Garden Experiments
For the love of gardening and wildlife habitat
You can find the perfect plant for a shady garden if you have part-shade or full-shade spots in your garden. Shade-tolerant plants can have flowers, colorful leaves, great patterns, or a combination. Choose between perennial plants and annuals for shade gardens.
American beautyberry is a perennial, native shrub found throughout the southeast that is deer resistant and an excellent food source for birds and pollinators. The rich purple color of the berries adds brilliant color to the shady areas of your garden. When planted in groupings, the color of the berries is a show stopper. American beautyberry …
Continue Reading about How to Grow American Beautyberry Bush (Callicarpa americana)
Turk’s cap is a perennial, deciduous, shrub-like plant native to the Southeastern United States. It produces small (2-3 inch) red flowers that resemble a closed-up hibiscus. You may also find pink and white flowered cultivars of this plant. This plant is in the Malvaceae family; Turk's cap is also commonly known as wax mallow, Texas mallow, …
Continue Reading about Turk’s Cap – Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii
Rudbeckia maxima, otherwise known as the giant coneflower, is in the Asteracea family. The flower resembles a brown-eyed Susan, but the petals hang down, and the center is much taller. This plant can grow up to 7 feet tall. Planted in a large group, it makes a nice visual impact. Other common names for this wildflower include cabbage …
Philadelphia fleabane is a native wildflower in the sunflower family (Asteracea); it looks like a small feathery daisy or aster. Many may consider this flowering plant to be a weed, but it struck me as a nice addition to my yard. Although it’s not where I would like it to be at the moment, I will dig it up and transplant it. I have noted that …
Continue Reading about Philadelphia Fleabane – Erigeron philadelphicus
