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On my visits to Fullers Mill Garden, I’d noticed a large Liquidambar (sweet gum tree). I’d hoped that I would get the chance to see its autumn leaves before the garden closed for the winter. As it turned out, my last visit of the year was about a fortnight before the end of the season and I was lucky enough to see the first of the Liquidambar leaves turn colour.
Although most of the leaves were still green on my last visit, there were those that created a beautiful display of red, orange and yellow. Strikingly, it also had leaves that were a dark purple. The garden closed near the end of October, so it was a bit early for the tree to produce its best display. I’m sure it will be magnificent around now!
The reddest leaves were on a different tree. This was a very much smaller Liquidambar, which I might have mistaken for a maple if I hadn’t noticed the distinctive spiky seed pods. As you can see in the photo below, this youngster was way ahead of the large tree in the colour-change process.
Most autumn leaves around here are yellow. We don’t see many that are red, so the Liquidambar trees in Fullers Mill Garden are a sight to enjoy. In future, I’ll make sure to visit the garden on the very last day that I can before it closes, in the hope of seeing these lovely trees at their most spectacular.
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
We just finished a fall color road trip (blog post coming soon) and the sweetgums were a delight. I’ve never heard the name Liquidamber, and now I’m learning that it’s a whole genus with 15 species. Wonderfull to hear of them being cultivated in the UK, thanks!
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Oh, that must have been a wonderful road trip! This is the first time I’ve knowingly seen Liquidambar/sweetgum in its autumn colours and it is fabulous. I mostly hear the tree referred to as Liquidambar, possibly because the common name hasn’t had long enough to catch on…but I don’t know! They aren’t common in ‘domestic’ gardens here but I should imagine there’s some in the bigger gardens. I’ll be on the lookout for them in future. 🙂
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The wonderful place for liquidambers and other fabulous autumn colour is The Place for Plants, East Bergholt. But sadly they have closed now. I wonder whether they will still open their beautiful gardens to the public. It will be a great shame if not, I always enjoyed an autumn and then spring visit.
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I’ve been there in spring but never in autumn. I’d heard that they closed but I’m hoping that they’ll still do an occasional ‘open gardens’ day. If they have an autumn one, I’ll be keen to go. And I’ll keep an eye open for what other gardens have too. (I’ve not had a chance to go far afield for garden visits for a while due to having very elderly and fragile cats, now just the one, but I can see that the situation is bound to change relatively soon.)
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I’ve never heard the word liquidambar applied to our sweetgum. To be more precise, when I came across ‘liquidambar’ I always assumed it was some sort of exotic tree from Malaysia or such. Sweetgums I know, although I can’t remember ever seeing one so colorful. What I do remember are the spiky ‘gumballs.’ A friend curses them every year when she has to mow around one. They’re interesting, but not something to cozy up to.
Sam’s mention of fifteen species made me curious. In fact, this species is the only one native to North America; other species are found in other parts of the world, although a couple have been cultivated here.
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Liquidambar is just the Latin name, which is what I’ve heard people use here. I don’t know if the name ‘sweetgum’ is used much here. Apparently they are popular as a street tree in some areas, but it’s quite likely that when I’ve seen one I’ve mistaken it for a maple. I’ve seen a few cultivars listed for sale, including a very much smaller one called ‘Gumball’, which would be easier to find space for in smaller gardens. It might be a bit dry for them here though!
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This species of tree is native in the far eastern part of Texas, though some people elsewhere in the state plant it for its fall colors, as you’ve shown. Sweetgum is the popular name for it here.
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It must be a great delight to see these trees all around when they’re in their autumn colours…wish they were more common here!
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