A dead leaf on the London plane I am following in Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay
The end of summer here in Cardiff continued to see changeable weather, most recently blustery showers.
Temperatures are falling suddenly as we move into autumn.
The London plane (Platanus × hispanica or Platanus × acerifolia) I am following in Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay, still looks lush and green but was beginning to show signs of weakness when I visited it on September 2.
General view of the London plane
It was a windy day and the leaves would not keep still
The seed balls are hard to spot among all the lush foliage
Lichen on a branch and a single rust-coloured leaf
A closer look at the yellow lichen
The dead leaf at the top of this post has a broken stalk, so it is not really a sign of autumn colour
There are still some new leaves coming through…
…but some soft leaves start to look mouldy with all the damp weather we have had…
…more twisted and mouldy leaves
Another general view
A view from Bute Crescent, behind the tree and the outdoor seating area of Jolyon’s Hotel, next to the street cafe
Maybe next month we will have real autumn colours.
You can find all my London plane posts here…
The Squirrelbasket 
Temperatures are dropping here too, it’s a shame about the mold on the new foliage but I doubt it will affect the tree much if at all. The lichen looks nice and shows the air quality is quite good, the close up photo of the lichen also shows the interesting mottling of the tree bark. Frances
Thanks for noticing the detail!
Best wishes 🙂
Maybe in a few weeks all the trees will be covered in bright autumn colours…
I do hope so 🙂
As Erika mentioned, given the lushness of the canopy it would be spectacular if the leaves turned color on the tree!
Although it has been so wet and windy lately that I fear they won’t be able to hold on…
All the best 🙂
Your London Plane is still looking good, despite a bit of wear and tear. When the wind blows is it making that swushing noise that trees do at the end of summer, when they are getting drier? Am looking forward to some great photos of the decorative bark in midwinter once the leaves have fallen.
No chance of getting drier at the moment! Very wet and windy here.
All the best 🙂