Autumnal

Round here, the leaves on the trees have all suddenly started to change in the last two weeks. It’s something I still find beautiful, and particularly when driving (as I did this weekend) through Thetford Forest, down roads lined with Autumn colours.

It seems weird that Autumn now really isn’t starting ’til October – and that there are still plenty of leaves on the trees while we’re now in November – but that seems to be the way the weather is developing. It’s been like this for a few years now, but still jars with what I remember of Autumn starting in September.

I wonder whether the plants will be affected by these changes. I thought they would be last year, but the harsh winter seems to have re-set their clocks OK. This year though I’ve seen things re-flowering in August/September (the California Lilac of the next-door neighbour is still in bloom now) and I wonder what effect it will have to be flowering and then suddenly be in Autumn / Winter.