“I’m bringing you a present,” daughter Catherine said on the telephone, as she was driving from Mt. Pleasant.

We both laughed and laughed when she gave me the “present.” Then I tried it on. It was a wig. Previously I’ve written about my thinning hair, a genetic gift from both parents, and my failure to correct the problem. I now have a wig, which I would have never considered buying or wearing.

It’s dark, my natural color, with streaks of gray, my other natural color. I’ve been wearing it, although I suspect I look somewhat ridiculous. The first reaction from people who know me is to laugh and the second is that they like it. My Ed laughs every time he looks at me, so I’m not sure what he really thinks. I’ve never had so much hair in my whole life.

All of which led me to thinking of plants that give us, like my new hair, a second season. Those plants,f course, are trees — some becoming almost luminous in the cool days of autumn. Look for these five trees this fall and plant one or more on your property this winter, if you have the space and would like to host their display next autumn.

The sugar maple, Acer saccharum, tops the list with its yellow, gold, orange and almost red leaves.

Tying for first place is the ginkgo, Ginkgo biloba. It’s slow growing but is beautiful from the first summer you have it in the ground. Eventually the tree will reach 90 to 100 feet tall, getting more beautifu each fall, when its delicate, fan-shaped leaves turn clear yellow.

Close to those two is the red maple, Acer rubrum. There are several varieties of A. rubrum, with colors ranging from the bright red of ‘Florida Flame’ and ‘Autumn Spire’ to the burgundy to red to scarlet leaves of ‘Burgundy Belle,’ and the deep red to purple foliage of ‘October Glory.’

Any list of notable autumn foliage trees would have to include the tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, the tallest hardwood in North America. Loggers call it the ‘yellow poplar.’ It offers beautiful blooms in summer and golden leaves in fall.

One more magnificent fall tree is a 100- to 130-feet-tall giant of eastern North American forests and yards, the sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua. Every fall these large, pyramid-shaped trees present a glorious show of yellow to burgundy to red.

Fall is my favorite season and with the cooler days now arriving, I, with my new hair, am looking forward to the beauty of autumn foliage. Our second season.

Juanita Garrison of Denver Downs Farm writes regularly about gardening for the Independent-Mail.