Autumn colours

Now that autumn is here, there are lots of changes in our gardens, and lots of new colours to discover!

Amazing leaves

Are you starting to notice the leaves changing all around us?

When the temperature starts to drop in autumn and there’s less sun, leaves stop making food. When this happens, they start to lose their green colour which is needed to make food, and they later start to fall.

This reveals the leaves' real colours – oranges, yellows, reds and more!

Your colour checklist

Take a look outside, can you find a leaf that matches each of the colours? See if you can spot them all.

Brown
Orange
Red
Purple
Yellow
Green

It’s not just leaves that start to fall in autumn

It’s the perfect time of year to look for seeds too! Seeds come in all shapes and sizes.

Here are a few of the main ones you’ll see at this time of year.

Acorns

Tree: Oak

How they work: They start growing where they fall or are carried away by wildlife

Quick fact: In Korea, people use acorns to make jelly

Chestnut

Tree: Horse Chestnut

How they work: They drop from the tree and pop out of their spikey cover

Quick fact: Roasted chestnuts are a traditional part of Christmas dinner

Sycamore

Tree: Sycamore

How they work: Their helicopter shape helps the wind blow them away from the tree

Quick fact: One tree can produce up to 10,000 seeds in a season

Busy wildlife

All these falling leaves and seeds are great for garden wildlife. Hedgehogs use the colours to hide and stay safe.

Falling nuts are loved by squirrels! In autumn, you’ll see squirrels collecting the nuts. They’ll hide them in secret spots that they’ll visit during winter.

Have you ever seen a red squirrel? You’re very lucky if you have because they’re quite rare. You are more likely to see a grey one. That’s because grey squirrels are taking over their homes and spreading diseases to red squirrels. That's why lots of people are trying to protect them.