JAPANESE maples are famous for their autumn colour in the dying weeks of October, a display that is spectacular, if sometimes erratic and short-lived.
All the photographs here, however, were taken at quite a different season—April to June—and remind us that leaf-colour in spring is utterly dependable: the worst the weather can throw at unfurling leaves is a light browning by frost. What’s more, those leaves go on expanding sturdily, the colours return and no wind can blow them away. Spring colours are a celebration of life and a promise of summer, brought closer by the lengthening days.
Japanese maples are forms and hybrids of Acer palmatum, a small deciduous tree that is native to parts of Korea, China and eastern Russia as well as to Japan itself. In the wild, it tends to occur as an understory species in shady woodland, where it grows to 30ft–50ft. It usually has more than one trunk, spreading out from close to the ground, and its leaves are anything between two and six inches long and wide, divided by five to nine pointed lobes. Other species are sometimes included in the general description Japanese maples—such as Acer japonicum and A. shirasawanum—and A. palmatum hybridises with them, both naturally and in cultivation.
Denne historien er fra March 24, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra March 24, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
