In the middle of October, my fall garden puts on its late, late show. Pearly heath asters combine with pink roses for a beautiful crescendo. Japanese beetles that so devastated my roses are gone, and the roses responded with beautiful flowers due to cooler temperatures. As always, click on the photos in the galleries to enlarge them. Rosa 'The Poet's Wife' looking pretty ragged in the fall garden. Symphyotrichum ericoides, white heath aster. Rosa 'Desdemona' so much prettier in person.Rosa 'Desdemona' with sneezeweed which is a really odd pairing I would only do. Rosa 'Desdemona'Rosa 'Carefree Beauty.'Rosa 'South Africa' touched by cold and looking a little pink. 'Jefferson' or 'Softee' rose, an heirloom found in Texas. This rose is almost disease free and extremely tough. But, don't be fooled, having a beautiful late, late show isn't just about pastoral views. Splendor in the fall garden begins in spring. Many of...

Plant fall flowers and hot-weather tropical plants in fall colors like gold, orange and dark red. Yesterday, I spent most of the day outside bringing fall color to my front garden. Last week, I placed fall flowers in my containers by the front door and on the back deck. The back of my house faces east--the best place in Oklahoma to grow things. We spend a lot of time on the deck in the evenings in late September and October. Normally, these two months are two of the most beautiful in Oklahoma. Hot-weather plants in autumnal hues are important to a southern garden like mine. I simply added ornamental peppers to my front pots this year since the other plants still look good. I can always add ornamental kale later. Previous years of fall decor. In the past, I've put together different fall front-door decorations if you'd like to go...

September is the most beautiful month in my garden, with October a close second, and one of the reasons is all of the butterflies and moths. They capture my imagination and draw me out into the garden every day. This post is for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day hosted by Carol Michel each month. Thank you, Carol! I often write about butterflies in September. Male Queen butterfly on Gregg's mistflower, Conoclinium greggii. Male Queen butterfly on Gregg's mistflower, aka palm leaf mistflower. Ventral view of male Queen butterfly. See how it looks similar to a Monarch? It is a much smaller butterfly, and the marking are different. It is also a bit darker. Queen butterfly male. I've been in love with Gregg's mistflower, Conoclinium greggii, all summer. I love its leaves, and I appreciate its blue flowers that bring in Queen butterflies. Before planting it, I didn't have so many. The...

Feed hummingbirds the easy way. By Dick Daniels (http://carolinabirds.org/) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11438244. I didn't have any hummingbird photos, and this one is allowed to be used with attribution. I appreciate it. This female ruby-throated hummingbird is drinking from coral honeysuckle. Below are ten flowers to naturally attract hummingbirds to your Oklahoma yard. Hummingbirds remain a delightful part of the Oklahoma landscape until the females finally leave in October. Hummingbirds arrive in my garden in late March through early April, and my garden is ready for them. It isn't difficult to attract hummingbirds. To attract hummingbirds, you simply plant those flowers they like best. Although hummingbirds love tubular red flowers, they are also attracted to plants with flowers in other colors as long as they provide high nectar content. 'Tangerine Beauty' crossvine with 'Dropmore Scarlet' honeysuckle. I lost 'Tangerine Beauty' to last year's record cold, so I...