What should you plant for pollinators to bloom during the late show--that short or long time period between hot, hot days and the first freeze? Worked into this post are my favorite fall-blooming flowers for pollinators. Many of these were chosen specifically to extend the bloom season as long as possible. We invite pollinators to our gardens by growing plants they love all summer. We plant natives to draw them in as adults and larvae--a good thing--but sometimes we forget about the great journeys some of them must make for winter--or, feeding them until they sleep the big sleep. Bumblebee flying to another bloom on Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'October Skies.' Begin with asters like the one above. There are so many native and non-native asters from which to choose. I grow several including 'Alma Potschke', 'September Ruby' and 'Bonnie Blue' which I added this year. I already grew 'October Skies', heath aster, a pink...

Fall is a time of renewal in southern gardens. It's also a time to change your front door decor. Foliage color changes, cool weather plants like pansies, asters and mums, less intense sun, and cooler mornings make any gardener in a hot climate sigh with relief. The fall front door decor once it was finally finished. When I hired landscaping help several years ago, I didn't realize how much I would enjoy the changes in my small, shady front lawn and garden. Enjoy it I do. Tony's team made the borders wider, giving me more space to place pumpkins, gourds and knobby squash. When the leaves of the Japanese maples and the dogwood begin to turn, it is so beautiful. We're still in the green foliage stage in September and early October, but it won't be long now. Large Mexican urns planted with kale, a red mum, chartreuse creeping Jenny, 'King Tut' papyrus (leftover from...

On this Wildflower Wednesday, I want to promote the sweet genus gaura. G. coccinea, Scarlet beeblossom, is native to many states. Other species of gaura are native to the southern U.S., but there are also gaura selections and hybrids sold in nurseries and box stores. I grow several "improved" selections of this native perennial. Remember G. lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink' or white 'Whirling Butterflies?' I grew each of these once upon a time. Gaura is especially pretty as it emerges in spring because the stems are red. Sometimes, winter is cold enough in my garden that I must cut gaura back to the ground, but in other years, I merely remove dead stems. Dead parts will snap off instead of bending. Also, look for any green within the stem. Green equals life. There was a time when I wasn't so fond of wand flower but that was my fault, not the genus'. Because gaura are perennial, I expected them to remain in my garden for years and years....

A few years ago I installed a rain chain right outside my kitchen window where I write each morning. As I hung it, I thought how much it looked like jewelry for my gutters--like delicate earrings for the home. Copper rain chain hanging from my log house. Although it is super shiny now, it will eventually change to a darker patina. A few weeks ago, Rain Chains Direct asked me to review one of their rain chains. I was able to choose the one I wanted to review. For the most part, I have quit reviewing products on the blog, but copper rain chains are special. So, I went over to their website and chose the copper blossoms chain. They also kindly sent me a gutter installer mount. Both of these worked great. When it rained last week, the rain chain did its thing, and I captured it in photographs. The rain was coming down...