Boston Fall Foliage Report - 2009

Weekly updates and photos of fall foliage scenes

Are you wondering when you can see the best fall leaf color in Boston?  My weekly Boston Fall Foliage Report keeps you updated as the city's zillions of leaves turn gold, orange, and scarlet.

Check my weekly updates to track fall 2009 leaf color changes and plan your own fall foliage tour at the best Boston fall foliage sites for leaf viewing - right in the city! 

Each year is a little different . . . but usually the first signs of fall leaf color appear around mid-September, so that's when I start updating the report. 

Color usually blazes across the city from late September through October - and often well into November!

The foliage timetable varies from year to year, but normally depends on 2 things:  the amount of rain that we get during the summer (lots of rain usually means a later beginning) and temperatures during the early part of the fall (an early or severe cold snap can speed things along). 

And heavy rain and strong wind - or even an early snowfall - during the later part of the fall foliage season can certainly bring leaf-viewing to an abrupt end.

But Boston's autumn leaves are glorious while they last.  In fact, they're a big Boston tourism attraction.

Whether you're planning a Boston foliage tour or just want to know which parts of the city are most colorful, the Boston Fall Foliage Report will keep you up to date with what's happening. 

Scroll down to check weekly updates.  Most recent reports appear first.

2009 Boston Fall Foliage Report

Friday, November 6, 2009 - Mellower tones

Although you'll still find brilliant colors in Boston Common and the Public Garden, fall foliage in other parts of the city has mellowed to shades of russet, amber, and chocolate brown.  Cooler weather and rain during this past week combined to push the city's foliage past its peak.  Today's brisk breeze sent plenty of leaves swirling to the grownd.

But if you're planning to visit Boston this weekend - and with daytime high temperatures for both Saturday and Sunday predicted to be in the 60s, the weekend weather should be gorgeous - you'll still find plenty of lovely foliage color and quintessential New England autumn scenes.

Along the Boston Esplanade by the Charles River, many of the trees are looking somewhat bare, but plenty of russets and browns remain. 

Back Bay is especially gorgeous right now.  While taking photos this afternoon for this fall foliage report, I spent a lot of time on Marlborough and Beacon Streets, between Fairfield and Hereford, admiring all of the autumn displays in the front gardens.

Even though taller trees overhead have lost many of their leaves, shorter trees and shrubs still show plenty of color.   Leftover pumpkins from Halloween last weekend add to the color.

Fall foliage for 2009 probably won't last much longer - so now's the time to go for a long walk around the city and enjoy the mellow colors.

 

Friday, October 30, 2009 - Color in the city

Finally, vivid colors are appearing in the heart of the city.  Both Boston Common and the Public Garden are showing lots of crimson and gold.

The Lagoon in the Public Garden is an especially good spot to enjoy the foliage as it reflects in the water, as you can see in this photo, taken for this fall foliage report update during one of the few moments of sunshine in recent days.

The red maples scattered throughout the Public Garden are so colorful right now that they look as though they're in bloom.  But see the large oak tree in the background toward the left?  The oaks are still mostly green, with just a few tinges of amber.

Trees along this path in Boston Common near the tennis courts blaze with color.  If you look closely, though, you'll notice that a small tree near the far right has already lost all its leaves.  And it's not the only one.  A stark reminder of what the next few weeks will bring.

So if you're visiting Boston during the next few weeks, go for a long walk through the Common or the Public Garden or anywhere else around town and enjoy the gorgeous foliage . . . while it's still with us!

 

Thursday, October 22, 2009 - Fall colors sweeping across Boston

In contrast to the huge snowflakes that fell unseasonably soon last Sunday, Boston temperatures this week have been downright balmy, touching 70° yesterday when I took the photos in this week's fall foliage report. 

The Rose Kennedy Greenway is gorgeous throughout most of the year, and especially now that the autumn colors provide a bright contrast with the red steel sculptural framework of the gardens along the Chinatown section.

Areas that are a swath of green during the summer now rival the brilliant colors of spring flowers.

Right now, a lot of the fall foliage color is close to the ground as plantings along this part of the Greenway are still maturing.  After all, the Greenway only opened 2 years ago.

With the lush bamboo groves and other foliage plants still stubbornly green, the Chinatown section of the Greenway should put on a colorful show for a few more weeks as colors continue to change.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - Gorgeous colors appearing throughout the city

Now that the weather is a bit cooler, brilliant colors are beginning to appear everywhere - although plenty of green still provides contrast, as you'll see in this fall foliage report for Boston.

Specimen trees in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, just west of the city near the Cambridge / Watertown border, are especially beautiful right now. 

Mt. Auburn, founded in 1831 as the nation's first garden cemetery, contains an amazing collection of diverse trees and other plantings, plus many statues, tranquil lanes, and a beautiful pond.

The hills and dells in Mt. Auburn provide many wonderful vistas, with a new view around every bend in the winding paths.

In some areas, the crimsons and golds are brilliant.  In others, they're more subtle and the beauty is in the contrast of colors.

Seeds, seed pods, and nuts also add to the color.  As in the Back Bay Fens, acorns almost totally cover the ground in some areas.

Autumn colors in Mt. Auburn and elsewhere in the city are nowhere near "peak" yet, but the cooler temperatures and rain predicted for the rest of this week may accelerate the rate of change, here and throughout the rest of Boston.

Directions and details for Mt. Auburn:  See Fall Foliage Report

Monday, October 5, 2009 - Fall Foliage Report #3 - Splashes of gold and crimson

The cool nights that we had last week, when temperatures dropped into the 40s, played a role in the splashes of crimson and gold now visible in city trees.   Even the most stubbornly green leaves in Boston Common are beginning to take on a golden tinge.  You'll see a lot of gold and even some red in this updated Boston fall foliage report.

One of my favorite city parks is the Back Bay Fens, located in the eastern part of the Fenway neighborhood not far from Fenway Park.  Tranquil Muddy River runs down the middle of the Fens, and the foliage surrounding the water is turning to gold.

Wander through the Victory Gardens in the Fens, and you'll mostly see lavish flowers in their end-of-season splendor.   But many of the small trees in the walled garden plots, such as this Japanese maple, are beginning to blaze with color.

If you take a stroll through the Fens, do be careful, especially if you wander off the paved paths.  A bumper crop of acorns (maybe due to all that rain last summer?) is covering almost every inch of the ground in some areas, creating slightly treacherous walking conditions as I took the photos for this fall foliage report.

Across Park Drive, large trees on the Emmanuel College campus are becoming colorful.

Some of the best color in the Fenway neighborhood is around Fenway Park - gorgeous contrast with the ball park's green walls.  Of course, most Fenway Park visitors aren't here to admire the leaves!

 

Sunday, September 27, 2009 - Fall Foliage Report #2 - Is Boston showing a little more color?

Yes, a little more color is appearing around the city . . . although you'll have to look hard to find it amid all the green.   Warm, crisp days and cool nights are perfect conditions for a long, colorful fall - despite today's rain.

What you'll notice mostly as you walk around the city are flowering plants and shrubs that still seem to be at their end-of-the-summer peak, such as this community garden on Washington Street in Boston's South End.

If you look hard, you'll find a few trees with changing hues, such as this lovely maple along Commonwealth Ave in Back Bay.

But to find real color at this point in the fall, you'll need to drive out of the city. 

The best direction, of course, is north.  

For a view of quintessential Vermont complete with covered bridge, waterfall, and fall foliage a couple of weeks ahead of Boston in color, make lunch reservations (request a window table) at Simon Pearce Restaurant in Quechee, Vermont - only about a 2 hour drive northwest of Boston. 

Head north on I-93 to I-89, and go through White River Junction to Route 4 until you reach Quechee.   If you have time (you'll need about 3 hours for this alternate route), head back to Boston on I-91 (intersects with I-89) and then take Route 2 east to the city - always a gorgeous drive even if not at its peak.

And check back here in a week or so for the next Fall Foliage Report update on Boston color.

 

Sunday, September 20, 2009 -  the first Fall Foliage Report for this year!

A morning stroll through the Boston Public Garden, Boston Common, and several Boston neighborhoods shows that most Boston foliage is stubbornly green.  The combination of a rainy summer and balmy weather through the first part of September means that trees - and their leaves - are flourishing.

But green doesn't mean boring.  If you're in the city during the next week or two, enjoy the lush end-of-summer landscapes. 

Flowering summer plants in the Boston Public Garden are at their peak of beauty.

In Back Bay, window boxes and front gardens overflow along Comm Ave.  In the South End, neighborhood gardens are at their peak, full of magnificent flowers and even a few tomato and cucumbers plants bending over from the weight of their ripe produce. 

And if you look closely, you will see touches of gold and the beginnings of crimson here and there - hints of more color to come.

2008 Fall Foliage Report Archives

If you're planning to visit Boston later this fall, you may be wondering what the fall foliage will be like.  Check out our fall foliage photo archive for 2008 to get an idea.