- Some trees and shrubs have green leaves that change colour as they grow old, then eventually fall off. These plants are called deciduous.
- When the leaves grow old, the chemical that makes them green (chlorophyll) stops working as well, so we get to see all the other brilliant colours in the leaves, like red, orange and gold.
- Some of the best deciduous trees for autumn colour are maples, cherry and pear trees, mountain ashes, elms and birch trees.
- Trees that don’t drop their leaves and look green all year round are called evergreens.
- In some places around the world, the changes in colour of the landscape are so beautiful that people travel especially to see and photograph it. They call themselves Leaf Peepers!
Why don’t you have a go at leaf peeping, too? When you’re out, collect some different-coloured leaves. See how many colours you can find! Let them dry out and put them inside an old book to flatten them – you can keep an autumn nature record or make pretty pictures with them!
If you’re in the UK, the Visit Woods website is packed with autumn activity ideas and you can find your nearest woodland, too. Have a fluttery lovely autumn, with love and magic dust from the Magic Belles xxx
