Penstemon digitalis is an easy-to-find late spring perennial. The common name of this native comes from foxgloves, native to Europe, which they somewhat resemble. P. digitalis is more common further north and west of our area, but this plant does well here and is a favorite of various bumblebees. Spreading notes: Re-seeds lightly Maintenance notes: […] Continue reading "Foxglove Beardtongue"
Ohio spiderwort is a plant that is happy in many different conditions. Some of us have it growing in full sun and others in dry shade. It is a clump-forming perennial and blooms successionally, one flower per day, opening in the morning and closing by evening. The leaves are long and grass-like, and it has […] Continue reading "Ohio Spiderwort"
Black-eyed Susan is a fast-growing biennial or short-lived perennial. “Hirta” means hairy, and this is the main way you can tell the difference between this and its cousin Rudbeckia fulgida (orange coneflower): R. hirta is thickly covered in small soft hairs, while R. fulgida has more sparse hairs on its leaves. This is an easy […] Continue reading "Black-eyed Susan"
Rattlesnake master is an upright perennial unlike most other full-sun loving plants in the Tennessee Valley, and provides a great contrast in a meadow garden. The botanical name refers to its leaves’ similar to the leaves of a yucca plant, and they tend to be a cooler shade of green-blue. The flower heads are unusual […] Continue reading "Rattlesnake Master"
The little cousin to the more famous Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) and Scarlet Bee Balm (Monarda didyma), Bradbury’s bee balm is a low maintenance herbaceous perennial that blooms before other Monarda species. The leaves are aromatic, and deer tend to avoid it due to the fragrance. Spreading notes: Will self seed over time in low […] Continue reading "Bradbury’s Beebalm"
An excellent substitute for chrysanthemums, Aromatic aster is one of the TN Valley Wild Ones members’ favorite asters. Run your hand through the leaves throughout the year to smell its wonderful fragrance. As a member of the aster family, it is an important pollinator host for late fall when many other plants have started to […] Continue reading "Aromatic Aster"
Also referred to as a black-eyed Susan, this is an easy-to-grow plant in most garden conditions as long as the soils don’t stay wet. Often confused with two other species, the Rudbeckia hirta (a biennial, typically also referred to as a “black-eyed Susan”) and Rudbeckia triloba (another perennial called a brown-eyed Susan), the orange coneflower […] Continue reading "Orange Coneflower"
Lyre-leaf sage is a perennial mint family member that forms a rosette of deeply lobed basal leaves, often shaped like a lyre. Leaves can be purple-tinged in winter, and some populations display reddish blotches in the leaf centers. In spring, upright flower stalks rise 1-1.5 feet above the foliage, bearing whorls of tubular blue-violet flowers […] Continue reading "Lyreleaf Sage"
Sundrops is an erect perennial with lance-shaped green leaves and bright yellow, four-petaled flowers up to 2 inches across. Unlike most evening primrose species, sundrops blooms during the day. Individual flowers are short-lived, but they appear in succession over a long bloom period from mid-spring through summer. The overwintering basal rosette is evergreen in our […] Continue reading "Sundrops"
Moss phlox is a vigorous mat-forming groundcover with needle-like, semi-evergreen foliage that spreads 2-3 feet wide. It is one of the earliest bloomers in our area. Bloom colors range from pink and lavender to purple, red, or white. Each tubular flower is about 3/4 inch wide with five distinctively notched petals. It has many cultivars […] Continue reading "Moss Phlox"