Rain, Rain - - - -

The path down to my vanishing beach: -

 And the disappearing beach: - 

Rain drenched wild flowers are strong and pretty too.
Clicking on photos enlarges them.

The amazing Chrysopsis villosa grows and grows silently all season and then at about five feet or more produces lovely yellow flowers in the fall. Some might call it rank; I wait expectantly all spring and summer for the final fall splash of happy color.

Equally slow to mature and flower, 

I love the white burst of fall anemones

The usually cooler temperatures of autumn mean morning glories escape the hot sun and last longer into the day. These two varieties, the white one with a blush of pink and Grandpa Ott's bequest to the plant world, are self sowers, slow to germinate, slow of growth, but then they make up for that at this time of the year with rapid growth and plenty of happy flowers to greet first lights and sunrises.

Chrysanthemums come into their glory this time of the year also. Many (most?) of the varieties you can buy in flower now are grown further south and are often not winter hardy so they either don't make it through the winter at all or grow poorly their second year. The mum plants below are into their fourth year and are very hardy. If they can survive Michigan winters, they have a place in my garden. I think their "simpler" daisy-like blooms illustrate, to me anyway, their hardiness. The double varieties don't seem as hardy - to me.

Colchicums are sometimes called autumn crocuses. They are not crocuses. Their leaves grow daylily-like from early to late spring or early summer and then disappear. They might easily be forgotten. Other plants may grow over the tops of their very shallow bulbs. Then in late September and early October all the energy their leaves have stored in their bulbs produces an amazing display.

Whether double - 

Or white -

Single and spreading their petals -

Or vase shaped and huge -

Colchicums are a great addition to the final burst of fall flowers.