Late Summer Blooms and Colors

Aimee Kelley
Sep 12, 2017
2 min read

"The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year – the days when summer is changing into autumn – the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and change."

―E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

Late summer blooms of Prairie Coneflower

The changing season is all around us: we are starting to hear the crickets, smell the smoke, experience cooler mornings and evenings, and watch most of our plants go dormant.... but not all! Blooming is not quite over yet! We still have budding and blooming flowers. With some pruning, watering, and the right plants you can too!

Fall blooms are not only beautiful, but extremely important for native pollinators. Pollinators in the Intermountain West need food throughout the growing season. Starting when they wake in the spring, way into October when they either die, migrate or nest for the winter. Today, we are seeing huge declines in pollinator populations due to loss of habitat, introduced diseases, widespread use of chemicals and insecticide, and climate change. But, you can help- and make a big difference by planting pollen and nectar rich plants. Providing late summer and fall blooming plants supports our native pollinators- supporting us, our ecosystems, and our food systems!

Below is a list of Great Bear Natives plants that are still blooming at our nursery and/or plants that are

expected to bloom until the end of September (with proper care.)