Helen's Flower, Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)

This flower makes me SMILE not SNEEZE, despite its name! This is the cheeriest late bloomer I have in my garden. It gets its name from it historic use as a snuff to induce sneezing - so if you dry it, painstakingly crush the leaves and heads, and then snort it, expect to sneeze. Otherwise it has a very thick pollen that doesn’t float through the air-not remotely sneeze inducing. Native bees love it! You often see it in the wild in wet areas but it does absolutely fine in medium garden soils. Very easy to grow from seed so if you want large patch, plant 1-3 plants clear the area surrounding and spread the seed in the fall.