Arboretum Fall Foliage peaks November-December

        Bring your camera over the next two weeks -- colorful Autumn leaves have began to show around the trails. One stately Honey locust tree near the palm grove was at golden peak color November 5, and our famous Chinese pistachio trees began to show their first November shades of harvest gold, pumpkin orange and burgundy red around mid-November. Boyce Thompson Arboretum has Arizona's "Fall Foliage Finale" each November-December, and over the course of the month 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 skills with Fall Foliage photography? We'll have walking tour photo workshops both days of Thanksgiving weekend with Bob Estrin and also Paul Kinslow, who is show below at left. Keep reading for more detail.

     What trees bring Autumn color 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 20.
        
        Thanksgiving week is an ideal time to bring relatives, friends and out-of-town guests for a walk along the trails. On that Saturday and Sunday we host the annual "Fall Foliage Finals Festival' and visitors enjoy live music; again in 2009 our event featured Prescott resident and Native American Cedar Flute recording artist Joseph Leal, who will play on Sunday the 29th. Arizona singer-songwriters will serenade our audience on Saturday the 28th.

The Prescott musician will play Sunday sets between 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Leal, of Pascua Yaqui and Aztec ancestry, is a registered nurse at Yavapai Regional Medical Center. He cares for patients in the Intensive Care Unit, and has been asked over the years to administer a different kind of therapy -- his soothing, spiritual flute music played bedside for patients, both recovering and terminal. Leal's concert is included with regular daily admission of $7.50 -- CDs will be available at a discounted price -- $10 each or three for $25. We also have Fall Color Photo Walks each day, guided by Bob Estrin Nov. 28 and by Paul Kinslow Nov. 29. Read more about these and get enrollment details on the Arboretum Photo Class page.

        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 October our staff answer frequent phone calls and emails with the often-repeated 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 (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 left, colorful clusters of pyracantha berries at right, and red pistachio leaves below. 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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