Extreme Weather is Always a Test

Native Black-eyed Susan

Lakeside Sunflower

Chapman's Goldenrod

Most plantings do well during "normal" conditions. It's the extreme events that tell us whether we've chosen our plants well. Freezing temperatures, for example here in central Florida, weed out those that are not adapted. Mostly, however, it's extreme moisture. During a drought, we can water our plants to help them get through it. There isn't much of anything we can do when the skies open up and drop huge amounts of rain is a short amount of time. Since I've begun my new landscape project here in Holiday, my plants have had to go through several periods of time where I've had nearly a foot of rain in less than a week. These past three days have been one of those times.
Most plants can handle lots of rain if the soil drains well. Lucky for me, this seems to be the case here. Roots need to breathe. For that, they need air spaces within the soil particles. Soils that remain fully saturated for appreciable periods of time will drown a plant just as it would an animal submerged in water (at least those without gills).  Every time I get periods of extreme weather like I've been having, I hold my breath as well. I've been adding a lot of new plants these past couple of weeks and I'm never sure how they will respond. So far, they seem to be prospering. I only hope they get some sunshine in the next few days as well. As the next few days appear, I will be watching closely to see if any of my plants begin to wilt and/or change color. Those are the signs of root damage.
The plants I added first are maturing quickly and as they bloom my once-sterile landscape is attracting invertebrates. My woodland is still far too immature to be the haven for birds that I envision, but a wildflower garden should produce results quickly - even in the middle of my suburban desert. It is unlikely that any of the pollinators and other insects that I now have as visitors visit any of the yards that surround me. I am fortunate that there are no signs of pest control companies in my neighborhood or mosquito-spraying trucks. At least what I am doing is not being impeded by others, but what I am trying to do is purely a solo endeavor.
With the rains, the nectar in my flowers is waterlogged and not of much interest to nectaring insects. The foul weather also encourages them to lay low until it passes. Today, I found quite a few small bees nestled inside and beneath the flowers that they normally would be pollinating. With this, it made it far easier to get photographs than normal.
Habitat is more than food - or nectar in this case, but it starts by selecting plants that will provide this. If you watch a wildflower "meadow" as I do for any appreciable amount of time, you will see that different pollinators prefer different flowers. There is no single universal nectar source. Flowers also come and go with the seasons, so I've tried to incorporate plants with different bloom times. My early goldenrods, like the Chapman's (Solidago odora var. chapmanii) above are the earliest of my four species. The Carolina (S. arguta) are just now starting. Later, the downy ragged (S. perfoliata) and the wand (S. stricta) will take over the same roles. In the same way, my early asters (Symphyotrichum spp.) have been in bloom for several weeks, but my late ones will bloom into December. 
Hopefully, all of my plants will find their new home suitable to their needs, but it's the extreme events that will determine that. As gardeners, we always keep our fingers crossed. To be one, requires us to be optimists no matter how else the world may see us.

Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpiller on Mock Bishop Weed

Monarch CAterpillar on Pink Swamp Milkweed