A Few Late Summer Flowers

 A lovely soft round seed head on a wild prickly lettuce.

 I know goldenrod is just a weed, but it is such a lovely rich yellow.  I always enjoy it at the end of the summer.

I have a few phlox but I particularly like this one in bright bubblegum pink.  I was disappointed that some nice ones I had in my planting near the road got, I think, hit with herbicide which may have come off a tractor that went by repeatedly on a hot, windy day.  Perhaps some herbicide was on the wheels and, in the heat, it was vaporizing and then settling on the plants.  Anyway, I lost several plants.  The hostas and daylilies were OK, but some astilbes, bellflower, aster, beebalm, and a few others also died.  Oh well, gardening is always about change.

 A pale pink physostegia. 

 A rudbeckia laciniata.  I was very happy to see this guy back. A couple of years ago a rabbit ate most of it and, for some reason, last year it didn't bloom either.  I like it because it is very tall and doesn't get outsized by the surrounding asters. It's also a vibrant yellow.  According to pictures on the internet, it could potentially turn into a good sized clump.

 I'm a big fan of coleus and my shady property is great in terms of the right light requirements for it to thrive, but it is susceptible to viruses and/or blights.  This year, though, because it has been so dry, the coleus has grown really well.  Something early in the season ate a circle around a couple of the stems but  I just broke off the stems above the chew and stuck them in the soil.  I watered them in, and soon they had rooted and grew as if nothing had happened to them.