Centrl Coast down to the southern most (neighborhoods, where to live)

[Ilovefall]

I was hoping someone could tell me what the vegitation is like from the Central Coast down to the southern most part of California? Is it bountiful with trees and green grass as such... or is it more empty when it comes to that sort of thing?

I am not talking just green grassy rolling hills.. that is great to. I am talking about trees and lots of them.. the type that line the streets and change colors in the fall.

[jdavid93225]

What you are asking about varies greatly from one area to another, and in many cases, even from one street to another. In the undeveloped areas, there are a lot of rolling hills that are green in the spring and early summer, due to the fresh native grass, but quickly turn yellow for the rest of the year. These areas seem to have mostly native oak trees, that either keep their leaves all year, or in colder areas, have leaves that turn brown and fall off in the early winter. There is not much in the way of "fall color" in these areas.

In the developed areas, there are streets that have very few trees at all, or streets lined with a variety of tree types. Many streets are lined with Palm trees. Others are lined with sycamores, that turn brown before losing their leaves. There are many other types of trees that are used to line the streets of Southern California, as well, but I am having a tough time remembering the types I've seen.

One other type of tree that I've seen in abundance in some neighborhoods is Jacaranda. While these are rarely seen lining the street, they are pretty common in people's yards. In the spring when they blossom, the entire tree turns to a light purple. They also tend to make a bit of a mess when the blossoms fall off.

As for trees that display "fall color," there are not many in Southern California. You do see some of these trees in the higher mountain communities, but the low lying areas do not tend to get cold enough for the trees to bring out the colors. Most of the colorful trees require very low temperatures to trigger them to bring out their colors, and most of Southern California doesn't get cold enough for this to happen. Even in the mountain communities, though, there is not a lot of fall color, since most of the trees are evergreens. There are a few deciduous trees that have been planted by the area residents, and some of these show spectacular color some years, but they are spread out over a large area, and therefore don't offer the spectacle of the trees of the northwest.

I hope this sheds some light on your question. If you have other questions, feel free to ask away.

[Ilovefall]

Thanks for the info. I am really in need of the California Sun. It is so different then where I am from. It seems to shine brighter there. I call it a citrus Sunshine.
However, I would like the fall foliage as well.
It is hard making a final choice of where to live ...With so many areas that have so much beauty in them.

[JenniferLynn]

You're going to have to choose between fall colors and sunshine. If anyone can tell me where those two exist together, I'd like to hear about it.