November 02, 2026

Central Texas notoriously doesn’t get much fall color, and it arrives closer to Thanksgiving than Halloween. So I have been blown away by Colorado’s extravagant fall color, which started in September in the mountains and has lasted all the way through October here at the edge of the Great Plains. Today leaves are blanketing cars and sidewalks, but let’s relive last month’s yellow, orange, and red glory.

How about this flaming torch of a tree?! I’m still learning to identify trees on the Front Range, but Instagram readers ID’d this one for me as Autumn Blaze maple (Acer × freemanii), a hybrid of silver maple and red maple. Shazam!

Check out its snazzy Beetlejuice-striped pants bark too.

As stunning as it is, some experts caution against planting Autumn Blaze maple in Denver. Panayoti Kelaidis, senior curator at Denver Botanic Gardens, wrote 16 years ago that, while beautiful, Autumn Blaze can fall victim to chlorosis and breakage in our climate. Keep those risks in mind before planting one of your own, but let’s still enjoy this gorgeous queen. Long may she reign!

Trees aren’t the only plants with red fall color. Virginia creeper turns crimson too, splashing walls, houses, and trees a Halloween-esque shade of red.

Painting the town red

Yellow is the usual color of fall in Colorado, from aspens to elms, redbuds, silver maples, catalpas, and other trees. I’m here for it. But first, can anyone identify this golden beauty?

Redbud

Honeylocust — this one is across the street from my house, and I’ve been enjoying it for weeks.

A closer look

On a walk near Wash Park, I passed through a golden tunnel.

This golden tree color-coordinates with a yellow fire hydrant.

In that same garden, sumac adds a fiery red fringe.

Amidst the bright trees, hydrangeas were blooming all month, blushing pink as their leaves turned yellow.

Such a pretty color

Clematis vine went to seed in a mauve haze.

Clematis seedheads

Every time I went on a walk in October, my eyes were trained on the brilliant trees, staring as eagerly as this binoculars-peering rabbit.

What a charming garden sculpture.

That garden had good Halloween porch planters too.

Orange trees are less common, but I spotted some here and there.

Pumpkin orange!

The view down our sidewalk last week

Looking up

Looking down

A local business stepped up their fall game with pretty planters stuffed with golden grasses, orange willow branches, brown cattails, and purple cabbage. Pine cones as mulch add the finishing touch.

Over at the park, a red maple ended the growing season in a blaze of glory.

And sunsets over Smith Lake and the distant mountains were better than ever.

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“Gardens of Texas is not your typical door stop/coffee table book filled with beautiful images of gardens you can never hope to achieve. The photography is definitely inspiring, but Pam’s thoughtful, detailed storytelling and “Try This At Home” features…makes one feel empowered to create similar garden magic….This is what I’ll curl up with on late August afternoons when the mercury in Austin soars and I’m stuck indoors.”

–MomInAustin, a reviewer on Amazon

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