Garden Experiments

For the love of gardening and wildlife habitat

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.

Swamp Mallow (Hibiscus coccineus): Hardy Native for Wet Soils

Drought-tolerant, Flowers, Heat-tolerant, Native Plants, Wet Soils

Have you got swampy soil? Then this is the perfect flowering plant solution for your garden. Native to the marshes and swamps of the southeastern states – from Louisiana to North Carolina –swamp mallows (Hibiscus coccineus) prefer wet soil and even standing water. Swamp Mallow is Perfect for Wet Soil I had one spot in my front flowerbeds …

Continue Reading about Swamp Mallow (Hibiscus coccineus): Hardy Native for Wet Soils

Plant American Holly for Winter Color and Wildlife Food

Deer-resistant, Drought-tolerant, Low maintenance, Native Plants, Shade Areas, Trees & Shrubs, Wet Soils, Wildlife Habitat

If you want to add some color to your winter garden and provide food and shelter for songbirds and other wildlife simultaneously, American Holly (Ilex opaca) is a good choice. The berries form in October and persist throughout the winter when many other food sources are gone. Its leaves are evergreen and form a dense canopy. The bright red …

Continue Reading about Plant American Holly for Winter Color and Wildlife Food

Turk’s Cap – Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii

Drought-tolerant, Flowers, Heat-tolerant, Low maintenance, Native Plants, Shade Areas, Wet Soils

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

Giant Coneflower – Rudbeckia maxima

Deer-resistant, Drought-tolerant, Flowers, Heat-tolerant, Low maintenance, Native Plants, Shade Areas, Wet Soils

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 …

Continue Reading about Giant Coneflower – Rudbeckia maxima

Philadelphia Fleabane – Erigeron philadelphicus

Deer-resistant, Drought-tolerant, Flowers, Ground Cover, Heat-tolerant, Low maintenance, Native Plants, Shade Areas, Wet Soils

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