Q: My granddaughter found a persimmon while walking the dogs. Can I plant it and have a tree in my yard? -- Gene Brannon, e-mail A: You can certainly plant it and eventually get a tree but there is a caveat. The seed might produce either a male or female persimmon tree.

This is the time of year when many folks ask: Where are the birds? The typical story is that birds suddenly have stopped coming to feeders. In some cases, all the birds seemed to have disappeared. In other cases, certain species -- robins, mockingbirds, cardinals -- seem to have become scarce in yards.

To catch the last of autumn’s colors, we took a walk last weekend with one of my most favorite naturalists, Jerry Hightower, in one of my most favorite wild places -- the East Palisades unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Only a few minutes from Buckhead, the unit harbors a mature hardwood forest, spectacular rock formations and breathtaking views of the Chattahoochee.

Q: I’m a first-time beekeeper and at a Georgia Beekeeping Association event, one of the speakers said that jasmine was toxic to bees. This is disappointing because I want to grow Tangerine Dream jasmine vine. What do you think? -- Robert Leonard, Decatur A: I believe you’re thinking of ‘Tangerine Beauty' crossvine, Bignonia capreolata ‘Tangerine Beauty.

Q: My pomegranate bushes are bending over with fruit this year and my friend is wondering if he can grow any from seed. -- Ann Blissit, Stockbridge A: It’s relatively easy to grow pomegranate from seed. Harvest the juice-filled seed sacs from a fully ripe fruit and mash them through screen wire to separate the seed from the juice.

Q: Have you ever heard of a plant called a "dinner plate hibiscus"? -- Suzette Bergbower, e-mail A: Dinner plate hibiscus refers to swamp hibiscus, Hibiscus moscheutos. Some gardeners call it swamp mallow or rose mallow. It gets its name from the flower size: 6 to 8 inches across.

The end of August marks the transition from summer wildflowers to the fall-blooming plants. Early fall flowers are starting to bloom now while many of the summer bloomers will continue to blossom through October. To see many of these wildflowers, just drive along one of Georgia’s rural highways.

Q: I found a bee-looking creature in my garden. It has a fuzzy black body with yellow at the top, all indications of a bee, but with strange wings and a long snout! -- Brooke Clem, email A: My bet is that it’s one of the bee flies. There are several species of this important pollinator, most of which have fuzzy bodies and fly-type wings.

Q: I found an odd vine growing in the neglected landscape of a small office building in Buckhead. Is this Japanese climbing fern? -- Katie Price, e-mail A: You’re exactly right! This invasive vine can smother nearby perennials. I suspect it is brought into our area in baled pine straw.

Q: I would like to learn about identifying, collecting and planting seeds from my crape myrtle. Can you help? -- Fred Volpe, Cobb County A: The seeds are easy to collect and plant. Observe your plant and collect seed capsules when they turn brown. Let them dry on newspaper.

Q: My hydrangea tree is 15 feet tall and beautiful. I wonder if I should trim the lower branches and give the tree a trunk and a "head." -- Nancy Prochaska, Kennesaw A: I'm guessing you have one of the panicle hydrangeas: Hydrangea paniculata ‘Tardiva', ‘PeeGee', ‘Grandiflora', etc.

Q: My neighbor has hundreds of small spider webs all over his lawn after a rain. Any idea what those webs are? -- Gene Brannon, email A: They are probably the webs of funnel weaver spiders. They are completely harmless and indeed eat aphids, moths, chinchbugs and other lawn pests.

I thought I had seen some bats zipping about during the evening in my neighborhood on the outskirts of Decatur and I was right. The other day I spied the service truck of a “wildlife removal” specialist parked in a neighbor’s driveway. I walked over to have a chat with the specialist, Nick Yohn, who works for Trutech, an Atlanta wildlife removal firm.

The cardinal flower, now blooming across Georgia, is, in my mind, the signature plant of summer. It is the reddest of Georgia’s red wildflowers, redder than the Indian paintbrush, fire pink and beebalm. Botanists say the flower got its name from the red robes of Roman Catholic cardinals, the same garments for which our common bird, the northern cardinal, is named.

The drought gripping much of Georgia is taking a toll on wildlife. One result is low numbers of butterflies, bees and other common insects in much of the state right now, wildlife experts say. Jerry Payne of Musella, who led the annual daylong butterfly count on June 21 in the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge and the Rum Creek Wildlife Management Area in Middle Georgia, said it was difficult to find the colorful insects.

Q: This year and last on our Rose of Sharon bush there have been a considerable amount of blooms that never fully open. They turn yellow and drop. — Harry DeNegre, email A: In my experience, two things cause Rose of Sharon bud fall: The soil is too dry or too wet.

For many Georgia birds, June is prime nesting month. Most of our songbirds are incubating eggs or tending babies right now. Several of our year-round birds -- cardinals, bluebirds, Carolina chickadees and others -- are raising their second broods of the year and may produce a third before the season ends.

I had heard that one of the most important prehistoric Indian sites in North Georgia -- the Track Rock Gap petroglyphs in Union County -- had undergone a recent facelift by its caretaker, the U.S. Forest Service. Last weekend, my wife and I went to see for ourselves.

Q: We just had some new zoysia sod put in, and crows are out there every evening plucking it out of the ground. Any suggestions? — Paul Long, Cobb County A: I consulted my University of Georgia Cooperative Extension friends, and they say the crows are likely looking for grubs or earthworms.

Bamboo is branching out. The fast-growing sustainable resource isn’t just for cheesy theme bars and tropical islands anymore. It’s become a popular option for hardwood flooring, cabinets, doors, countertops and even sinks. Read up on the qualities of this green giant and familiarize yourself with options if you’re considering installing bamboo in your home.

Q: My peonies have outgrown the place where I planted them. I would love to transplant them now, but everything I have read says to wait until October. — Chrystal Griner, Covington A: If the clump is so big that it needs dividing, I’d wait until October to do it.

Q: What is your opinion about using branch spreaders to increase the crotch angle between the trunk and branches that are growing more upright than horizontal on a mountain ash tree? Is it a good idea or just a waste of time? -- Kurt Diegel, Cleveland A: Apple growers use branch spreaders all the time to make their trees have better spaced and angled limbs.

Q: Are there any fragrant varieties of crapemyrtles? -- Mark Martin, Hart County A: Some gardeners claim to detect a faint scent but I don’t believe any crapemyrtle could be called “fragrant." In my view, this is a good thing because folks would plant even more of these beautiful, ubiquitous, indestructible plants than they do now.

Q: This week I heard a sound coming from the woods that sounded like a fan running with a bearing that needs oil. It is loud enough that you can hear it from several hundred yards. Any ideas?
— Marty Wilson, Madison A: I’m pretty certain you’re hearing the rasping screech of periodical cicadas.

Q: I have put a lot of composted horse manure and chicken manure in my garden and everything seems to be growing very well. The broccoli I planted last year is growing very lush and thick, with huge, healthy green leaves, but the broccoli heads that formed were narrow and spindly.