Maples in the Fall

I am finally getting through with organizing all of the photos I took this fall. Some of the best color, not unexpectedly, comes from the maples. This is 'just' a seedling, Acer palmatum purpureum, and though the red leaves hold all summer on this one, it is the fall color in the late afternoon when the sun seems to illuminate the leaves from within, that it just takes over the garden. You can get some idea of how this one lights up from the photo, but you'll just have to believe me that in person it is really unbelievable.
This next one, with a rich yellow/gold color in the fall has green leaves in the summer. We don't know its name since it was one that had lost its tag at some garden center many years ago and which we got for next to nothing because of it not having a proper name. It has turned out to be quite beautiful with it's spreading shape making a canopy over a small pond. It has taken some shaping over the years to achieve this shape. We expect it might be a cultivar called 'Waterfall', but without a tag, we can never be really sure.

The name of this one escapes me at the moment, but I do know that it is the only one we have that gets this outrageous color. This isn't a fake or retouched picture, but the actual color each and every fall. I love dependable plants. It is a rather small maple, maybe 6 feet tall after a dozen or so years.

This is a closeup of the leaves from the first picture.

This last one is the fall color on a fullmoon maple, Acer shirasawanum 'Aurea'. The color for most of the season is gold/chartreuse or some variation on those colors. Fall just lights this one up too.

More fall color on other plants in my next post.

Jane