The word for this time of year is one of those few words that varies between British English which calls it "autumn" and American English which calls it "fall".
We have been abroad at this time the last few years but coming home to the peak of the season we were really appreciative of the colours and changes. European and northern american trees are largely deciduous. This means that they lose all their leaves in the winter. This helps them withstand the winter gales, and, as they hold less snow, less likely to break and lose a bough under the weight of snow in the winter. The first step of losing the leaf is that it stops photosynthesising and loses the green coloured chlorophyll. This means that other pigments show through and trees at this time of year show a wonderful range of yellow and orange colours and some acers a deep crimson.
The effect is very lovely and the New England area of North-East America is famous for its colours and they are a major tourist attraction, so the americans call the season "Fall" for the falling leaves.
Here are some pictures taken both near my mothers house and in the grounds of Lyme Park a former home of the nobility now in public ownership.
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