Remember that song, “I’m a Lonely Little Petunia in the Onion Patch”? That Judy said everybody knew? Well, I asked people at my office and not a single one had heard of it, though they did think it was pretty catchy. Be that as it may, let me now tell you about our onion patch.
Wild Petunia (Ruellia humilis) is a lovely little perennial native to most of the eastern half of the United States. It has Petunia-like lilac flowers, but it is not really a Petunia. It’s not even in the same family of plants – R. humilis is in the Acanthus family, while Petunias are in the Nightshade …
Recently, the blog Humane Gardener published an interesting interview with Vermont ecological garden designer Annie White. For her doctoral research, White had conducted an experiment to determine whether pollinators had preferences for straight species native plants as opposed to named cultivars bred from native plants – “nativars”.
No, not euphoric really, though I found it impossible to resist the double alliteration. But I am pleased that the Euphorbia corollata I planted about five years ago is finally establishing itself. This plant is native to Illinois and goes by the common names of Flowering Spurge or Prairie Baby’s Breath. I stick with the …
So remember those two substantial-looking plants that were growing in the Driveway Border, except I had absolutely no memory of ever planting them? Well, they’re blooming now, and they turn out to be Rudbeckia laciniata, which also goes by the truly wonderful common name of Wild Golden Glow.
I planted Prairie Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata) all the way back in 2010, but it wasn’t until the last couple years that it started to be a real presence in the Driveway Boarder.
Judy and I like tall perennials, and we have lots of them in the garden. I mean really tall, like you have to look up to see the flowers. We’ve considered starting an organization for ourselves and others who admire towering plants. It could be called the American Prodigiously Tall Plant Society (APTaPS).
So I know I said I wouldn’t do the long views as a weekly thing, but I changed my mind – at least for now. So sue me. Here’s a view from the street in front of our house. The Clematis is almost done flowering. Coming closer, here’s a view of the Driveway Border from …
OK, it’s not really unknown. But generally when people talk about Coneflowers, they’re talking about the genus Echinacea, or less frequently, Rudbeckia. Seldom are they referring to the Yellow Coneflower, Ratibida pinnata.
You don’t see a lot if Purple Milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens) in gardens, not even in native plant gardens. For several years I doted on a small clump of it in the Back Garden Raised Bed. Feeling that the plant should be more widely grown, in 2014 I offered free seeds from my own plants …
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