The Gulf Coastal region is a beautiful place to be in the Fall.  While there are plenty of trees around that don’t change colors (pine, live oak, palms) residents have planted a great variety of disiduous trees as well.  The colors are beautiful this year and it definitely feels like Fall watching them blow around and collect in piles like snow drifts.  But what adds to this beauty is the other colors of fall. 

Mums of all different colors seem to be the annual flower of choice, placed prominantly in the annual garden or finding themselves in fancy planters around the house.  Camellias are starting to bloom, azaleas burst out in a variety of colors, and some late-blooming bottle brush trees are showing off.  A few crepe myrtles are still showing their flowers; mostly the white variety.  Landscapers dig up the old summer flowers, replacing them with pansies and violas.  They’ll stay there until spring. 

Bushes and hedges go from green to deep purple.  Ornamental grasses that were low, wispy and green all summer suddenly grow outward as they sprout purple feathery plumes.   Butterflies still flutter about with the abundance of flowers lingering from summer. And of course, with Fairhope’s flower budget, the downtown area always looks colorful with flowers of the season in bloom.

Farm fields are white with cotton, and there are some fields with crops turning red that I haven’t figured what they are yet, but it’s beautiful.  A farm not far from my neighborhood is a dazzling, fresh green with collards.  It looks out of place next to the harvested fields surrounding it but gives me a delight to see more of earth’s bounty as the season is heading toward winter.

I have some daffodill bulbs that I got from Fairhope when they were dumping the flowers to change over to something new.  I noticed this week that they are starting to grow.  A little early, but I’m ok with that.

If you get to the Gulf Coast in the Fall, bring your camera.  It’s beautiful here.