Arboricultural experts say the recent cold mornings and warmer afternoons have led to a rapid onset of autumn changes in trees.
With the falling temperatures, the lush green colours of summer have been replaced with vivid reds, golden yellows and browns.
Recent years have failed to provide such spectacular displays partly due to the unusually disrupted seasons, which have left autumn far longer and warmer than usual. It has meant that deciduous trees have shed their leaves more slowly.
Tony Kirkham, head of arboretum at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, said the return to more typical autumn conditions was a relief as it would allow Britain's trees a chance to recover from the strains of growing and pests during the summer.
He said: "We are experiencing a return to the traditional British autumn. Cold nights and warm days are all conducive to good autumn colour.
"I was walking through the arboretum kicking through piles of leaves, which hasn't been possible in the past 10 years as the leaves have fallen over several weeks as autumn has been very long – starting in September and running until December as it has been very mild.
"This year it has happened really quickly. As we have had a few frosts that has really set the ball rolling, so rather than being long and drawn out, it has meant that all the leaves are turning at once. In the next couple of weeks it will all be over."
Leaves are essential for generating the energy that trees need to grow by acting like "solar cells" in the summer. The green chlorophyll in the leaves generates energy from sunlight, but in the autumn and winter, the daylight is insufficient to provide enough energy to grow.
As leaves are expensive for the trees to maintain in a healthy state, they shut down their solar powered energy system and shed the leaves instead.
A drop in temperature that signals the arrival of autumn causes the trees to drain the chlorophyll from their leaves, leaving the yellow, red and purple pigments behind.
Recent research has also revealed the reason why leaves turn unusual red colours in the autumn. Leaves naturally turn yellow as the chlorophyll breaks down, but the colour attracts sap-sucking aphids. So some species of tree inject a bright red pigment into the leaves to confuse the insects.
Mr Kirkham added: "Trees need a long rest period over the winter rather than the shorter rest periods they have been experiencing recently.
"That dormant season is very important for temperate trees to rest from all the stress that is going on around them, particularly at a time when there are more and more pests and diseases affecting them. Trees don't overcome attacks by pests and drought overnight and it takes quite a few years."