Nearly a full week of fully sunny days finds the lower Piedmont in fall foliage peak this weekend. The big oaks are barely starting to turn, so a nice rustic display should be ensured leading up to Thanksgiving, three weeks from now.

The Southern autumn is a paradox.

Comfort comes from knowing the lawn mowing is soon to end for 2009, and the AC is put to rest, and the fireplace can be used anytime now. Yellow, red, bronze and orange are the colors of autumn....right?

There are but a few "must-dos" in a visit to the Deep South:

• relish in the local foods (grits, liver pudding, BBQ (pork), peaches and pecan pie, and some Thanksgiving turkey prepared in a deep frier bucket in the backyard.)
• See the azaleas and dogwoods in spring
• Touch some Spanish Moss (and maybe pilfer some)
• See the camellias in the fall and winter.

I know I rambled on about autumn last year; I simply love the contradiction of the end of a growing season, yet spring-worthy plants awaken as the eastern deciduous forest goes to bed.

Enjoy the pics, and in your mind, label each as "fall-worthy" or "spring-worthy". What will be the tally score at the end?

Ok, let's start off easy:

Maple and spruce. Fall 1, spring 0?

Hmm, this next one...are those trees in flower?

This is the native groundsel bush (Baccharus halmifolia), a female plant that displays the silvery seeds, and soon to spit them all over to create more of a weedy mess.

Next:

Surprisingly, the pretty foliage isn't fully covered by fallen leaf litter (yet); this is hardy fancyleaf cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium).

 So, what's the tally? More votes spring or fall? Carry on...

Merry Christmas. This is the hybrid Yuletide camellia. Since it's blooming soooo early, you know there is some Camellia sasanqua in its lineage. And to think we all harp at the retail stores for having their Christmas merchandise and tacky decorations up before Halloween.

Ding, ding! Yes, this is a crocus...but fall-blooming Lebanese native Crocus ochroleucus. Did you give spring a point prematurely?

You're welcome. I clearly tossed up a lob-pitch for you to hit out of the park. These are the remnant leaves on a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum variety). You better have given fall a point, or someone needs an eye exam.

Imagine a shrub 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide covered in these blooms. Isn't this something perfect for Easter Sunday or Mother's Day? This is an exquisite selection of sasanqua, called 'Maiden's Blush' (Camellia sasanqua ''Maiden's Blush'). Wow, and to think it's nearly Veteran's Day.

Those are fruits, not buds...firethorn (Pyracantha sp.)! Isn't it wild you can see a mass of orange and a few yards away something like the Maiden's Blush sasanqua?

Almost done.

Tea anyone? Yuppers, put the pot on and whip out some Earle Grey. Tea (Camellia sinensis) flowers this time of year, but they're not fragrant.

Need an easy one?

Yes, crocus...but a fall bloomer, Crocus medius.

And finally:

Hmmm. Kinda tricky to assign a season, especially since it's name is 'Snow Flurry'. This hybrid camellia has many doubled white flowers all over, and masses of petals blanketing the ground alongside fallen yellow and orange leaves.

So, which season received the most in the "paradox tally"? The fact that you may have had 7 spring-worthy votes is what is interesting. Too many things happening here in the lower elevations of the Carolinas to assume that "dreary and dead" winter is around the corner.

Alas, the lesson is that none of these plant photos is "spring-worthy"; nature shows us they're all the most worthy of fall.

Camellia sasanqua 'Misty Morn'