THE autumn leaves have given us a fantastic display this year. The beech trees in particular have been absolutely stunning.

The colours have ranged from brilliant lime green to golden yellow and through to deep coppery brown. In contrast to this, the birch trees have been clothed in a gentle buttery yellow foliage for the last few weeks.

It was the early rain followed by the long, hot summer that encouraged the trees to hang on to their leaves much longer than normal, and by hanging on, we got to see the more complex pigment changes that occur when chlorophyll ceases to be produced.

Most of the leaves have now dropped exhaustedly to the floor. All that remains are the brittle bunches of ash keys, the feathery light brown furze on the larches and a smattering of rust coloured sweet chestnut leaves. Mind you, if you catch the evening sun slanting through a stand of trees, you can see that the fallen leaves have created deep, rich, foliar carpets on the ground. These will soon turn into treacherous, slippery mats, but for now, you can bring out the impish child within and dance through the leaves, kicking them into the air with carefree abandon.

I always try to collect some of the more attractive leaves, such as those from the various Acers, the Boston ivies and crimson vines, the large medlar leaves and the fiery rhus. I press them by putting them between sheets of paper and leaving under several large books (the RHS garden encyclopaedia and the Conran book of gardening are particularly good for this). By Christmas time, they have dried but retained their colour and can be used in flower displays, table settings, decorations or in the making of individual and personal Christmas cards. They also look extremely attractive if they are placed between thin tissue paper and used for wrapping presents.

Of course, in the garden, you should be collecting the leaves and using them to make a high quality but absolutely free compost. The simplest method is to bag all the leaves up in a black bin liner or compost bag turned inside out, and leave it tied up in a quiet corner of the garden for six months or so. Alternatively, you could construct a purpose-built pen, similar to a standard compost box, and store them in that. They may need watering at intervals and will need a top cover of polythene or old carpet in order to get the temperature high enough. Some leaves will take longer to decompose than others. The beech must be one of the slowest to go soft, while the birch and sycamore readily decay.

The falling of the leaves always brings that little bit of sorrow to the season, in that spring and summer are definitely over and there is no halting the coming of winter's cold dark days. By making use of the discarded leaves, you are at least getting something positive out of it.

JOBS TO THE DOING IN THE GARDEN THIS WEEK

Protect tender plants

Anything that is not completely hardy in the garden may need wrapping up in horticultural fleece or straw. Use cloth pegs to pin the material together. Try to ensure that the plant can still get enough light and water though.

Start digging in the veg plot

The hard work in the vegetable garden can begin now. If you haven't already cleared away the leftovers from the present season, then do so immediately. Start turning over the soil in readiness for next year's planting. This is particularly important if you have a heavy clay soil. You don't need to be too thorough in breaking down large clumps, as the frost will do that for you over the winter.

Start heating the greenhouse

If you have a heated greenhouse then now is a good time to fire up the boiler or light the lamps, especially overnight. This way, you can continue sowing and growing throughout the winter and get a good few weeks head start on next year's propagation programme.

Gardeners' Questions

Mrs Bradley, from Stokesley, wrote to tell me about her cyclamen. It is an indoor one, and flowers quite well, but the leaves are always yellow. She makes sure that it is kept in a warm location and is well watered.

As absurd as this may sound, over watering is the likely cause of the yellow leaves. You may think that the plant needs a drink, but it probably doesn't and you may actually be killing it with kindness. The best remedy for this is to water it in a saucer under the pot. The roots will take up any water that the plant needs. During the winter, it may only need watering once a fortnight or so.

Cyclamen also hate being too warm, and will quickly keel over next to a radiator. They need to be kept on a window sill in a cool room, but make sure that there are no cold traps behind curtains.

Post Script

Tune into BBC Radio Cleveland 95FM every Sunday from 12-2pm to hear more of Brigid's horticultural chat as she presents 'Ask About Gardening'.

Published: 22/11/2003