Plant Profile: Chinese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi)
Karen Also called bladder cherry and strawberry ground cherry, this herbaceous perennial is native to southern Europe and parts of Asia. It is a member of the nightshade family, Solonaceae, that…
Genus Alchemilla for the Garden
Alchemilla is a genus of herbaceous perennials in the rose family (Rosaceae) that also includes cherries, spirea, and hawthorn. Most of the three hundred species of the genus live in…
Plant Profile: Hyssop (Hysoppus officinalis)
Hyssop is a small semi-evergreen subshrub up to 24″ tall native to southern Europe, the Middle East, and the area around the Caspian sea but has naturalized in parts of…
Plant Profile: Virginia Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
Virginia mountain mint is a herbaceous perennial native to eastern US from Maine and north Dakota, south to Georgia and Oklahoma where it grows in wet prairies, and on stream…
Invasive Plants and Their Native Alternatives: Common Bird’s-Foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)
This herbaceous perennial is also known as eggs and bacon and bird’s-foot deer vetch and is native to grasslands of Eurasia and North Africa. It was introduced to the US…
Plant Profile: x Solidaster luteus ‘Lemore’
This herbaceous perennial is the result of a cross between two plants native to North America, Aster ptarmicoides and Solidago canadensis (goldenrod). From its aster parent it inherited a more…
Plant Profile: Woollyhead (Craspedia uniflora)
Native to New Zealand and Australia, this herbaceous perennial is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, sunflower, and lettuce. It has simple, opposite green leaves…
Invasive Plants and Their Native Alternatives: Dames Rocket (Hesperis matronalis)
Dames rocket is a biennial or short-lived perennial known by a variety of names including dame’s violet, mother of the evening, and sweet rocket. It was introduced from Eurasia into…
Plant Profile: Mountain Heliotrope(Valeriana sitchensis)
In spite of its common name, mountain heliotrope is not a true heliotrope and is not even in the same family. It is a member of the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae,…
Plant Profile: Long Bracted Wild Indigo (Baptisia bracteata)
Long bracted wild indigo is a long lived herbaceous perennial and a member of the pea family, Fabaceae, that also includes mimosa, lupine and black locust. It is native to…