Autumn - All Change!

Although it is often sad to say good-bye to the outdoorsy days of summer, there’s much to enjoy as nature calls “All Change” and the spectacle of Autumn begins.

You don’t need to travel far to enjoy the changing colours of Autumn. Take a closer look at the street or park trees and hedgerows where you live and you’ll find some real jewels of autumn colour.

The green colour of leaves is from chlorophyll which helps plants turn the energy of the sun into sugars. In the autumn, levels of chlorophyll drop with the lower temperatures and as the green colour retreats, the yellows and oranges of the leaves are revealed. If the autumn is very dry, some trees produce anthocyanin which produces a red leaf colour. Look out for the beech, field maple, hawthorn and silver birch trees for their kaleidoscope of leaf colours.

Berries are stunning in the autumn too – rowan and guelder rose are bright red, while spindle has spectacular pink and orange berries.

Trees in Winter

Take a closer look at trees this winter! Without their summer greenery, their beautiful silhouettes bring a bit of drama to the winter landscape … especially at dawn and dusk.

Winter is the perfect time to get to know your trees better. Having lost their leaves, a bare tree reveals lots of clues to a tree’s identity.

Bare is good!

At this time of year you can get a really good look at the bark but also the shape of the branches and twigs too.

The Tree Council have a very simple guide to identifying trees based on taking a closer look at the three B’s – Branches, Bark and Buds! Have a look at their winter ID webpage and see if you can recognise a few more trees when you are next out and about.

Wet and windy out but you need some fresh air to blow away the cobwebs? Woodlands are a great place to head to as the trees will shelter you from the worst of the winter weather.

Have a look at our pick of 12 great woodlands to visit over the winter season.

Read more

Rampisham (c) Tony Gill

Winter tree quiz

Once you’ve taken a closer look at winter trees, have a go at the Woodland Trust’s winter tree quiz … a good test of your Branch, Bud and Bark spotting skills.

Visit the Woodland Trust website

Tree identification app

Or let your phone do all the work! Download the new Woodland Trust Tree ID app and find the name and all sorts of interesting facts about the trees you come across when out and about.

And you can save all your favourite trees on the app … a good reminder of trips out and to test yourself when you get home!

Photos, thanks to: 

  • Winter Sunset, Wardon Hill (c) Graham Herbert
  • Snowy woodland (c) Tony Gill
  • Winter trees at Rampisham (c) Tony Gill
  • Winter trees (c) Zara Huddleston