Sundays after church, my dad would pile the family into the car and take us for a drive through the countryside just outside the boundaries of the big city. We would see miles of delicate pink flowers lining the edges of the roads, growing the cracks in the sidewalk, and on the banks of the hills. Pink evening primrose is one of the wildflowers …
Plants for Gardens with Wet Soils
Find plants and flowers for gardens with wet or moist soils. Wet soils can be challenging to plant, but some plants like moist soils. Find the perfect one for your garden.
Early Spring Wildflowers of the Southeast – Trillium, Jack in the Pulpit, and Bloodroot
The first flowers to show their faces after winter are the native wildflowers. By mid to late-March, they are usually in full bloom. Bloodroot, trillium, and Jack in the pulpit are some of my favorite early-blooming southeastern native plants. Which one is your favorite? Incorporate Native Plants in Your Garden Choosing to incorporate native …
Obedient Plant – Physostegia virginiana
The obedient plant is native to most of the U.S.. It produces lovely pale purple blooms in the fall when most things are shutting down. It's also easy to dig up and divide. Deer-resistant AND it can grow in clay soil - what's not to love about obedient plants? Like all native plants, it is particularly suited for the growing conditions of its …
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Buttonbush for Wet Soils and Cool Blooms!
Nature produces some interesting shapes, which is true for the flower of the buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). Common buttonbush (or buttonwillow) produces these crazy-looking little spiky ball-like blooms of compound florets. They’re pretty cool, actually, and both bees and butterflies agree. I recently caught this skipper butterfly …
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Prairie Blue-eyed Grass
It's early April, but I've already started mowing the grass. The backyard just got a little too unruly, and I have already gotten my first tick of the season. This is always a sign that it's time to mow. I try never to walk through grass higher than my ankle for that reason. Now, I try to keep the front yard nice and well maintained, so the …
Virginia Spring Beauty – Claytonia virginica
When I reach my limit with the bleakness of winter and cold temperatures, the tiniest pink striped flowers start to poke their heads out of lawns and ditches. To me, the Virginia spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) is a harbinger of spring and warmer weather. These wildflowers bloom just before the false garlic – so they fill up the lawns and …
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