Berry good autumn expected despite the record-breaking hot summer and drought

Many gardeners and countryside managers agree autumn arrived swiftly, as though someone had ‘flicked a switch’, but predict a gradual build of colour to wow visitors. And the signs are good for wildlife, too, with widespread reports of abundant acorns, fungi and berries in gardens and the countryside.

John Deakin, Head of Trees and Woodland at the National Trust said: “Autumn is such a pivotal moment in the calendar, shorter days combined with normally cooler temperatures and changes to rainfall patterns all contributing to the vivid sylvan scenes of ochres, oranges, red and yellows we associate and love with the season.

“In recent years with the climate becoming more unpredictable, it’s become even trickier to predict autumn colour. However, this year with the combination of reasonably widespread rainfall in September and a particularly settled spring we should hopefully see a prolonged period of trees moving into senescence – ie the gradual breakdown of chlorophyll in leaves which leads to the revealing of other pigments that give leaves their autumn colour, as well as a bounty of nuts and berries.”

Sheffield Park and Garden in East Sussex, well known for its autumn colour, entered a ‘false autumn’ due to stress, but rain showers have put the season back on track.

Head Gardener Steve Feazey said: “Our trees have had a good drink and we are now hopeful that our autumn display will be as fiery and spectacular as ever. When our bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis) at the entrance turns completely yellow, we’re officially in autumn – I think this will happen the week starting 6th October. Cold nights and potential frosts over the upcoming weeks will then accelerate the autumn colour.”

Petworth House and Park in neighbouring West Sussex – whose golden autumn beauty was immortalised by JMW Turner – also had some ‘false starts’ due to drought stress, but Gardens and Outdoors Manager Martyn Burkinshaw says autumn colour is now starting to kick in.

Martyn said: “The summer drought has been hard on our veteran trees, which are hugely important for a wide variety of wildlife. Some have unfortunately died and others have already dropped their leaves for winter, but our American oaks, scarlet oaks and pin oaks are beginning to turn red and the copper colours of our swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum) on the lake should not be missed on an autumn afternoon.

“The way the colours are presenting now I'd estimate the best time for autumn colour will be mid-late October.”

At Stourhead in Wiltshire, long celebrated for its autumn displays, Gardens and Countryside Manager Tim Parker thinks we’ll see a gradual build to autumn, unlike last year when the colours seemed to ‘all collide’ during October half-term. Some trees did drop leaves early due to heat stress but he thinks the landscape is still on track to peak in the last week of October or first week or November.

Tim said: “Autumn is a particularly special time here and visitors really do get twice the seasonal effect, thanks to the reflections in the lake. We’re already seeing early performers like the katsura tree turning buttery yellow and there is some acer colour – and there’s plenty more to come.

“The wet spring and dry summer, along with high sugar content in the leaves, should give us rich, vibrant colour.”

In the Midlands, Paul Walton, Head Gardener at Biddulph Grange Garden in Staffordshire, is similarly optimistic, predicting a gradual autumn that lasts longer than in recent years.

Paul said: “I think we’re well on the way to having a good autumn. We had an early frost a couple of weeks ago and the tips of the broadleaf trees are starting to turn. We’ve had an autumnal feel since early September, with cool mornings and heavy dew. Unless we have a hard frost, I think we could be in for a really good show that will progress through to a peak in late October or early November.”

And, in the north, at Gibside near Newcastle, Head Gardener Cail Stewart suspects reds may dominate the garden’s autumn colour palette this year, because of high levels of anthocyanin in the leaves.

Cail said: “We think this pigment helps trees defend themselves against damage from extreme light. I’m already noticing way more red pigment, for example in our ash trees, which could be a protective response to this summer’s strong sunshine and heat.”

It also looks like being a good year for fungi too. Countryside Manager Andrew Brooks at the Blickling Estate in Norfolk said: “Fungi have been sitting, waiting for the rain and are now popping up – we have loads of shaggy parasols and highly recognisable fly agaric.”

And at Dyrham Park near Bath, the meadow is inundated with waxcap fungi and other species. Piers Horry, Garden & Countryside Manager added: “Now’s also a great time to see some glorious ‘bracket’ fungi on trees, like bright red ‘beefsteak fungus’ and bright yellow ‘chicken of the woods’. They feel more noticeable this year and as the leaves come off the trees, you can really enjoy their colours.”

Many Trust experts also agree we are in a ‘mast year’, a phenomenon occurring around once every four years, in which certain tree species produce unusually high numbers of nuts and berries.

Oak and sweet chestnut trees are “absolutely covered” at Blickling, and at Petworth, the bumper crop of acorns, chestnuts, and beech nuts are being hungrily eaten as the deer fatten up for the leaner months of winter. Head Gardener at Dunham Massey in Cheshire, Emily Chandler, says the volume of acorns is “the largest we have ever seen”.

Gibside’s Cail Stewart thinks the “very heavy” crop of acorns on the landscape garden’s many oak trees, will be a boon for wildlife including jays. Normally elusive birds, they may be more active and easier to spot this year because of the abundance of their favourite food source.

Rowallane Garden in Northern Ireland is looking forward to its best berry season for at least five years, helped by long periods of sunshine but without the drought conditions experienced by many other parts of the UK. Head Gardener Claire McNally said Cotoneaster, Enkianthus, Sorbus and Malus hupehensis (Hupeh crab) are already “covered in berries”, which should bode well for birds over winter.

The mast year seen at Rowallane and many other gardens is extending beyond gardens and into the wider countryside cared for by the Trust.

Tom Hill, Trees and Woodlands Adviser in London and the South East, said: “Native trees like hawthorns, blackthorns, hazels and rowans are already rammed with nuts and berries. This is likely thanks to the long period of calm weather we had in spring when trees and shrubs were able to flower for longer and our insects had longer to cross-pollinate.

“You’ll witness this incredible sight at lots of places in the south-east, including Sheffield Park – home to magnificent oaks and their acorns, and in the Chilterns and South Downs, which are covered in berry-laden hedgerows.”