Midsummer has been and gone and, though we’ve had some glorious sunny days – and a short heat wave, we’ve also had some unseasonably cool weather. Perhaps that’s why there are definite signs of autumn to be seen in the foliage of trees and shrubs in my local parks and woodlands.

Even Dawn Redwood is showing small signs of the changing seasons and, remember, most unusually for a conifer, Dawn is deciduous. So, these tiny tinges of orange and red are just a hint of how spectacular she will be when the real autumn weather comes.

Some time during the month, Dawn seems to have suffered a little damage at the top of the tree. Either that or she’s had an incredible growth spurt in one particular branch, which I doubt. You can see the change in the photos below: the one on the left as taken in May 2016, the one on the right in late July 2016.

We haven’t had any particularly strong winds or stormy weather so I’m not sure what happened to cause this change but she looks rather wild and a little unkempt compared to her previously perfect pyramidal shape. It will be interesting to see if this corrects itself or if she loses that errant branch or if she just stays this way. Time alone will tell.

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