Welcome to the first day of autumn
‘Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower’
Albert Camus
Today is the first day of autumn, well, Meteorological Autumn that is. The meteorological calendar splits the seasons into four equal periods, with spring, summer, autumn and winter all lasting exactly three months of the Gregorian calendar.
This means autumn on the meteorological calendar falls on the same date every year – September 1 – lasting through October and November and ending on November 30. Meanwhile, winter starts on December 1 (December, January, February), spring starts on March 1 (March, April, May) and summer starts on June 1 each year (June, July, August).
Just to confuse the issue, Astronomical Autumn begins on the 22 September this year. However the acers in my garden are already turning autumnal, so the 1st of September is fine for me.
Autumn displays could come as early as mid-September as a wet spring and sunny conditions have paved the way for spectacular colours in 2016, the Forestry Commission has said.
Welcome to the Autumn, and hopefully a colourful time ahead!!