"Shades of Autumn" Personal Page by elucas

Autumn is the time when nature gives us her gifts – a profusion of fruits to enjoy and maybe store away for those winter months. Nature always provides far, far too much of anything – just think how many apples, plums, walnuts or whatever will be produced by a healthy tree in a good year. This abundance, however, will guarantee that if even only a handful survive that they will provide for the future.

People sometimes think of the Autumn as a sad time – of rapidly shortening days, colder weather, plants and trees dying down, but I don’t believe this to be the case. Nature has produced her bounty, often entertained us with a last flamboyant show of colour, before going to rest over the winter months and to wait for the return of Spring.

If you look closely at this picture you will see that this horse chestnut tree seed or "conker" is just about to open and fall. I have always had a childish love of these seeds - so bright and burnished at first and so well protected in their spiky green casing.

Ripening blackberries

A feast from the hedgerow - gorgeous ripening blackberries with some ready for picking.

Clematis seed

If you look closely at this you can see the ghostly tendrils of clematis seed entwined amongst the greenery. Autumn can be a chaotic, untidy time in the garden but nature usually sorts itself out in the end !

Scarlet Ivy

This wonderful ivy with its many shades of scarlet, green and gold is a fairly early feature of Autumn. It always reminds me of the place where Andrew and I had our wedding reception – a rambling pretty Inn with views of lush Bucks countryside – each Autumn much of the place was covered in this flamboyant coloured ivy.

Woody Nightshade berries

Don't be tempted by this one. These beautiful scarlet berries are poisonous to eat.

Ripening apples

And talking of Temptation. Apples similar to these lovely ripening apples were the downfall of Eve in the Garden of Eden, according to the Book of Genesis. Tempted by the serpent she took just one apple from the Tree of Forbidden Fruit and offered it to Adam. The dire consequences were that they were both banished from the Garden of Eden forever. And the consequences for womankind ? ? Well, that’s another story.

There is a walnut inside.

This year saw a wonderful crop of walnuts. We had a long hot summer by English standards and this obviously suited the walnut trees. The walnut itself is encased in this thick green coating which eventually rots away and the walnuts clatter to the ground with the seed protected by its shell. One part of the tree overhangs our garden, the squirrels come to investigate and store nuts for the winter, and I have gathered up handfuls for Christmas as a special treat.

Colours of Autumn

I had to hunt for this picture of glowing Autumn shades. We do not have a long “fall” in England as in America or Canada and this year the colour change has been late in the season – and all too soon the leaves are brought down by the winds.