The Color Was Always There!

When it comes to autumn leaves, New Hampshire is, of course, on the Must-See List. But this year Yankee magazine finally came out and named Jackson, NH one of the Top Ten Foliage viewing spots in all New England, calling us “The Jewel of the White Mountains” in their Sept/Oct issue. While we (and our guests) have always known this to be true, it is no longer one of our Best Kept Secrets! Jackson’s truth is out!

Up until a few days ago, fall appeared to be getting a late start in these parts, where color can sometimes begin to tinge the leaves as early as mid-August when conditions are favorable. As of Monday, however, the view from my “laptop perch” here at the front desk of The Lodge gave the false impression that it was still summer, despite our crisp evening temperatures. (I love sleeping with the windows open but lately I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night to shut them). On Tuesday I looked across the street and noticed that two trees on the hillside had just the slightest blush of red … the tiniest possible hint of that characteristic tinge we all eagerly anticipate. On Wednesday I was amazed that these same trees, positioned from my vantage point to be just above the peak of the old Thompson House Eatery barn, were a deep burgundy red and the maple to its right was beginning to hint of orange. Yesterday this maple was deeply orange,as was the one to the barn’s immediate left. Today as I look across the street, I see autumn in all its glorious splendor … nowhere near peak yet in its intensity, but looking like a postcard nevertheless. How in just 3 short days, is it possible to transition from summer to fall so abruptly? The answer is that the colors were there all along!

As they begin to shut down their food-making factories, the green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As this bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors that have been in the leaves all along, but have been covered up by the green chlorophyll.

The bright reds and purples we see in leaves this time of year are actually made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into the gorgeous red color for which New Hampshire maples are so famous!