Fall Foliage in New York

The Most Heartbreakingly Beautifully Brief Poem

by e.e. cummings:

l(a
leaffa
lls)onel
iness

Read it again before I expound on its mere three words. Scroll up! Okay. Inside the parentheses: a leaf falls. Outside the parentheses is “l” and then “oneliness.” Oneliness. Loneliness. 
Simply amazing.

Hey, why are those leaves changing anyway? What does it all mean????

They are DYING. All those pretty hues signify that leaves are not immortal, that the warm temperatures and long days of summer sustain the life of a leaf, but they are no more. Death, people! That is what you find so beautiful about autumn. So very morbid. 

The Less Dramatic Scientific Answer

From your former Botanical Garden teacher: Chlorophyll, that stuff that makes leaves green, works with sunlight and water to keep them chugging along (er, but at a standstill attached to a tree). The days become shorter beginning in the fall, meaning it’s not light out as long and fewer sunny days make the leaves unable to keep up with their little chlorophyll factories. :(
And thus, photosynthesis slows down and the green stuff wears away. Pretty colors show through! They were actually there the entire time, which is a pretty cool thing when you think about it. Unable to sustain themselves, the leaves fill wall off, but don’t worry, the trees are smart enough to live off stored “food,” so they’ll be full of leaves come spring, as the glorious circle of life begins all over again.

Fall Leaves Saved My Life

Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but they did save my mental state once upon a time. Yes, fall leaves. No, I’m not insane. Back when I was really really sick all the time and mostly housebound/bedridden, a fall foliage drive was out of the question. BUT, during some short-lived healthy weeks, I took a bike ride, one of my first in New York, to Prospect Park. I shouldn’t have been exercising at all, but I couldn’t stand that fact that I would be missing fall…again. I was determined not to ail away the entire autumn for the second year in a row, no matter what.
So I went to the park and came upon two huge trees ablaze in yellow. I got off my bike, walked over to them, and sat among the leaves that had already fallen. I took a few in my hands, I stared at the colors, I put them to my nose and inhaled. For a small amount of time, I felt really happy that at least I could do this much, even if it was something so simple and childlike. I went home and put them in my flower press, trying to preserve them as much as that moment itself. Those leaves sit on my bed night stand to this day.

Some Other Fall in New York Guides

Where else to see Fall Foliage!

Prospect Park is one of my favorite parks in the city, and living 10 minutes away from it is something I try never to take for granted. But there are, of course, other parks notable for some prime leaf-lookin’ and -crunchin.’ Unlike concerts, work meetings, birthdays or appointments, there is no perfect time set in stone for attempting to see autumn at its peak.
That’s the fun of it, though! You should frequent these parks starting now every day or so. That was one of the benefits of working at a botanical garden: witnessing nature changes every day and really seeing the transitions between seasons. 

Dare I say it? Go to New Jersey!

I’m tired of the look people get when you say “Jersey,” because if you’ve even been to Cape May, North Wildwood or some of the little towns along the way, you’d agree that the state has some impressive sights! I’m not talking about the garbage dumps or sprawling industrial properties or even the old-school diners, but rather, about nature! Forget Newark and Camden and even Jersey City and Hoboken. If those are all you know about the state across the river from Manhattan, you are missing out. So, explore!

Make Foliage Memories Last

Because before you know it, trees will be bare and the snow-clearing trucks will become a frequent sight. How can you preserve your foliage fun?

1. Take pictures! Obviously. Most of the pictures you see here are mine! 
2. Literally preserve by putting leaves into a flower press—they will be fragile, however! 
3. Do a leaf rubbing like you did in elementary school!