For tree-lovers, autumn is perhaps the most beautiful time of the year when foliage changes into a rich mixture of brown, red, yellow, orange and gold.

A holly patrol has been put in place in the Killarney National Park amid fears that the annual hacking down of whole red-berried holly trees for the Christmas market is getting under way.

SOON, the deep red and purple hues of rhododendron will light up the summer landscape but the beauty of the plant conceals the fact that it has become a pest in many areas and literally stifles the life out of other growing things.