It's late November here at Rose Villa and just about the only deciduous trees left with leaves are the Sweet Gums and the Maples. I was reading a fascinating bit of plant lore the other day; it seems that green chlorophyll in the leaves dominates all the other colors, the reds, oranges and yellows that are also in the leaves. It's not till fall brings lower temperatures and shorter days that plant hormones start to restrict the flow of nutrients up into the leaves. Thus the chlorophyll dies off leaving all the colors we see in the fall. The same hormones create a corky brittle spot on the leaf stem where, come the winter winds, the leaf will break off and fall to earth. In Rose Villa's case to be picked up by the grounds crew.

Fall, the time in the plant world when all the growing, blooming, fruiting, reproducing and competing to live and prolong your species slows down and rests for the winter months. Or does it? This is a photo of the Ginkgo tree you can barely see in the 1st photo of the Sweet Gum tree. The Sweet Gum tree has thrown several roots over and partly around the Ginkgo tree. I've been watching this death struggle for several years now and you can see the one root is starting to strangle the Ginkgo.

Unfortunately the Ginkgo tree will be removed very shortly to make way for a market garden to supply the main kitchen so I will not be able to see the outcome,but my money would be on the Sweet Gum tree!

Here's the spot where the market garden will be built this winter and planted this upcoming spring. Can you see the Ginkgo tree and the leaves of the Sweet Gum? I'll be reporting on this adventure right along, hopefully we will have a compost operation going by spring. There are also plans in the works to start worm box composting with the main kitchen's veggie garbage. I'll keep posting updates on these projects as we go along.

Now I'll leave y'all with a pretty photo. This is a Camellia sasanqua, possibly a Cleopatra.