Turning leaves: why they change colour and where to see them

Never mind all that mists and mellow fruitfulness malarkey, it’s autumn’s turning leaves that provide this season’s true high point, with the bonus of a science lesson on the side. Find out why they change and where to witness this magical scene.

The annual gold rush, when deciduous leaves change colour, is produced when the days get shorter, with cool, but not freezing, nights. This prompts trees to reduce green chlorophyll production, giving other pigments a chance to shine, albeit briefly.

Leaf shedding, called abscission, is all about preparing for winter; leaves are fragile things that could dessicate or freeze during the coldest months. To prevent damage they drop off, but not before withdrawing valuable pigments like chlorophyll and forming a thin band of dead cells at the base of the stem that separates leaf and stalk. When it dies and drops to the forest floor, any useful nutrients can be reabsorbed as the leaf decomposes.

Where to see the leaves turning

Go down to the woods today… and you’ll catch one of nature’s finest displays. No matter how many times we’ve seen it before, the vivid hues of red, gold, yellow and orange that cloak the trees and carpet the ground this month never lose impact. A walk in the woods, park or simply down a tree-lined road provides an instant mood-lift.

Here are our top five spots:
Westonbirt, the National Arboretum in Gloucestershire, famous for its riot of autumnal colour and the UK’s largest collection of Japanese maples (acer), which are at their best right now.

Salcey Forest near Northampton, for a bird’s eye view of the forest in all its glory, from the Tree Top Way.

Crinan Wood, Argyll and Bute, Scotland – the warm, moist climate in this magical wood means it’s often described as Scotland’s rainforest. It’s home to a wide variety of ferns and lichens, too.

Brede High Woods, Cripps Corner, East Sussex. This is a large wood where you can spot many varieties of tree, as well as some of the UK’s most important creatures, including the great crested newt, badgers, fallow deer and the brook lamprey dormouse.

Bedgebury Pinetum, Kent – the largest collection of conifers in the world. Lots to keep kids entertained, too, from the Gruffalo trail to the Go Ape adventure park.

Read more:

From the November issue

Pressed leaves - craft ideas

Five ways to use up your pumpkins

Turn to page 70 of November's The Simple Things for more on arboretums, kicking leaves and making the most of autumn.

November's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe.

How to combat a common cold

Made it this far without succumbing? There are ways to keep the lurgy at bay – find out how to combat a common cold.

Wash your hands: cold viruses can live on indoor surfaces for up to seven days. Nice.

Don’t touch your nose or eyes: this lowers your chance of getting infected.

Blitz surfaces against germs: regularly wipe keyboards, door handles, light switches and phones.

Test your metal: evidence suggests zinc can reduce the length and severity of a cold if taken as symptoms start. 

Flower up: trials found those who took echinacea regularly were 30% less likely to get a cold.

Recipe: Chicken and quince tagine

Pumpkins are plump, orchard fruit is ripe. Lia Leendertz knows just what to do with quince and medlar.

‘I first came across the idea of using quince as the fruity element in a tagine in Mark Diacono’s River Cottage Handbook: Veg Patch, and it seemed just right. Quinces originate in the Middle East and sit happily in a tagine. I’ve used chicken, flavoured with saffron, ginger and cinnamon.’ Lia Leendertz

Serves 4
8 chicken thighs
3 tbsp olive oil
3 red onions, sliced lengthways 
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 small winter squash (I used uchiki kuri)
2 red peppers
5 dried apricots, chopped 
Small bunch coriander
Small bunch parsley
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp saffron, in warm water
1 cinnamon stick
4 tbsp black olives
2 tbsp honey
1 preserved lemon
2 quinces
Juice of 1 lemon

1. Brown the chicken thighs all over then set aside. Take a large, heavy dish with a well-fitting lid and add the oil, red onions and garlic. Place over a low heat. Chop and add the other vegetables and the apricots.
2. Finely chop the herbs and sprinkle over, reserving half of the coriander. Add spices, olives and honey. Remove and discard the pith from the preserved lemon, finely chop the rind and add to the pot.
3. Arrange the browned chicken on the top of the vegetables, add 175ml water and set over the heat. Bring up to a simmer, cover with the lid and turn down to the lowest possible heat. Simmer for 45 mins.
4. In the meantime peel and quarter the quinces; drop into a pan of boiling water, with the lemon juice, and simmer gently for 30 mins. Drain and, when slightly cool, remove the cores and slice each quarter in two. Add to the tagine for final 10 mins of cooking. Sprinkle over the reserved chopped coriander before serving.

Turn to page 44 of November's The Simple Things for the full menu, which includes Khobz (Moroccan bread), a quince & medlar cheeseboard,  buttery baked medlars, spiced pickled quince, and quince brandy. Buy or download your copy now.

Make: Bug hotel

Build a bug hotel for your garden. This multi-storey insect hotel will soon fill up with guests, from ladybirds to lacewings.

You will need:
24 old bricks
Some old curved roof tiles
10 short pieces of wood
Corrugated cardboard, bamboo canes, drinking straws, old pots, logs, egg boxes, pine cones, and dry leaves
A selection of hollow tubes, such as empty cardboard tubes, loo rolls, plastic pipes and bottles

1 Find a quiet, sheltered spot in the garden and make sure that the ground is flat. Lay two rows of bricks, two bricks long and two bricks high, so that they are the same width apart as the length of your pieces of wood.
2 Put a curved roof tile between the two rows as a shelter for toads and frogs.
3 Lay three pieces of wood, spaced evenly, across the lines of bricks. Add another one or two courses of bricks and some more wood to build up the storeys. 
4 On the top layer, add an extra piece of wood at the back of the stack to make the tiles sit at an angle, so the rain runs off. 
5 Roll up pieces of corrugated cardboard, slide them inside the cardboard tubes then put these inside the hotel. Fill the other tubes and plastic pipes with a selection of hollow stems like bamboo and drinking straws. These make perfect winter ‘rooms’ for small insects.
6 You could also drill holes in the ends of logs or add other materials such as egg boxes, pine cones, and dry leaves.
7 Place more tiles on top of the final layer to form the roof of the hotel.
8 Find a flat tile or piece of slate and write the name of your hotel on it with chalk.

Nest: Interiors tips from Lilli Toukolehto

Lilli Toukolehto jointly owns interior and lifestyle shop and café Moko Market & Café in Helsinki (www.moko.fi/en) with her sister. By layering fabric and being unafraid of colour, Lilli has given her Helsinki apartment real personality. Turn to page 90 of November’s The Simple Things for the full home tour, or read on for Lilli’s top style tips.

LILLI’S STYLE
1. Don’t be afraid of colour, I love to mix rich crimsons and pinks with yellows and purples – the combination always lifts my spirits.

2. You can never have enough cushions. I am always buying and making more so that I can change them from season to season to freshen up my interior scheme.

3. Keep an eye open for neglected furniture. If it was well made, it will have a good, solid frame and can be reupholstered.

4. Display mirrors and pictures in groups to  create an area of interest.

5. Mix furniture and other pieces from different eras: the joy of vintage is that it works across the decades.

Recipe: Proper custard

Top your pie or crumble with this delicately f lavoured custard made with your own fair hands, from Vanilla by Janet Sawyer.

Serves 4–6

100g golden caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour
250ml whole milk
125ml clotted or double cream
4 egg yolks, beaten
1⁄2–1 tsp vanilla paste (or seeds of 1⁄2–1 vanilla pod)

1. Mix the sugar and cornflour in a bowl. Whisk in the milk.
2. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the cream gently, adding the milk mixture a little at a time. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring constantly, and reduce heat when it starts to thicken.
3. Pour a little of the hot milk mixture onto the egg yolks, stirring well, then gradually stir this back into the remaining milk in the pan.
4. Gently bring the mixture back to the boil and stir in the vanilla paste or seeds. Serve the custard immediately, or cover with cling film to stop a skin forming, and reheat gently when needed.

Variations: To pimp your custard, add the finely grated zest of half an orange, a pinch of saffron or a tbsp of toasted flaked almonds. 

Recipe: Buttered bourbon apple cider

Make two batches of our November cover recipe – one boozy, one kid- and driver-friendly – for a warming autumn treat.

Getting together with friends and family happens so easily in summer – good weather and that holiday feeling being the natural allies of socialising. Yet there’s plenty to celebrate come bonfire season: autumn’s fiery canopy, the crisp, cold air and fast-falling dusk lend themselves to gathering outdoors, wrapping up, wellies donned, and feasting around the fire. We’ll raise a glass of mulled cider to that.

Recipe: Buttered bourbon apple cider

Serves 6–8

500ml apple cider*
100ml apple juice
1 tbsp light brown sugar
Cinnamon sticks (one, plus some to use as stirrers)
Cloves
Star anise
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of ginger
Sliced fresh fruit (orange, apple)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
150ml bourbon

1. In a large pot add the cider, apple juice and sugar; heat until it starts to simmer.

2. Add all other ingredients except for the butter and bourbon.

3. Let the spiced cider simmer for 10 mins, then add the butter and bourbon, stirring gently until the butter has melted.

4. Remove from the heat, pour into glasses, add a cinnamon stick to each glass and serve. You can strain the mixture before pouring, if you don’t want ‘bits’.

* To make a children’s version, replace the bourbon and cider with apple juice (600ml in total).

November - in the mood

How we love autumn... You are invited to put on your party shoes and join us under the stars. There’ll be fire to warm your hands; soup to warm your toes, and music to warm your heart. Oh, and parkin. Familiar faces include duffle coats and dried flowers. Then there are the surprise guests – Danish smørrebrød and buttery baked medlars. And don’t we all love a toffee apple? RSVP The Simple Things.

Out now, The Simple Things November issue is available from all good newsagents and supermarkets, or you can buy online or download an issue now.

Two ways: the jam tart

November's The Simple Things features Alice's favourite bake - the jam tart. Want two more ways to make them? Try these alternative methods fit for a Queen (of Hearts).

The Lattice jam tart

This effect is achieved by criss-crossing strips of pastry over a tart filling. These strips can be plain or decorative, laid flat or twisted, or even woven. Use cloves to anchor the pastry strips together where they overlap. Neaten the edges of the tart by laying a pastry rim over the ends of the strips. Brush the pastry with milk syrup and bake.

Slits Tart

Cut a covering strip of pastry for neatening the edge of the tart; set aside. Roll an oval the width of your pie plate, using the remaining scraps. Cut lengthways down the middle then cut a slit lengthways down the middle of each half. Pull the pastry apart to create the shape of a capital D. Moisten the pastry with water and then lay both D-shaped pieces of pastry back to back, with a small space in-between. Your tart should divide into 5 crescents. Glaze and bake blind. Fill each section with a preserve of a different colour.

From Great British Bakes by Mary-Anne Boermans (Square Peg)

Image: Pinterest

Dark sky thinking: stargazing events

Astronomical societies across the country regularly hold talks, events and ‘Star Parties’. Go stargazing with some of these dark sky events.

Wordsworth’s Winter Stars at Allan Bank and Grasmere, 15 November 18.30-20.00, £5

This National Trust event allows you to learn about the universe with local astronomer Stuart Atkinson, as you gaze at the night sky from the grounds of Allan Bank, as Wordsworth once did. In his words, ‘ the loveliest spot that man hath ever found’.

Practical Observing for Beginners at The Royal Observatory Greenwich. 4 November 19.00- 21.00, £78

An expert introduction to practical astronomy, but perhaps one you might not consider investing in until you’ve made sure it’s the hobby for you.

Swansea Astronomical Society Star Party at The National Botanic Garden for Wales, 28 November 18.30-21.00, £3

Given clear skies, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Moon and many other fascinating stellar objects will be visible. Includes a talk on comets.

Pop-up astronomy club is an informal astronomy club set up by East London science collective Super Collider. They have binoculars and a telescope for guests to use, and meet whenever the sky is clear and there’s something to see - follow them on twitter for updates.

Turn to page 68 of November's The Simple Things for more stargazing. Buy or download your copy now.

Recipe: Garibaldi biscuits

Lia Leendertz, our regular Seed to Stove columnist, remembers forgotten foods in the November issue of The Simple Things. Here, she shares her delight in the Garibaldi biscuit, plus a tried and tested recipe. “The garibaldi is one of the oldest biscuits on the block, and is mentioned in Mrs Beeton’s original ‘Book of Household Management’ in 1861. It has stood the test of time, and I thought it might make a lovely fruity addition to the savoury biscuits on my cheese board. I was right.”

Garibaldi biscuits

110g self-raising flour Pinch of salt 25g spreadable butter 25g golden caster sugar 2 tablespoons milk 50g currants A little egg white, lightly beaten A little granulated sugar

A large baking sheet, with a non-stick liner

1. Put the flour, salt and butter into a mixing bowl and rub to the fine crumb stage. 2. Then add the sugar and after that enough milk to mix to a firm dough that will leave the bowl clean. 3. After that transfer it to a lightly floured surface and roll it out to a rectangle 20cm by 30cm. 4. Now sprinkle the currants over half the surface and then fold the other half on top and roll everything again so you end up with a rectangle 20cm by 30cm. 5. Then trim it neatly using a sharp long-bladed knife, so you end up with a shape about 18cm by 28cm. 6. Cut this into 24 fingers approximately 3cm by 7cm. 7. Now place the biscuits on the baking sheet, brush with a little egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar. 8. Bake near the centre of the oven for 12–15 minutes, then cool on a wire tray and store in an airtight tin.

Recipe from Delia's Cakes by Delia Smith.

Image: Pinterest