Once monarch butterflies shared the joy of July-through-September Rudbeckia season with me. Now, sadly, those butterflies are mostly a memory here, but the biggest, most giving coneflowers I grow, 'Herbstsonne,' keeps putting out blooms like a beacon, just in case they show up. With it as inspiration, this year I tried two new-to-me Rudbeckia: 'Henry Eilers,' and 'Prairie Glow.' The lowdown.

book giveaway: grow perennial gourmet mushrooms 

Finally: the ultimate shade perennial! I have confessed before to a fascination with fungus -- as in mushrooms -- that sprout unexpectedly in the garden. Perhaps surprising: I have never intentionally grown any edible mushrooms. That's about to change. Ecological and edible landscape designer Michael Judd, author of "Edible Landscaping With a Permaculture Twist" (win a copy!), taught me how easy it is to cultivate outdoor mushrooms. Like this.