The fall season is about Halloween and pumpkin-themed treats, but it's also about foliage.

Each year multihued leaves fall from trees, only to be swept away by shopkeepers and homeowners.

News 12 spoke with an expert at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to learn about how the leaves receive their spectacular colors.

Uli Lorimer, a horticulturist at the Native Flora Garden at the site, says we are witnessing trees in their preparation to rest after working through the spring and summer months.

"Deciduous trees, ones that lose their leaves, and other plants are reacting to the shorter day length and cooler temperatures and cooler soil temperatures, and they're preparing for winter dormancy," he says.

Lorimer says during the summer months, trees undergo a process called photosynthesis. He says with the use of sunlight, trees convert water and carbon dioxide into sugar, as a result leaves appear green.

Lorimer says the reason leaves change color in the fall is because trees take a break from the photosynthesis process. He says as they prepare to hibernate for the winter months, colors like red, yellow and orange become more prominent.

The New York state fall foliage report pinpoints the best viewing sites in the area.