A FAMOUS Hampshire garden has turned up the colour for autumn.

Exbury Gardens reports a spectacular show of golds, oranges, reds and yellows this season.

Head gardener John Anderson said that the stars of the show at the 200-acre site include the tupelo trees (Nyssa sylvatica) sweet gums (Liquidambar styraciflua), hickory (Carya spp), Canadian maples (Acer rubrum), Japanese maples (Acer palmatum varieties); Enkianthus campanulatus and Vacciniums (blueberries). An autumn stroll to discover Exbury’s ‘Magnificent Maples’ will take place on Saturday, November 7.

The perfect ingredients for vibrant autumn colours are cold – but not freezing – nights, dry weather and bright sunny days.

• Exbury Gardens Autumn - in pictures >>

In dry weather, the leaf sugars become concentrated and produce more anthocyanin – the purple/red pigment that causes apples to turn red and black grapes purple.

In sunny conditions, photosynthesis can still occur in the autumn and this uses up the remaining chlorophyll and so the sugar concentration in the leaves further increases, and more anthocyanin is produced.

This is why the foliage is more vivid after several bright fall days.

The other chemical which comes into play at this time of year is carotene (yellow) which has been masked by the chlorophyll (green). Oak leaves tend to go brown because of the high levels of tannin they contain.