A song of chance and fire

Autumn colour is often fleeting and notoriously hard to predict, but pick the right plants and, sooner or later, you will revel in a glorious blaze, says Steven Desmond

- Steven Desmond

EACH year, as the days shorten and the temperatures fall, the gossamer twinkles on the hedge tops and the swallows gather in friendly conversation on the telephone wires, another seasonal favourite begins: autumn colour.

This being an island with a variable temperate climate, we never know quite how things will develop. Sometimes, autumn colour is thrilling and rich and lasts for weeks; in other years, it is barely noticeable before it all blows off on a wet weekend. It is a passing show and we should make the most of it while it lasts. Nature knows better than we do and doesn’t always dance to our tune.

Despite the limitations of our knowledge, we have put scientific names to the colours found in leaves for two centuries. The one we all know is chlorophyll, the cause of this country being, as a general rule, a green and pleasant land. As a schoolboy returning each September from Zambia, a brown and pleasant land, I remember being repeatedly astonished on the long train journey home at how green the UK is. I often wanted to announce this to my fellow passengers, but managed to restrain myself. Nobody else seemed to notice.