Hi Gina, no apologies needed:-) people her will chime in on the IDs, it's not a pain at all, and the list is a little less active because it's JUNE, yay, we are all out in the dirt:-) if you don't get a response soon, try this: repost your photos with numbers and just a short request for ID's. That makes it easier for folks to answer. usually you'll get several responses, with each person just IDing a couple plants, rather than one person doing it all. The numbers help make it easier for several folks to each focus on what they know best.

Thanks, both of you! Macranthos, I think that’s it! I’ve never heard of Pteris or Phyllitis, so no wonder I couldn’t find the name. For what’s described as a “common fern,” it sure didn’t come up a lot in searches. Thank you!

The flowers on the second plant really look like ragweed flowers to me. 8 feet tall could be Giant Ragweed, Ambrosia trifida. The leaves I can see in the photo don't look quite right, but a larger image should make it clearer. Or it could be a different species from the two common ones I'm familiar with. USDA lists a bunch of species and I don't have time to go through them now. On a side note, while looking for this I went to the Dan Tenaglia's old Missouri Plants website and discovered that the Missouri Botanical Garden has taken it over and is updating it. That site was the first wildflower ID site I found on the internet back when all this was pretty new and was a real inspiration to me about what you could do along those lines, as well as being a very useful ID tool. It still is, for that matter. I'm really glad it's being continued. WW

Not all varieties of kangaroo paws are equally drought tolerant. I love the plant myself, especially the red and orange varieties but as they are not fully winter hardy in my climate (likely due to wetter winters than they prefer rather than cold), I grow them as container plants or annuals and find they need pretty routine watering during our dry but quite cool summers. Some cultivars will have a growing notation for "water occasionally" but a preponderance do note 'regular irrigation". I would not consider anigozanthos to be a prime subject for a very drought tolerant or xeric landscape. And if that indeed is 'Big Red' in the photo, that is a cultivar that does require regular irrigation. btw, San Marcos Growers website has a decent listing of popular cultivars and their growing specs that is helpful : Anigozanthos