Autumn Belle - Beautiful Colorful Persimmon

The Persimmon is ripe when the fruit is the same color as the leaves

It has been getting colder and colder each week the past month of November. Even in San Deigo the leaves on deciduous tree had been changing color and finally fallen off. I managed to take some pictures of my favorite deciduous tree- the bearer of yummy persimmons to share. These pictures of the colorful tree were taken on November 15, 2011.

I love being under the canopy of the Persimmon tree during fall. Looking up through the brillant hue leaves is like looking through a kaleidoscope. Such happy colors. It reminds me of my childhood days spent climbing trees.

A persimmon I missed and did not wrap

Invariably, I would miss a fruit or two when I am wrapping up the Persimmons to prevent the birds from eating them. Later in the season, as the fruits ripen and I start harvesting them, I would spot them among the brilliantly hued leaves. It is always a pleasant surprise finding an unwrapped fruit when I move leaves and branches aside, to get to a target wrapped fruit. A lot of times those greedy birds would have discovered the exposed fruit. Sometimes, just sometimes, the fruit is all perfect and ripe calling to me. There is nothing to do but harvest immediately and indulge!!

Immediate harvesting of exposed fruit is the normal protocol! Here I used a handy rake to get to the fruit above.

Golden orange hue tree

I think it is nature's way hiding the delicious ripe fruits among the leaves which are the same golden orange colors.

11/15/11 Still a number of paper bags of fruits for the plucking

Updated- December 2011
Winter rain has started coming down in December and the persimmon have started to soften from the frostlike conditions. The paper bags are starting to break from continuous rain.

12/10/11 Almost all the leaves have fallen- just a paper bag tree

12/10/11 My natural healthy Christmas tree

12/13/11 bird eaten fruit

It has been raining none stop the past 2 days. The paper bags were translucent and you could see the fruit(s) inside. It would appear that the birds saw the fruits too as they started pecking the paper bags and ultimately broke the bags and ate the fruits. I am going to have to harvest all the fruits the next fews days.

12/13/11 One lone leaf remaining on the tree.

12/13/11 Gorgeous big, ripe Persimmon

See how big Persimmons that ripen later get!  Alas, it looks like Persimmon season 2011 is at an end now :( . However, stay tune, my friend Autumn Belle of mynicegarden blog suggested that I take pictures of the Persimmon flower, something I have never captured since I was so focused on the delicious fruit alone. It is so nice when a fellow gardener inspires you to take a second look/deeper look at what you have in your garden. So I dedicate this posting to her - the inspiring Autumn Belle. Thank you for bringing my childhood garden/nature alive for me.