Sundays after church, my dad would pile the family into the car and take us for a drive through the countryside just outside boundaries of the big city. We would see miles of delicate pink flowers lining the edges of the roads, the cracks in the sidewalk, and the banks of the hills. Pink evening primrose is one of the wildflowers of my childhood. Some people may call it a weed, but this plant holds a special place in my heart. When I see them … [Read more...]
Coral Honeysuckle – Native Vine for Hummingbirds
Have you ever plucked a honeysuckle flower, turned it around and gently sucked the nectar from the tube-shaped back of the flower? If you grew up in the southeastern U.S., I bet you did. That taste of super-sweet honey nectar always makes me think of summer nights spent chasing fireflies and summer days spent running wild and free. Imagine my surprise when taking a class on native plants and shrubs in college that I learned that the yellow … [Read more...]
The Delicate, But Aggressive, Cypress Vine
When my cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit) is blooming, it is covered in tiny, star-shaped, brilliantly red flowers. Although they are tiny, the flowers really stand out against the light green of the leaves and vine. My favorite part about the cypress vine is its dainty, feather-like leaves. The leaves look so fragile and fairy-like that, even when it isn’t blooming, this vine puts on a little show. But don’t be fooled by the delicate … [Read more...]
Low-Maintenance Container Gardens
With the hot sun and the high humidity of our Mississippi summers, having a lot of container gardens sprinkled around my yard usually means I'm going to have to do a lot of watering each week. Watering my garden is a tedious chore. The hose gets tangled on everything, my shoes usually end up getting wet, and it gives the mosquitoes plenty of time to suck my veins dry. It's a Catch-22. If you have container gardens here in Mississippi, … [Read more...]
Obedient Plant – Physostegia virginiana
Deer-resistant AND it can grow in clay soil - what's not to love about obedient plants? Native plants are favorites of mine because they are particularly suited for the local conditions (soil, heat, drought or rain, clay soil) of my area. When I find those native plants with particularly pretty flowers, I add them to my hodgepodge of a garden. This particular plant was a bonus because it is native to Mississippi, it has lots of lovely pale … [Read more...]
A Spot of Yellow: Native Partridge Pea Butterfly Host Plant
Yesterday morning, I was driving to an appointment and I happened to glance at the side of the road, only to see a flash of bright yellow color. It made me look twice – it was a patch of partridge pea! This is the time of the year that you’ll see the bright yellow flowers of partridge pea blooming along the side of the road or along streams and ditches. They will continue to flower from late summer to early fall. Food for Wildlife and Plants … [Read more...]
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