One of the most vivid manifestations of Autumn, or Fall, is provided by Virginia Creeper.
Click on the images to see higher quality enlargements.
Virginia Creeper is a climbing plant, a ‘creeper’, a member of the Vine family, that in some instances can be found covering the entire frontage of houses or the walls of gardens.
The colours change progressively to the deepest of reds. It is a magnificent sight. The two examples here today come from our recent trip to the Lake District. The first from the farmhouse at Lower Sizergh Barn (a well known Farm Shop), and the second from Sizergh Castle (a National Trust property).
I’ve been trying to grow one of these for the last five years Andy. Doesn’t seem to have grown any since I got it but I love the autumn colour these give so much. Perhaps I’ll get another couple, see how they go. I might have bought a dud. 😉
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I would have thought it would have grown a bit after five years. I wonder whether it prefers a particular type of soil (thinking out loud). I would guess that the ones we see completely covering a frontage have been in place for a considerable number of years.
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They are beautiful! There are a few places up here that have them and they look awesome this time of year – that red!
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Thanks for commenting, Jim. I noticed when I was looking up about Virginia Creeper that it was popular in certain areas of the USA, but bizarrely made little reference to teh UK!
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We have this in Western New York, too and it’s just beautiful, especially this time of year. Great shot.
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Thanks Ken. It’s certainly eye-catching, but a day of high wind will blow it off the wall very quickly
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Beautiful shots Andy. I particularly love the color contrasts of the second one.
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Thanks Len. I agree – the brilliant red in the second shot contrasts well with the grey of the wall. I wanted a shot where the colour was not too overwhelming – hence hunting for a single branch…
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One of the best plants for color this time of the year, especially as it seems to one of the quickest to change color. If you are not happy with the tones you only seem to have to wait a day or so before they become much redder and more vibrant. Love the contrast on the second image, Andy. The red stands out so nicely against the muted grey of the wall.
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Thanks Mark. These two images were taken within about half an hour of each other on two different sites about half a mile apart and show the creeper at different stages of colouring-up. Maybe that is due to the direction it faces or other factors.
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beautiful..I love the colours…well spotted and taken
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Thanks James – the colours are fantastic, I agree
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Really wonderful colours. And so different from one picture to the other. Beautifully captured.
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Thanks Otto. I think there may be different sub-species of this climber. The two images show leaves of significantly different size.
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those are beautiful Andy!
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Thanks you, Jim
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Love the colors of those leaves… One can see the inspiration you received from the lake district. I’m enjoying your pictures.
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Thank you, Shimon.
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Virginia Creeper? I wonder if it grows here. I will investigate. I have a creeping vine fetish, I think, since I tolerate the trumpet vine on the pergola! These images are so crisp that I can almost smell the autumn air!
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When I researched Virginin Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) I found that it does grow in North America, but possibly not in the areas with the highest temperatures.
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YES! Wiki tells me she’s native to a whole bunch of places including Texas!
“…eastern and central North America, in southeastern Canada, the eastern and central United States, eastern Mexico, and Guatemala, west as far as Manitoba, South Dakota, Utah and Texas.”
I’m onto finding a Virginia Creeper! Thanks, Andy! 🙂
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