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September in Golden Gate Park

The Panhandle, GG Park, SF (10/1/17) Darrell Sano

Japanese Tea Garden, GG Park, SF (10/1/17) Darrell Sano

Golden Gate Park is one of America’s great central parks, well-used by The City’s residents and a great place to see bright color in autumn.

Bay Area color spotter Darrell Sano is better known for his shots of the east bay and Berkeley Hills, but he spent Saturday exploring Golden Gate Park.

His 9.1-mile walk led from the Hayes Valley to Fell Street along the panhandle, finding the park (as usual) alive with people, picnics, cyclers, runners and walkers in the outdoors enjoying the brilliant morning Autumn light.

Japanese Tea Garden, GG Park, SF (10/1/17) Darrell Sano

To Darrell, the park’s striking Conservatory of Flowers looked brilliant in the morning light, but he hastened to the Japanese Tea Garden via Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive and was delivered a treat.

There were juxtapositions of yellow gingko starting to turn, and Japanese tiger lily (Lilium leichtlinii) with red leaves to overlayed.

Inside the Tea Garden, color change was Just Starting (it’s an early November peak, normally), as the large ginkgo trees and most of the Japanese Maple still lacked color.

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco – Just Starting (0-10%)

 

 

 

Layers of color near the Music Concourse, GG Park (9/30/17) Darrell Sano

Mission palm and autumn blooms/color (9/30/17) Darrell Sano