Gardening: Late bloomers keep bees fed

OK, we and our gardens survived the sizzling heat of last week, and then the smoke. Now it’s time to sit back and wait for the last hurrah of fall-blooming plants. Late summer gardens don’t have the profusion of blooming plants found in the spring garden, but they do have some stunning show stoppers we can enjoy. Some bonuses here are that the plants below are important sources of pollen and nectar for foraging bees as they provision their hives for winter as well as being fairly drought tolerant after they become established.

Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) and purple coneflowers (Echinacea) are stunning together in the garden. The bright yellow of the black-eyed Susan is cooled by the purply pink color of the coneflowers. The black cones at the center of the flowers add a bold dimension to the plants. Black-eye Susans come in shades of gold, orange, brown, red and maroon while coneflowers come in shades of pink, red, orange, white, and yellow. Both plants are native to the Midwest and thrive in lean soil and more even watering than the other plants suggested here.

Autumn Joy sedum and its cultivars flower in late August through frost and sport flat-topped, pink to reddish flowers on two-foot-tall plants. The plant’s bold leaf structure adds texture dimensions to a garden bed that sets off finer textured plants in the garden. Its flat flowers make good landing pads for pollinators stocking up on pollen.

Caryopteris or bluebeard is a 2- to 3-foot shrub that blooms with feathery clusters of rich purple blue flowers backed by glossy, dark green foliage. Its airy texture and blue flowers set off the warmer yellow to red fall blooming flowers. Its size lends itself to being planted in a border, as a mass planting and as part of a mixed perennial garden.

Russian sage is another airy, blue-flowering plant for the late summer garden. The plant has an upright growth habit that adds structure to a garden. Its gray green foliage sets off other colors in the garden nicely and it is perfect for that hot, sunny spot in the garden. Full size cultivars will grow three to five feet tall, but smaller cultivars will get to around two feet.

Hydrangea paniculata or Peegee hydrangea is a white flowering hydrangea that blooms on new wood which makes it hardy in our Inland Northwest climate. The plants start blooming in late summer and as fall approaches, their blooms age from shades of pink to reddish pink. It grows from 3 to 5 feet tall depending on the cultivar and can tolerate afternoon shade.

Zinnias are a cheerful annual for the late summer garden. They bloom in nearly all colors except true blue so they can be planted liberally among other garden plants and tie plants together in a bed. They are easily grown from either seed collected from mature flowers in the fall or purchased seed and planted indoors in March or outdoors after the last frost. Their flat flowers make easy landing spots for pollinators.