Tag: Plants for Pollinators
The Case of the Mistakenly Labeled Lobelias
I love Cardinal Flowers (Lobelia cardinalis), but they don’t love me. Which is to say, they always die on me after a couple of years. They’re fairly finicky. They like lots of sun, lots of moisture, and bed sheets with a thread count of at least 1,800.
More Grist for the Natives versus Nativars Debate
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”.
Cup Plant: A Plant You Can Look Up To
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).
More Monardas, More Butterflies, and a Troll Bridge
‘Raspberry Wine’ Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) is the first of our Monardas to bloom.
Herbs Going Wild
Across the driveway from the house, behind the Crabapple tree, there is a little sunny space that I intended to use for herbs and vegetables.
Culver’s Root: Sometimes Newer IS Better
Despite the depredations of the Four Lined Plant Bug, our ‘Fascination’ Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum) has begun blooming pretty nicely at this point in the year.
Wild Blue Indigo and Bumblebees
June is a blue month in our garden. And perhaps my favorite blue flower for June is the Wild Blue Indigo (Baptisia australis). This is such a great plant: it’s beautiful, tough, and low-maintenance. Give it time and it will create a substantial presence, around four feet tall and wide.
Don’t Give Up On Monarch Butterflies
For about a week there’s been a single Monarch Butterfly flying around our garden, and paying particular attention to the Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). After I got a fuzzy picture with my phone, Judy sat outside on the front steps waiting for the Monarch to appear so she could get these photos with her Nikon …
Garden Catalog Review: Prairie Moon Nursery
This is the time of year when I end every day leafing through garden catalogs before going to sleep. The promise of new blooms and greenery help me get through the short bleak days of winter. Fortunately I get lots of catalogs, and over the next few weeks I’m going to write about some of …
gardeninacity 