The poor weather that the UK endured throughout the summer period did not come without a considerable range of benefits for gardeners.
This goes some way beyond the old cliche that plants thrive in the wet – as the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has underlined the fact that this will make autumn a little prettier outdoors.
Indeed, the national gardening charity went so far as to forecast a spectacular display of colour throughout the season.
Recent spells of warm and sunny weather was cited as one of the driving factors behind this – as well as the unseasonably wet weather over the course of the summer period.
Curator at the RHS Garden Wisley Colin Crosby claimed that he has noticed cold temperatures at night and warm days has already prompted leaves to start turning.
He went on to claim that Acers saccharinum and rubrum, Acer palmatum cultivars, Euonymus europeaus cultivars, Liquidambar styraciflua and Nyssa sylvatica will be the first to display their autumn colours.
Other native growths such as oak trees and beech are also expected to perform very well later in the season as winter approaches.
The RHS recently launched an initiative entitled Autumn Planting for Year Round Colour, which it hopes will promote the benefits of continuing to get to work with the garden tools in the cooler time of year.
Mr Crosbie underlined the fact that there are many benefits to this action: "As the weather starts getting cooler and the chlorophyll that gives leaves their green colour begins breaking down it will expose yellow, orange and red pigments that, as long as we don't get heavy rain or winds, should provide an incredible display of colour from trees this autumn."
The expert predicted: "Wonderful displays of yellow, gold and red, which is at least one good side to the wet summer."
