Armidale Autumn

This Autumn has been one of the most beautiful on record in every respect. It is now May, which is the equivalent of November in the northern hemisphere, but the days are brilliantly clear and warm with temperatures hovering in the low 20s (degrees C). Yesterday, for example, was 23 degrees, which is more like a summer temperature in the UK. We have also had little rain recently, and the drier conditions are slowly turning the deciduous trees into brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red. Better still, the leaves are hanging in the trees for a long time as they are not dislodged by wind and rain.

Armidale has long had a policy of planting street trees everywhere, and mostly of non-native deciduous varieties. In contrast, native vegetation tends to keeps its foliage all year round. All this adds to the Autumn colour seen in the photographs: the reds of claret ash; yellows of Lombardy poplars and golden ash; or the orange of Pistachia Chinensis. The photos were taken in streets near our home and give quite a good impression of the thousands of colourful trees dotting the landscape.

AS