Joe Pye Weed

 

This is another great fall bloomer, Eupatorium purpurem ( maybe should call it mauveii? as that is the color, not purple!!!) The ones along the roadside have about finished their bloom, but mine is still beautiful. The ones along the road are very tall, like 6-10 feet, but mine usually gets to be about 3 feet tall. I originally got mine as seed from the American Horticultural Society seed exchange and although I have lost the list, I expect from it's shorter statue that is a dwarf hybrid. Where they grow naturally, it is typically wet for a good portion of the year and although they grow well in drier areas, they do appreciate a lot of moisture. It is a great attractor of butterflies, and a carefree plant if there ever was one. Mine has increased a little throuhgh the years but not much.
On the other hand, in the background you see some foliage of a sumac which volunteered there and I made the mistake of leaving to see if it would bloom. It has been there 2 years and is about 6 feet tall. It is spreading by underground runners even beyond the flower bed. Although I admire it as a plant I see along the road, I would like to be able to grow something else besides sumac and so I will be getting rid of it soon. If possible.

Turk's Cap Hibiscus

 

This is a carefree drought tolerant perennial I have had for years. I pulled it from an overgrown bed at the base of a tree in south Alabama, but it thrives in zone 8 wonderfully. In fact, most years I pull out what I don't want to keep the clump in bounds. Turk's cap hibiscus is in its full glory now and attracts clouds of butterflies, primarily yellow sulfurs as well as migrating hummingbirds.
It is a hibiscus (clue- see the fancy stigma sticking out beyond the petals), even though it's petals will never unfold. I have seen these plants in South Alabama with much larger flowers than mine and think that mine may be either a wild plant or else the larger ones are hybrids. At any rate they are beautiful this time of year and reqire almost no care. Besides, they are a pleasant break from the sea of mums that accost us this time of year.