I found a surprise in my garden today. This white flower appears to be a begonia, but I don’t recall planting it. Friends and neighbors do give me plants which often need help, so perhaps this one came to me as a sad root in a pot without an identity. It’s a lovely surprise on this smokey October day. I really like the happy ball-shaped yellow centers. I felt like it was a gift from the garden fairies when I saw it. ~Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member
Plant Name: Spaeralcea ambigua
Common name: Apricot Mallow, Desert Globemallow
Plant Type: Perennial Shrub
Plant Height: 3’ – 5’
Plant Width: 2’ – 4’
Bloom Time: Spring
Flower Color: Apricot or Dark Orange
Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Grows well in most well-draining soils.
Water Needs: Extremely Low
Attributes: Attracts Bees and Butterflies. Adored by Hummingbirds!
Note: Good Pruning after bloom keeps plant from becoming woody; Easily Reseeds.
Uses: Xeriscape “Gardens; Cottage & Mediterranean Gardens; Rock Gardens.
Native to: Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah
Oregon Native: NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 – 10
Report: Viki Ashford, AGC member
I am not sure how I even noticed this little one, down so low.
I call it, “awaiting lunch at the Marigold Cafe “
Photo by: Lynn McDonald, AGC Member
The goldenrod crab spider (Misumena vatia) sits on top of flowers with their first two pairs of legs spread, using those legs to grab and eat insects that come to the flowers.
Plant Name: Osmunda cinnamomea 
Common name: Cinnamon Fern
Plant Type: Perennial Herbaceous Fern
Plant Height: 2’ – 3’
Spread: 2’ – 3’
Bloom Time: May – June
Flower Color: Cinnamon-Colored Sporangia; Cinnamon Fronds occur in groups; Fertile Fronds appear first as Silvery Fiddleheads which turn Upper Portion from Green to Chocolate Brown; Sterile Fronds bend outwards enclosing Cinnamon Fronds.
Exposure: Sun, Part Sun, Part Shade to Full Shade
Soil Requirements: Tolerates Various Calcareous/Acidic Soils.
Water Needs: Medium High
Attributes: Attracts Birds looking for nesting material of Fiddleheads; Contrasting Fertile & Infertile Fronds Make Dramatic Accent.; Deer Resistant.
Note: Can grow in Full Sun if Constantly Standing in Water.
Uses: Bogs, Ponds, Water Gardens; Shaded Borders
Native to: Eastern North America
Oregon Native: NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 – 10
Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member & Master Gardener
Photo by David J. Stang – source: David Stang. First published at ZipcodeZoo.com, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61095231