"Designers want me to dress like Spring, in billowing things. I don't feel like Spring," admitted the late movie star Marilyn Monroe, "I feel like a warm red Autumn."
When the so-called "blond-bombshell" was under the bright lights of Hollywood, she did seem red-hot. So maybe "autumn red" is an accurate simile.
In autumn, when days are sunny and the nights are chilly (but not below freezing), leaves of some trees such as the maples produce lots of sugars.
But in the cool autumn evenings, those sugars do not move into the roots. The combination of excess sugar and sunlight stimulates the production of anthocyanin pigments—the reds, purples, and crimsons.
Trees on the edge of fields, roads, lakes, and in yards receive far more sunshine than forest trees, so they turn a vivid autumn red.
There was a dark side to Marilyn. She suffered from depression and stress. But the simile still works.
Stressed trees almost always turn first, and trees on the edges tend to be stressed.
They are buffeted by far more wind than those in the forest interior. Trees near pavement tolerate drought conditions, especially in dry years like this one. Trees on the edges of wetlands or lakes experience too much water and often nutrient-poor soil.
Stressed plants turn autumn red. And, like Marilyn, they really are gorgeous.
