Mixed Berries.

10-15-15 SHORT HILLS: It’s sunny with seasonal temps. We might get down into the twenties on the weekend nights, which will be the first frost of our fall. Our Vermont neighbor, Donna, sent us pix of the color in our yard there. It looks great—we were too early for the color, being there the first week of October.

Here in NJ the maples are starting to turn and look dramatic. The berries and other fruit are ripening and very photogenic. The birds are busy with the berries and not so active at the feeders. The yard is also littered with walnuts, to the squirrels delight. Most of the leaves on these plants are still green and metabolically active. The plants may need that energy to produce and ripen the fruit.


Black Chokecherry, those leaves will be orange in a month, but the berries will be gone.

Tea Viburnum.

Beauty Berry. They look like plastic toys.

Barberry.

Asian Holly.

Burning Bush. Some of the leaves have turned already. The two berries on the upper left haven't opened the outer husk yet and appear darker in color. The other five berries have rolled back that covering.

More Crab Apples.

Winterberry Holly is deciduous.

Southern Magnolia forms large seed pods that open randomly displaying red seeds.

Southern Magnolia. The seeds stick-up out of the pod, but don't fall off.  To the birds, they're saying, "Eat me."