October has proven to be a beautiful month for us here at Warren Forest. Filled with sun drenched days, mild weather (most of the time) and a sense of a lingering summer. The colours have been exceptional as ever, both on the park and the surrounding areas. The photos below capture Ripley, Pateley Bridge and Fountains Abbey in recent days.
The mushrooms are always spectacular at this time of year but the show has most definitely been stolen by the glorious pillar box red leaves of the tree on the Beeches area of the park. This tree, was sourced from Wykeham Mature Plants a number of years ago and for those of you who have asked the species, the details are as follows;
Acer x freemanii Jeffers Red
A hybrid cross between Acer saccharinum and Acer rubrum that inherits the best of both worlds with good vigour and good autumn colour. This tree is especially suited to the north of England where it is almost guaranteed to produce good autumn colour where Acer rubrum might not. It’s mature height is around 15 metres in the north of England.
This is one of the first trees to colour-up for autumn; but this also means that the leaves drop relatively early so it isn’t one of the best trees for screeing (or for growing on a windy site for that matter). However; the autumn colour is such a bright vivid scarlet-red; which really shines with the sun on it that this tree is a must-have if you have space.
courtesy of https://www.wykehammatureplants.co.uk/products/acer-x-freemanii-jeffers-red
We hope you have enjoyed this beautiful month, when even on the misty days there are gems to be found!