Make the most of the autumn sunshine it is warming and creates warm colours in the leaves of our plants and trees.
Chlorophyll is leaving the leaves of plants and only background colouring caused by the remaining chemicals is visible until the leaves fall.

What Happens in Autumn Sunshine

• A green leaf is green because of the presence of the pigment chlorophyll.
• During the growing season chlorophylls’ green color dominates and masks out the colors of any other pigments that may be present in the leaf. Thus the leaves of summer are characteristically bright green.
• The green helps capture the sunshine and convert the energy into plant sugars and thus growth. This is called photosynthesis.
• During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis.
• In Autumn the shorter days signal winter and trees begin to shut down their food-making factories.
• The trees will rest and live off the food they stored during the summer.

Why do Leaves Change Colour

• Loosing leaves is one way of a plant disposing of waste chemicals.
• It has been suggested that autumn colours may be a warning signal towards insects that use the trees for food.
• Trees need some sort of protection to survive freezing temperatures and harsh winters. Stems, twigs, and buds are equipped to survive extreme cold so that they can reawaken when spring heralds the start of another growing season. Tender leaf tissues would freeze in winter so plants must either toughen up their leaves (evergreens) or dispose of them.