Autumn color around the Denver metro area

Posted on December 2, 2023 by John Kevin Hickey

Every year I try to document the fall colors around the Denver metro area. That is if I remember to do it. Or if I’m in town. Or if I feel like it. Ok, so I try to document the fall colors around the Denver metro area when the mood strikes me.

As an example, last year MrsVintage and I were visiting the Vintage grandchildren and got back just in time to watch a windstorm blow away all the colorful foliage before I could get any photos taken.

I did manage to make a post about it two years ago, as you can see here: Autumn splendor in Colorado’s Front Range part deux (mrvintageman.com)

Anyhoo, I figure if Mother Nature is going to put on such gorgeous display to close out the growing season, I feel that it behooves us to enjoy the spectacle if at all possible

Difference between mountains and plains

Those who don’t live in Colorado are probably not aware that there a BIG difference of when peak foliage arrives around the state. In the northern mountains, the aspen start reaching their peak in mid-to-late September. The southern mountains reach their peak about two to three weeks later. The Western Slope usually doesn’t reach its peak in late October.

Here along the Front Range, we typical see the foliage crescendo arrive sometime around mid-October. This year was a little bit different. It was a warmer than usual autumn, so the color changes were spread out over a longer period of time. I saw cottonwoods around town already changing in late September, while the two honey-locusts in my yard didn’t start turning until the last week of October.

I should point out that trees and shrubs don’t base their color changes on temperature, but on the length of daylight. However, temperatures can cause variations to the duration and intensity of the color display. So, some trees decided that they didn’t care at all what the thermometer said and declared “peace, I’m out!” the first chance they could. While others, like my honey-locusts, apparently felt that as long as the weather was still warm they might just as well keep on photosynthesizing.

Dramatic end to the show

While the display may have lasted an unusually long time, its ending was decidedly rather abrupt. At the Vintage ranch, the weather on October 23rd was sunny with a high of 81 degrees. The weather gradually cooled off during the week, then went straight into winter over the weekend. The low on the morning of October 30th was 11 degrees, with six inches of snow on the ground. That lowered the boom on the fall foliage finale once and for all.

But it was quite a show while it lasted.

Why leaves change colors, as explained by Paul James – The Gardener Guy

Way back in the late 90’s and early 2000s, HGTV (Home and Garden Televison) used to have actual gardening shows in their lineup. I no longer watch that channel, but it is my understanding that all they do anymore is home makeover shows. So the “G” in HGTV is misnomer, much like the “M” that once stood for “music” in Mtv.

With that out of the way, let’s return to the wayback machine. Paul James, The Gardener Guy, was the host of a show on HGTV called Gardening by the Yard. What a great show! Paul injected humor along with instructions into the show and was not afraid to show the mistakes he made or the flaws in his garden. I used to record the shows on VHS (later on TiVo), and we would watch them as a family.

Anyway, here he explains the science behind fall color: Color Changes Video | HGTV

If you’re interested, here he tells you how to put your veggie bed to sleep for the winter Veggie Garden Video | HGTV

As well as how to prep your flower borders: Flower Bed Prep Video | HGTV

Enjoy.

And now, on with the show!

Around town

I just want to point out, just in case it’s not abundantly clear, that I am not a photographer. I don’t know how to compose a scene or frame a shot. I’m just an old fart armed with a phone camera.

With that out of the way, I’ll start with some pics I took from around town.

A cottonwood, in the Denver subdivision of Green Valley Ranch, kicked off the show in very late September.
Also in Green Valley Ranch, ornamental grasses getting in on the display. I think, though not 100% certain, that the grasses in the front are Miscanthus Purpurascens, also known as ‘flame grass’. You can see how it gets its name.
Moody autumn display near sundown.
This Ash tree is in my neighborhood, and its fall foliage is like this every year, half yellow, half purple. I have no idea why it does this, but it’s pretty cool don’t you think?
Here we see an all-yellow Ash tree.
Suburban serenity
No words.
Believe it or not, I found this vignette in the street behind a Safeway grocery store. The grasses are a different type of Miscanthus, but I don’t know which one.

Aurora Xeriscape Demonstration Garden

I visited the Aurora Xeriscape Demonstration garden in mid-October. As you can see, low-water landscapes can have awesome fall color.

‘Pawnee Buttes’ Sand Cherry provides a nice red color in fall. Behind it is the fiery colors of a Sumac. Gotta be careful with Sumacs; great shrubs, but prone to aggressive suckering.
Reddish-tan autumn colors of the prairie native Big Bluestem grass.
Evergreen conifers provide a nice backdrop for their more colorful cousins.
Not a whole lot of color in the dryland garden, but there is plenty of interest. I included this photo to show that desert environments can be beautiful in autumn, even if it is in a more subtle way.

In the Vintage Garden

Autumn joy sedum, ‘Heavy Metal’ switchgrass, and Russian sage are an autumn trio in the Vintage garden.
A collection of tough, drought tolerant grasses alongside the driveway. On the left and in the back is a clump of ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grass. In front of them a blue oat grass mingles with the seedheads from coneflowers. On the far right is a variegated miscanthus. And the flashy grass in front is a switch grass, whose name is long forgotten.
In the renovated front yard we see autumnal colors of the switchgrass called ‘Northwind’. We also see Bailey is still on patrol for those stupid bunnies.
The native Bigtooth maple provides glorious fall color next to the patio in the backyard.
Finally, I snapped this photo of the front yard just hours before the cold front arrived that ended the autumn display.

How was the autumn display in your area this year?

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