The delicious-scented pineapple sage, sometimes called Scarlet Pineapple Salvia, is an annual that takes forever to bloom. A few pots purchased at the local garden center in May fill containers on a sunny patio. It's tempting to crush a few leaves and inhale their sweet citrusy aroma on a hot summer day. But the plant is slow to bloom, often developing buds in September. In a good year, the flowers will open in time for migrating hummingbirds to zip in for a sweet sip. With the mild November temps, a few plants near the house were still blooming on December 1. The flowers are a great addition to herbal teas.

The Last Tomato Standing

Fellow gardeners each summer have a little bet to see who can harvest the first tomato. But this year I can secretly gloat over who will harvest the last tomato. Thanks to this summer's addition of a small unheated greenhouse and a few leftover half-dead tomato transplants, a few green orbs wait to be plucked in December. The plants—heirloom varieties—were just about to hit the compost pile in August when I decided to pot them up. They went into the greenhouse in September and began producing fruit. They may be green. They may be hard. But there are tomatoes in December.

—Nina Koziol