Seattle is not considered a destination place for autumn colors. Leaf peeping is well known in the New England states, and some places in the Rockies have their fans. Sadly, the Pacific Northwest is rarely on lists of fall destinations for colors. However, if you know where to go, Seattle can offer some wonderful autumn color gems.
One of the important things to note about the Seattle area is the influence of the Japanese gardens. It is within these gardens that you can definitely find some amazing autumn colors. Japanese maples in particular produce a wide ranging color pallet. They have become popular landscaping plants in our area as they seem to do well in our climate.
Of course one popular Japanese garden is the Kubota Garden in south Seattle which I wrote about earlier this year. If you have yet to visit it, this time of year is a great opportunity to take it in. The varied colored leaves stand out against the greens of the evergreens.
Another popular spot for autumn color is at Gene Coulon Park in Renton along Lake Washington. Here you will find the driveway lined with brilliant reds. Families come from all over to have their pictures taken here among the vibrant foliage.
However, the largest area for fall foliage is at Seattle’s own Arboretum near the University of Washington. Here one can find great views of autumn color. These spots are found not only in the Arboretum itself, but in the Japanese garden on its southwestern edge.
The Arboretum is a large park. Of course not all the trees there will have great color. However, if you stop by the main visitor center at the north end of the park, the staff can provide a map showing where the best fall colors can be found.
The main trails through the park are fairly wide so it is not too difficult to keep one’s social distance. There is kind of a circular route one can travel which will take you through the main parts of the park. Some of the trees are so large it can be difficult to get a good picture of them. For me the area with the maple trees is one of the more colorful sections of the park.
At the southwest side of the Arboretum is the Seattle Japanese Garden. Unlike the Arboretum or the other gardens mentioned here, there is an admission fee for this garden. It’s not much, but being the cheap person I am, I had never gone to the garden until this year. I won’t say that it is better than the Kubota Garden which has no admission fee, but it is certainly worth at least one visit. Autumn would be the time to do so.
The garden is not large, and a large pond takes up much of the center space in the garden. The entrance area has a lot of trees and shrubs. There are some very colorful tall trees to the left as one comes in. The peach colored leaves are not a color I have seen before. It is a beautiful area.
There is a path which winds around the pond. Currently guests must follow that route, and they cannot cross the bridges over the pond. There are various spots along the path to enjoy the wide variety of plants. A close up of the colorful autumn leaves can be as interesting as the massive color of a full tree.
At the end of the pond there are a couple of elevations which allows one to get a look at most of the garden in one view. There are also places to get up close to the pond and see the colorful Koi which move about the pond.
Moving around the pond one gets different vistas of the garden which can emphasize different trees and plants. There is a tea room toward the end of the trail around the pond. Unfortunately during this time it has been closed down. The plants remain the dominant point of interest in the garden.
There is quite a bit of parking here, but the sign indicating the garden is not very large so one has to pay attention.
One of the things I like about autumn colors from a photographic standpoint is the opportunity to play with the colors. You may have noticed that some of the photos above were not really presented as completely realistic. When I share a post about a specific location, I feel the need to try to keep my photos realistic. However, here I am focused on colors so I like to play with it. In that sense I can become an artist of sorts.
That’s part of the fun with digital photography. It’s easy to change many elements of a photo to get a completely different look. I often start with presets in my processing program and then tweak it from here. I thought to finish out this article I’d give you a taste of that. Below you will see the same photo of a service gate in the Japanese Garden. In each one I started with a different preset. The first photo shows it with the main style I am using for the other photos from the garden. The last photo is the one I like the best. It reminds me of the paintings of Thomas Kinkade. What do you think?
While Seattle can’t compete with New England and its forests of colorful trees, there is not excuse not to enjoy some fall color. Even during a wet Seattle day, getting outside and enjoying the colorful leafs can be a great way to reduce stress as we continue to navigate through our current health crisis.
Do you have a favorite place to visit for autumn colors? What are your thoughts about digital photography? Have you been able to experiment with it? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
Nicely done, Steve! And so was your autumn in Yellowstone blog!
Thanks, Carol, I love the fall colors so it’s a lot of fun to photograph them. The photo at the top of the post was actually taken on the path near my condo last fall. I had to throw it in there somehow.