Wildflowers: Iris Native to the Mid-Atlantic States
Karen Meyers Iris is a genus of 310 species and is in the plant family Iridaceae that also included gladiolus, crocus and freesia. The plants are all perennial and grow from rhizomes…
Plant Profile: Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)
Karen This deciduous shrub is known by several names including blue huckleberry and swamp huckleberry and is a member of the heath family, Ericaceae, that also includes heather, cranberries, and azaleas.…
Plant Profile: Rayless Sunflower (Helianthus radula)
Also known as pineland sunflower, this tender perennial is native to southeastern US from South Carolina to Florida and eastern Louisiana where it grows in sandy uplands, along moist to…
Plant Profile: Thinleaf Sunflower (Helianthus decapetalus)
Also called rough sunflower and ten-petal sunflower, this herbaceous perennial is native to the woodlands and forests of Eastern and Central US. It is a member of the daisy family,…
Plant Profile: Common Sunflower (Helianthus annus)
Although there are many perennial sunflowers there is only one annual that is garden worthy but that one has dozens of cultivars and is very popular. A native of western…
Meadow Garden: Native Flowering Annuals
Native annuals can be used to enhance the meadow garden in many ways. Most annuals bloom with vibrant colors over a long bloom time and are easy to grow from…
Plants for a Mary Garden: Fuller’s Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) “Our Lady’s Little Brushes”
The association between the the Virgin Mary and fuller’s teasel is tenuous and rests on tradition and folklore rather than on biblical evidence. According to legend, Mary was dedicated to…
Plant Profile: Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus)
This clump-forming herbaceous perennial is a native of central and eastern North America from Ontario and Quebec south to Florida and Louisiana, and west to Oklahoma and Iowa where it…
Plant Profile: Common Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata)
Common blanket flower is a herbaceous perennial native to northwestern and north central US where it grows in meadows. It is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also…
Plant Profile: Royal Azalea (Rhododendron schlippenbachii)
This dense flowering deciduous shrub is native to Korea, Manchuria, Japan and far east Russia where it grows in the understory of mountain forests. It is a member of the…