Leaves and Grass

 

In New England where the Fall foliage is kind of famous the fall colors are all about the leaves. The wide variety of deciduous trees all turn a different bright color - reds, orange, yellow, brown. Here on Kodiak most of the trees simply turn yellow - and it is mostly just cottonwoods. But willow and birch also turn yellow. Alder stays green until the leaves fall off and spruce stays green all year. About the only shrub that I can think of that turns red is the high bush cranberry - a viburnum - and these shrubs are generally hidden away.

On Kodiak we rely on herbaceous plants and not trees for our reds - bearberry, bunchberry, fireweed - and a big part of the show is the grass. The grass turns golden and luminesces in the sunshine. The greens are also an important part of the show. The green, green crowberry contrasts dramatically with the red, red bear berry. and then there is the stolid green spruce trees. It's a different kind of show than what you get in New England. Different but just as worthy in its own right.

Patrick