This is the height of the fall color season in the Pacific Northwest. Though we can't match New England's display there's an appreciable amount of color in our region from both native and non-native shrubs and trees.

Trouble is, gas prices make leaf-peeping tours a bit hard to finance.

The answer: create your backyard kaleidoscope of colors. Not only is this a great time of year to plant (yes, shrubs and trees do fantastically when planted in fall and you don't have to worry about watering them) but you can see what your future garden residents look like wearing their yellows, oranges and reds.

Take a trip to your favorite nursery or visit a new one. You'll have the opportunity to see exactly what your new shrub or tree will look like every autumn.

One thing to keep in mind: you'll get better color results from plants in full sun.

Here's a few from my garden:

This is a branch of my Stewartia pseudocamillia tree. This remains one of my favorite small trees. It has lovely dogwood-like blossoms in spring, shiny green leaves in summer, an interesting form in winter and you can see the fall color for yourself.

This is the smoke tree (or bush) otherwise known as Cotinus coggygria. I have two 'Royal Purple' varieties in my yard. The summer foliage is indeed a dark purple but turns brick red in fall. There are also green leaved and golden leaved varieties out there though I'm not sure what their fall colors look like.

My last example is a less common tree but gaining in popularity in our area. It's a Parrotia persica also known as Persian Ironwood. I don't know if it has super strong wood but its original home must be Iran. It has a nice form and great fall color as you can see. In winter it has an interesting bark pattern similar to the the Psudocamillia.

There are countless other great varieties of fall color choices out there. Go find them and make your own leaf-peeper's paradise.