[David Bracey]

Just testing you, Mike

[MikeHardman]

Hilary - that Parthenocissus is very nice.

Here are some peaches, taken today. The trees colour best where they get the most sun. They grow at about 400m in a bit of a frost hollow (along with pears and other fruit normally grown higher up).

And some Pistacia terebinthus berries, at the stage where there is a nice mix of red and blue.
And a bright yellow lichen encrusting a branch like old peeling paint.

And, more artistically, a single orange carob leaflet nestling amongst the twiggery of a thyme (I think). This goes back to an earlier posting where I mentioned thinking of colours not just on their own but in contrast. BTW, nature put the leaf there; I just took the photo.

[Alisdair]

To see Hilary's photos of carob flowers giving a touch of autumn colour, click here - though I associate carob flowers more with the subject of autumn scents!

[Alisdair]

And what about pumpkins? (Pictures admittedly from the UK not the Med, but click here to see how colourful they can be).

[John]

Not in the Med! Took this pear tree at work today covered in about 1000 fruits and in autumn colour. They are cooking pears. The tree must be well over 100 years old and there's only about one third of it in the picture.

[David Bracey]

I am looking at another tree with absolutely stunning autumn/winter colour.  The Kaki or Japanese persimmon, Diospyros kaki.  Leaves turn a deep brown in the autumn which then fall leaving a tree laden with deep orange persimmon fruits. I think these would make excellent shade or specimen trees.  Not sure about the fruits which do turn `rorribly slushy when ripe.

[John]

What about the Mediterranean shrub or small tree Cotinus coggygria which has stunning autumn colour, particularly named clones. Or maybe one of the other species in this genus. C. obovatus may do well in the Med but I can't say for sure. It does however make a very nice tree and has stunning colour.

[Fleur Pavlidis]

Papigo, nothern Pindus, Greece. Last weekend. The last photo is of the most beautiful tree of all. I thought it was a carpinus but now that I look at the book I don't think so. The leaves are largish, roundish and serrated.

[Hilary]

Wonderful.
I wondered if no one had a photo of the hills in Eipirus in autumn

[MikeHardman]

Fleur - I agree with Hilary - wonderful!
I would guess Ostrya carpinifolia. I have seen it in the Vikos Gorge in the Pindus.

[MikeHardman]

Of course, the fruit on palms provide a blazing splash of orange

[Alevin]

I had not seen this thread. I have been researching into autumn coloring plants for our climate for quite a long time now. This garden has many peculiar microclimates, often a few metres apart, with moist areas (mainly in the low garden, but not only there) and dryish, tipically mediterranan ones (mainly on the hill).
Therefore we grow Gingko biloba and Japanese maples not far from Spathodea, Carobs and Olives.
Having said so, I must add that in years such as this one there is practically no Autumn whatsoever - we are still in a  warm spell and most of the garden is in full bloom and in great glory. Forget about autumn colors that in favourable years appeared by the end of November! To have the dramatic color changes, plants need cold nights followed by bright days; we have the latter, but no sign of the former. There were somegood  rains though, so real mediterranean plants are actively growing, some are blooming, and they certainly  don't contemplate shedding their leaves in this season. Therefore to have a display of colors one must turn to non native plants.

My personal list for foliage colors is the following:
Pistachia chinensis
Rhus typhina
Lagerstroemia indica
Cotinus coggygria
Parthenocissus ssp
Persimmon (Dyospiros kaki)
Koelreuteria bipinnata
Triadica sebifera (syn. Sapium sebiferum)
Nandina domestica
Punica granatum
Plus the above mentioned Maples (Acer) of the palmatum group (grown in half or full shade) and the Gingko. When they feel like performing they are gorgeous: a couple of years ago they changed into an incredible flash of bright oranges, yellows and reds!
 
A good color should  also  be provided by Cedrela sinensis (now called Toona sinensis), I read somewhere, but I only  planted one last year,  and this year I don't hope to see much in terms of color change.  We will see in the future.

[John]

Gingko's are just at there best in London right now, butter yellow and today just before I left work I realised that the Morus niger is looking stunning in it's overall pale yellow autumn colour. I left it too late in the day to photograph and it may have dropped by the time I go back. It is still so mild here in London. Not really dropping below 10ºC so far.

[Alisdair]

That's a fascinating list, Alessandra; thanks!
We find Nandina domestica colours better in our Greek garden - with very mild winters - than it does for us in the UK. Maybe its colouring mechanism is less dependent on the cooling.
Certainly in the south of Greece at our sea level there is never much conventional autumn colour, with some deciduous trees like jacarandas often keeping their leaves into late February. But in the mountains behind, as soon as one is above about 600 metres (quarter of an hour's drive - or a couple of hours' walking!) there can be plenty of autumn colour.

[John]

Does Morus alba colour up well? Here taken yesterday is Morus niger on a dull miserable London day but a bright yellow.