As temperatures begin cooling in October, morning fog can create some beautiful landscape art. Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) trees, a Louisiana Super Plant, will begin to drop needles that have turned a striking, rusty brown. Live oaks (Quercus virginiana), however, will continue to hold onto their leaves until late winter or early spring. Photo by Brenna Barzenick, of Hammond
Sunflowers (Helianthus annus) are available in a vast range of sizes and colors, bringing smiles to faces wherever they are planted. Usually grown by seed, multiple plantings can be made throughout the warm season as long as the plants can mature before first frost. The flowers provide nectar for pollinators and butterflies. Photo by James Baker, of Lafayette
Plumeria (Plumeria spp.) is one of the most popular flowers used to make Hawaiian leis. Wonderfully fragrant, these tropical plants can easily be grown outdoors in Louisiana during warm weather. Photo by Bianca Owens, of Walker
Cephalanthus occidentalis is commonly known as buttonbush. These native, deciduous plants usually appear as large, multi-stemmed shrubs. They love wet or damp soils and full sun, so they are often found along the edge of bodies of water. The unique flowers look like tiny Sputnik satellites and are a magnet for pollinators and butterflies. Photo by Charles Paxton, of West Monroe
Rudbeckias (Rudbeckia spp.) and guara (Oenothera lindheimeri) provide sunny, spring gardens with vertical interest, movement and, most importantly, plenty of forage for pollinators. Both of these plants are native, meaning they are well adapted to our climate, and both are perennials. Photo by Samantha Morgan, of Baton Rouge
As the new year approaches, the LSU AgCenter will be releasing the Get It Growing calendar for 2026. For another year, gardeners and plant lovers can have information on Louisiana gardening and take in the magnificent pictures.Since 2005, the AgCenter has released a calendar that provides new photos of local flowers, trees and other plants, said Elma Sue McCallum, of AgCenter Communicati...
