliage Finale right here at the Arboretum. Our famous grove of Chinese pistachio trees typically begins to show the first shades of harvest gold, pumpkin orange and burgundy red in mid-November, and peak color is typically around Thanksgiving Weekend and lasting until the first or second week or December.
                Our annual Fall Foliage Finale Festival Thanksgiving weekend November 26 and 27 includes cedar flute music played by Scott Schaefer both days, with performances between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. We also have hot spiced cider and arts and crafts vendors. Professional photographers will teach participants how to shoot Fall color during special workshops -- and during our Thanksgiving weekend festival you can enjoy a stress-releiving massage nearby during the music, therapist Heather Rose will be here with her massage chair, too, with a portion of donations for massages donated to benefit Boyce Thompson Arboretum. To schedule an appointment with Heather email teamrose@tmomail.net or call her at 602.549.2958.

        Want an up-to-date report on the Fall color? Check our Facebook page or else Call our staff at 520-689-2723 during daytime business hours. Over the course of November camera-ready Pistachio trees, Sycamores and Varnish trees can be found in the Demonstration Garden, near the Crider Garden, above Ayer Lake, and also near the suspension bridge over Queen Creek. Want to improve your camera skills and Fall color photography? Mesa artist Andrew Henry will offer a walking tour photo workshop exploring the Zen of Fall Foliage Nov. 26. Henry says "Zen photography is about being centered and present in the moment. It is more about your awareness of what is around you than the camera settings and dials of today's technology. Don't be fooled, I use a Canon camera, but I am guided beyond the viewfinder of my lens to achieve spectacular Autumn color results. You can too! Join me in a guided tour of BTA on Nov.26 , we'll begin at 7:00 AM." Fee to participate is $30 for Arboretum annual members, or $39 for nonmembers. See work by this artist and also student works from Andrew's prior classes at http://www.flickr.com/groups/1570273@N24/

     What trees bring Autumn glory to the Arboretum? Our 40-foot tall Chinese Pistachio trees are usually most vivid across from the Wing Memorial Herb Garden, near the suspension bridge at the east end of the High Trail -- and also along the Main Trail as you walk above Ayer Lake.
The cluster of Pistachio located above Ayer Lake has bright foliage early in the season, and the photogenic single tree in our Demonstration Garden is among the last to have fall color. Color is usually "camera ready" in the pistachio treetops around November 25.       
      
        New arrivals to the Grand Canyon State are pleasantly surprised to learn that yes, vivid and photogenic autumn color can be found here in Arizona. Nowhere is it more conveniently photographed than here at the Arboretum, just one hour east of Phoenix or two hour's drive north of Tucson. A simple point-and-shoot 3.9 megapixel Olympus took some of the closeup photos on this page.

        During September and October Arboretum staff answer frequent phone calls and emails asking a familiar question: "where can I find the best foliage?" Around mid-October the aspens turn golden in the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff, followed by trees lining the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon north of Sedona. The weekend prior to Halloween is typically best for the maples turning red in the central and southern Arizona mountain ranges such as the Pinals near Globe and the Catalinas near Tucson.

        Boyce Thompson Arboretum has "Arizona's Fall Foliage Finale" about a month after the most colorful leaves have fallen in the higher elevation deciduous forests. Peak color at the Arboretum varies each year, but optimal weeks are typically from about Nov. 20 through Dec. 5. Could autumn truly be complete without getting outside to enjoy splendid fall color and the swirl of leaves carried on a November breeze?
  
      Golden backlit leaves of a honey locust are shown at right, colorful clusters of pyracantha berries are below, and red pistachio leaves are featured on this page. Bring plenty of film when you visit... a chair and good book, too: there are many places around our trails and gardens to find a quiet place to sit, read and enjoy the gentle sounds of November.
        Visit at the end of our foliage season and December gusts will send pumpkin-orange, red and yellow leaves swirling alongside the trails as you walk through forested collections on a breezy day. More than two miles of paths meander past Pistachio trees, Pomegranate hedges, Combredum and other species, so the Arboretum offers your family and friends a fine Autumnal outing. Tourists flock to New Hampshire and Vermont to see colors like these -- and if you haven't made the effort to get out and see our own foliage right here in Arizona, these images should provide sufficient motivation.
        Pistachio trees turn orange, golden and red hues. There are more than a dozen pistachio trees around our grounds, mature ones with leafy canopies that sprawl 40 feet above. The right mix of temperature and moisture conditions brings peak color to the grove of trees across from the Wing Memorial Herb Garden, where golden autumnal pomegranate hedges lead towards the pumpkin-orange pistachios. One of our most impressive and colorful pistachios is within five minutes walk from the visitor center, and easily accessible to visitors who use walkers or wheelchairs
        According to Boyce Thompson Arboretum Horticulturist Kim Stone, "trees with yellow leaves run from mid-October to early November, while trees with orange to red leaves are at peak color from mid-November through early December. Combretum is usually best in late December but will remain red for several months since these don't drop their leaves." Stone adds that varieties which show color from yellow to golden or copper tones include Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos ssp. inermis), Pomegranate (Punica granatum), and Soapberry (Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii). Also look for Canyon Hackberry (Celtis reticulata), Arizona Sycamore (Platanus racemosa var. wrightii), Pecan and also fruit trees including Jujube (Ziziphus jujube), Native Ash, Black Walnut, Willow, and Cottonwood. Festive clumps of red pyracantha berries (above at right) ripen each fall near the Herb Garden. These are favored by colorful birds such as Northern Cardinal, Spotted Towhee, Phainopepla... and comical little cliff chipmunks and squirrels.
        Look just west of the Herb Garden collection for the pyracantha bush loaded with fruit. Bring a recent magazine or that Summer reading book you meant to finish... plan to spend a peaceful afternoon reading beneath the pistachio tree right in the heart of our Demonstration Garden, where pergolas, waterfalls and warm late afternoon sunshine create a serene atmosphere.

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