Genus Astilbes for the Garden
Karen Also called false spirea, Astilbe is a genus of herbaceous perennials and members of the saxifrage family, Saxifrageceae, that also includes coralbells (heuchera), Bergenia, and Tiarella. Most astilbes are native…
Plant Profile: Purple Bergenia (Bergenia purpurascens)
Purple bergenia is an evergreen herbaceous perennial and a member of the Saxafragaceae family that also includes astilbe, foam flower (Tiarella), and coral bells (Heuchera). It is native to eastern…
Plant Profile: White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
Also called snakehead and balmony, this herbaceous perennial is a member of the plantain family, Plantaginaceae, that also includes foxglove, snapdragon, and angelonia. It is native to North America from…
Plant Profile: Striped Cobra Lily (Arisaema candidissimum)
Also called striped Jack-in-the pulpit, this herbaceous perennial is a member of the arum family, Araceae, that also includes skunk cabbage, calla lily, and elephant ear. It is native to…
Plant Profile: American Liverwort (Hepatica americana aka Anemone americana)
Known as one of the earliest flowers to bloom in the spring, American liverwort is a herbaceous perennial and member of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, that also includes columbine, hellebore,…
Garden Plants for Flower Arrangements: Spotted Laurel (Acuba japonica)
Spotted laurel is a broad leaf evergreen shrub native to China, Japan and Korea where it grows in moist forest soils. Its variegated forms are very useful in both the…
Plant Profile: False Goat’s Beard (Astilbe biternata)
Astilbe biternata False goat’s bedard is a herbaceous perennial native to the southern Appalachian Mountains where it grows in moist mountain woodlands, roadsides, ditches, and seepage slopes. It belongs to…
Plant Profile: Thunberg’s Astilbe (Astilbe thunbergii)
Thungbergs’s astilbe is a herbaceous perennial native to East Asia. It is a member of the saxifrage family, Saxifracaceae, that also includes Bergenia, foamflower (Tiarella), and coral bells (Heuchera). The…
Garden Plants for Flower Arrangements: Hybrid Japanese Anemone (Anemone x hybrida)
Hybrid Japanese anemone are herbaceous perennials that form a substantial mound of handsome dark green leaves carried on long stems (petioles). Each leaf is palmately compound with three toothed leaflets.…
Plant Profile: Wandflower (Galax urceolata)
Also called beetleweed, this evergreen herbaceous perennial is native to southeastern US from where it grows in the forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain. It is…