Leaves are falling outside my kitchen window, and the wind is blowing them across the lawn these last warm days. Last week, I talked about plants that inspire passion in my garden. The post was too long--even for me--so I broke it into two parts. The green chairs in our front lawn surrounded by leaves. We're supposed to have a cold front come through tomorrow. In autumn and later winter, cold fronts push out of Canada or across the Pacific and eventually confront the plains. Some of the Canadian Express types are very strong. Because of Hurricane Sandy stirring up the jet stream on the eastern side of the U.S., Oklahoma has had wonderful weather, and every blue sky reminds me of the devastation. As someone who has watched her state deal with the aftermath of wildfire and tornadoes, my heart is heavy. If you want to help, consult your...

Coreopsis integrifolia, Chipola River Daisy. Like a lot of my other unique plants, I bought this from Bustani Plant Farm. Although they no longer ship, I've linked to other nurseries that do. My excitement over this new-to-my-garden wildflower knows no bounds. Coreopsis integrifolia, Chipola River daisy, a/k/a fringe leaf tickseed and Chipola dyeflower, is very rare, but it has been found from southern South Carolina to north Florida. Its common name hails from the Chipola River that runs through three counties in Florida. Can you see the tiny ant on Coreopsis integrifolia, Chipola River daisy? I bought my plant from Bustani Plant Farm, but I also found it sold by High Country Gardens and Woodlanders. As Lazy S Farm says, this plant is the "equivalent of the little black dress." It goes with everything, and it is a hardy perennial that has stolons (horizontal above-ground shoots), but I'm assured by plant...

Rosa 'Skyrocket' at the end of the season. It grows next to a rain barrel. Roses. I dearly love them, but I must be honest. The last few years haven't been kind to roses in the Sooner State. The summer of 2012 wasn't nearly as bad as 2011, but it was bad enough. Before September, the last rain we had was in early June, and it was only a trickle. Like the rest of the central U.S., we suffered under the unrelenting sun. July 2012 was our 6th driest. Rosa 'Julia Child,' a Floribunda. Mine has never really taken off. However, fall is always her best time of the year. So the roses are under tremendous stress as are the daylilies. Established daylilies, though, bounce back quicker even if they go completely dormant, but I must be careful of those that were planted in the spring. They are most likely...

Organ pipe cactus, Stenocereus thurberi, Lemaireocereus thurberi against the Arizona sky Just back from the GWA Symposium in Tucson, I'm jet-lagged and dry as a corn husk, but I am happy. I didn't know what to expect of Tucson or the Sonoran Desert. On maps, the area is large and brown, but in person, it is . . . Wow! I've driven through Arizona and stopped at the Grand Canyon, but usually I don't venture further west by car than Santa Fe or Albuquerque, New Mexico. If you've driven across the Texas panhandle a time or two you understand. A large agave (don't ask me which one) and a cactus (again I have no idea which type it is.) I should have looked at the tag, right? I knew there would be cacti. From my friend, Scott Calhoun's blog, I suspected there would be an agave or two. Blue agave in...