Gold Beneath the Green: Autumn Leaves & the Lessons They Hold

Nature Slows Its Pulse

I often liken autumn to a contented exhale - a slowing of pace, where the air sharpens, the light softens, and the trees begin their quiet yet profound transformation. The hustle and bustle of bright, verdant days begin to fade to warm orange hues. Flowers morph into berries, and days spent amidst the hum of insects turn to wool-clad gatherings, bathed in candlelight. This tranquil shift is felt by humans, animals, and plants alike, with trees being one of the most treasured harbingers.

Science of the Shift

Scientifically, this shift is an elegant act of self-preservation, as the trees sense the darker half of the year drawing in. As the days become shorter and the nights longer, there’s simply less sunlight to fuel photosynthesis. To survive winter, trees must save their energy, so retreat inward, gradually shutting down energy production. 

This is in sharp contrast to the spring and summer months, when each leaf is busy converting energy from the sun within specialised structures called chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are abundant in a green pigment called chlorophyll, which absorbs light from the sun (mainly in the form of red and blue wavelengths).

Hidden Colours Revealed

This energy, when combined with water drawn up through the roots, and carbon dioxide diffused from the air, results in glucose - a simple sugar that fuels countless processes, ensuring the tree’s growth and repair.

To conserve energy for the colder months, trees stop producing chlorophyll, revealing a swathe of blazing ambers and cadmiums. These colours are the result of carotenoids (the same pigments that give carrots and squash their orange colour). But why can we suddenly see them? 

Here, the interwovenness of our inner perception and the outer world is highlighted, as leaves only appear green due to chlorophyll’s ability to absorb red and blue wavelengths produced by the sun. This leaves behind a very important wavelength of light - green - which is reflected back to our eyes.

Carotenoids were always present, but chlorophyll’s gentle retreat reveals their hidden beauty. This gradual transformation is a quiet reminder that energy is constantly being exchanged, conserved, and redirected - a rhythm mirrored both in nature and within ourselves.

Fallen Leaves

In the hushed threshold between seasons,

winter creeps forward. Proteins and sugars are reabsorbed by trees leaving behind tough, brown cellulose - structures that once supported photosynthesis. Branches unclothe themselves leaving the trees bare, and a blanket of crinkly, crunchy ochre coats the ground. At this time of year the wisdom of pause and restraint can be found littered all around us. 

The Quiet Work of Decay

As the leaves settle and decompose, they create a thick layer of mulch, feeding the earth below. Nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are released to the soil, enriching the terrain that supported the leaves’ emergence. Capsules of potentiality (aka seeds) wiggle their primary root searching for places to take hold and flourish. Having been insulated from the frost by a squish of decomposing leaves, seedlings will soon push towards the sky come spring. 

A Lesson in Rest and Renewal

For us, there is a lesson here. Like the tree, we cannot exist in constant flurry. Our energy is finite, our light not endless. To move, to create, to radiate, we must also allow ourselves to slow down, to retreat inward, to conserve and renew. Autumn reminds us that stillness is not laziness, but preparation; that the inner life, like the tree’s stored energy, requires periods of quiet and care. In the softening light, as the leaves turn and brown, we too can exhale, once again turning our attention inward, preparing ourselves for the next season of growth.