Plant Profile: Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum)
Karen At twelve feet tall and with a taproot that can be fifteen feet long, this native of tall grass prairies is a plant to be taken seriously. Add to its…
Plant Profile: Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium)
Also called American feverfew, wild quinine is a herbaceous perennial and a member of the Aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes sunflower, daisy, and lettuce. It is native to eastern…
Plant Profile: Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)
A native of dry prairies and savannas, yellow coneflower has a folksy look with its droopy soft yellow petals. The center cone is green at first but changes to dark…
Plant Profile: Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
This native of prairies and meadows is one of the odd looking plants that make gardening such fun. It’s yucca-like leaves are spiky, its stems are stout and unbranched except…
Plant Profile: Twinflower (Linnacea borealis)
A native of cool moist woods, twinflower often grows into large mats forming a beautiful ground cover. Bright green, glossy, evergreen leaves are borne in pairs on slender woody stems…
Plant Profile: Fremont’s Leather Flower (Clematis fremontii)
This small non-climbing shrubby clematis has a long season of interesting beginning with attractive green leathery foliage in spring. In late spring nodding bell-shaped purple to white flowers appear singly…
Plant Profile: Leadplant (Amorpha canescens)
A native of woods, savannas, and prairies from Ontario and Manitoba, south to Louisiana, Texas, and New Mexico, leadplant is a small shrub with silvery green leaves and bluish-purple flowers…
Plant Profile: Nodding Wild Onion (Allium cernuum)
There are many different kinds of onion cultivated as garden plants but the nodding wild onion has a special charm all of its own. In summer a cluster of white…
Plant Profile: Heartleaf Alexander (Zizia aptera)
This short-lived perennial is a member of the carrot family, Apiaceae, that also includes parsley, celery, and poison hemlock. It is a native of moist to seasonable wet meadows and…
Plant Profile: Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
Known by many names including duck’s foot, hog apple, raccoonberry, umbrella leaf, and wild lemon, this herbaceous perennial is native to eastern North America south to Texas, where it may…