The Last Leaves

After four very early freezes (very early for north Florida), most of our hardwoods have shed nearly all their leaves. Although our oaks do lose leaves, they are bare for only the briefest of periods, and are still providing a green backdrop at this time. On this clear, sunny day I wanted to document the last leaves as they danced in the sunlight.  The purple plum above will hold its burgundy display the longest of all the hardwoods, and it looks quite full even though the ground is covered with the leaves it has already shed.

This display at the very top of our largest sycamore shows such a lovely variety of color this year. Normally the sycamores are bare here before the first frost. 
The same sycamore against the oaks by the road with the already brown dogwood in the foreground.
The garden got hit early, and is down for the count til spring. Only the rosemary remains green and robust. The river birch has only two or three golden leaves left, but this tree is beautiful in any season.

Our smallest sycamore is not to be forgotten with its last leaves standing at attention in the bright sunlight.  All of these trees pictured have been planted in the six years we have lived on this property.  These and many others we also planted are thriving and growing faster than we dared to hope.  There is room for a few more, so next year we may have more and different last leaves to photograph.