Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Some of the colors that make autumn leaves so beautiful have actually been in the leaves all along, but only become visible in the fall. Their presence was masked by the chlorophyll molecules held in structures called chloroplasts. Chlorophyll absorbs red and blue light to power the process of photosynthesis – the chemical reaction that turns carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates – the ultimate source of all