This is Adelaide … homage to the autumn trees
As debate rages over trees being felled in the Adelaide Park Lands, renowned photographer Alex Frayne shares a moment of reflection this autumn.
Image Title: Autumn Array, 2022
The image was shot at Mount Lofty Botanic Garden on 6×6 film with an old Yashica Twin Lens Camera.
Leaves are turning colour across the state and photographer Alex Frayne today shares an image from Mount Lofty Botanic Garden where the landscape is now a sea of reds, oranges, yellows and browns.
As the future of South Australia’s trees lands firmly under the public spotlight with 585 being felled by the state government on the North Adelaide Golf Course, InDaily turns its attention to our trees in the hills.
The botanic gardens advises that the best Mount Lofty autumn-tree viewing spots are around the Main Lake, Duck Pond and Woodland Garden, with colours mostly concentrated towards the lower part of the garden.
While an Australian Bureau of Meteorology post explains how, as temperatures fall, deciduous trees shed their leaves.
“The leaves are coloured by molecules called ‘pigments’. During autumn, the changes in weather cause chlorophyll (green pigment) production to slow down and eventually stop.
“Once the chlorophyll breaks down, the leaves reveal other pigments called carotenoids (yellow and orange) and anthocyanins (red, pink and purple). Anthocyanins also act as a natural sunscreen and pesticide, protecting leaves from being sun burnt or eaten.”
Many South Australians head to the hills’ towns including Stirling to see the colours – with around 1000 walkers expected in the hills for the Pioneer Women’s Trail Walk this weekend, following in the footsteps of women and the trek they once made from Hahndorf to the city to sell their produce.
Subscribe for updates
Mount Barker Council says to look out for a magnificent display of Canadian Maples (Acer rubrum) trees behind the local Homemaker Centre.
“We planted these beauties approximately 15 years ago – they brighten the environment and the day for people who walk past them on the Linear Trail,” the council advised in a social media post.
Alex Frayne is a regular contributor to InDaily and wrote a series of essays for the publication in 2025.
Here is a link to his ruminations on Landscape photography. https://www.indailysa.com.au/citymag/design/2025/10/09/a-lesson-in-landscape-photography
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
