This is the time of year when Nicole Hughes gets constantly distracted by the fall foliage as she drives around North Carolina. "I'm always looking," says Hughes, a biologist at High Point University.

The red fall colors are intense this year. They seem much brighter than previous years. Red colors are due to leaf pigments called anthocyanins. A main factor that increases the red colors produced by ...

Native plants play a critical role in our ecosystem for beneficial insects, birds, wildlife and important microorganisms living in and on the soil. Native perennials provide a range of flowers that ...