Early sunshine and heavy dew this morning, yet on the front lawns the dew had crystallised as the first ground frost of autumn. With it are signs of colour in the tree canopy. The plants under stress are the first to show the colours of autumn with Aesculus flava on the hillside ideally placed for the mid-morning sun to light up the canopy spectacularly. Another eastern north American species, Betula alleghaniensis has turned uniformly yellow from tip to base. This group of three young saplings on the lower Birch lawn are eight years old and proving a worthwhile collection from a parent plant growing low down on the Adirondack Mountains.

Betula alleghaniensis

Betula alleghaniensis