The hot days of summer are slowly starting to fade into the less-hot days of fall but that doesn’t mean we’ve lost the beautiful flowers we associate with warmer seasons. Several plants flush out blooms that are just as important for pollinators and wildlife as they are beautiful. With colors ranging from pinks, golds, whites, and purples, these flowers still provide a pop of color to our sometimes-dreary fall landscape.

Goldenrod

One of the most common blooms in East Texas, goldenrod can be recognized for its beautiful mustard yellow blooms that improve aesthetics of highways, rights-of-way, and pastures from late August - October. Goldenrod often gets a bad rap for causing lots of sneezing and watery eyes, but it’s been proven that common ragweed is the main culprit for these seasonal allergies. The flowers are big attractors of the monarch butterfly on their migration south and several other pollinators. The seeds are also a great food source for many birds, including Carolina wrens, indigo buntings, northern cardinals, tufted titmice, and white-throated sparrows.

Purple passionflower

The lavender bloom of the passionflower provides a whimsical look to forests and roadsides. The young tendrils supply tasty snacks for wild turkey while deer have been known to browse on the leaves of the vine. Butterflies and bees flock to the showy flower and the fruit is eaten by birds, raccoons, squirrels, opossums, and foxes. Humans can also enjoy the fruits of the passionflower labor as it is edible and historically was used for medicinal purposes by Native Americans. Look for the passionflower blooms June – October.

Gayfeather

Another common purple flower found in prairies, road edges, and open pine forests, gayfeather, commonly called blazing star, provides a pop of color well into the early winter months. Due to it’s height, gayfeather often pokes up above surrounding plants, attracting hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and songbirds. Deer also browse on young gayfeather plants.

Texas lantana

Showy clusters of small yellow, orange and red amongst bright green foliage points toward Texas lantana. The plant establishes best on sandy, dry soils and is typically found along forest edges in full sun to light shade, or in rights-of-way. Flowering begins in the heat of summer and continues through fall until the first frost of winter. Texas lantana is a great nectar source for butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds and small songbirds have been known to eat its berries.

Frostweed

Found in the cool forests of East Texas, frostweed is a key host to the monarch butterfly during fall migration to Mexico. Monarchs can be found by the dozens clinging to frostweed, feeding on the flowers and using the plant as a place to rest overnight. The plant also attracts other pollinators such as bees and pipevine swallowtail, great purple hairstreak, and bordered patch butterflies. The clusters of small white flowers begin blooming in August and continue through December. The plant gets the name frostweed from its ability to squeeze water out of the stem during the first freeze of winter, forming ribbons of ice crystals along the stem.

Sunflower

East Texas is home to three species of sunflower: Maximilian sunflower, common sunflower, and the swamp sunflower that all bloom late summer through fall. Maximilian sunflowers are found on the western and southern range of East Texas and can grow as tall as 10ft. They are typically seen in prairies, old pastures, along fence lines, and roadsides. Common sunflowers, typically 2-8 ft tall, can be found in similar locations to the Maximilian, but prefer soils that contain a higher moisture content. Swamp sunflowers establish in the moist woodlands of the pineywoods or along the edges of coastal marshes. Maximum height for the swamp sunflower is nearly 8 ft and the flowers are smaller in size than the other two East Texas natives. All sunflower species provide great late season nectar sources for butterflies and bees. Seeds are also a common food source for songbirds, quail, mourning doves, and small mammals.

Beach morning glory

Along the 367 miles of Texas coastline, the white and pink flowers of beach morning-glories can be found scrambling over sand dunes. These plants were built to handle the dry, hot conditions and the salt spray coming off the ocean. While their flowers do attract bees and butterflies, the plant’s most important job is to serve as an ecosystem stabilizer. Due to their carpet-like growth and intricate root system, beach morning-glories help prevent erosion and sand displacement. They also serve as home to smaller beach critters such as crustaceans and insects.

Fall Flowers are in Bloom