Anise hyssop, Agastache foeniculum
Anise hyssop is a great plant for attracting bees, butterflies and beetles. Learn more about this native species in this article including care and cultivars available.
Articles
Carpetweed, Mollugo verticillata
Carpetweed lives up to its common name by quickly forming a flat mat over the ground. This prostrate summer annual has freely branching stems with whorls of green leaves at the widely spaced nodes. It is most common in disturbed areas – gardens, new or thin lawns, and roadsides. Find out more about this common weed in this article…
Silver spotted skipper, Epargyreus clarus
Skippers are a group of small butterflies with quick, darting flights. The silver spotted skipper is one of the largest skippers. This chocolate-colored butterfly is easily identified by the conspicuous white or silver spot on the underside of its hind wing that gives it the common name. Read about this common, but often overlooked butterfly, in this article…
Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare
Fennel is a great ornamental edible, with ferny fronds that add textural contrast in plantings, as well as tasting great. To learn more about this versatile plant, read this article…
Black swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes
If you’ve seen a large, mostly black butterfly lately, chances are it was a black swallowtail, a very common butterfly of eastern North America. The colorful caterpillars feed on many herb garden plants while the adults nectar at a variety of flowers. To learn more about this species and how to encourage it in your garden, read this article…
Pennisetum ‘Fireworks’
July brings out the fireworks, but if you’d rather have visual explosions in the garden than pyrotechnics in the sky, consider the annual purple fountain grass cultivar ‘Fireworks’. This ornamental grass offers pink variegated foliage in an arching form that provides great contrast in color and form. Learn more about ‘Fireworks’ grass in this article…
Black-eyed Susan Vine, Thunbergia alata
Need to cover a trellis with color for the summer? Black-eyed Susan vine is a good choice if you want lots of showy flowers in the yellow and orange range. Thunbergia alata is actually a tender perennial that grows fast enough to be used as an annual in cooler climates. To learn more about this African native, read this article…
Field Pennycress, Thlaspi arvense
There are many weedy plants in the mustard family. It would be easy to overlook field pennycress early in the season, but once the distinctive seed pods develop with a bottle-brush-like appearance, and especially once they start to dry, this plant becomes much more noticeable. Learn more about this introduced weed by reading this article…
Balm-leaved Red Deadnettle, Lamium orvala
Not all Lamiums are created alike. The European species L. orvala is a tall, clump-forming plant with whorls of spotted purple-pink flowers that resemble orchids in spring. When the flowers fade the big leaves provide good contrast to grassy or fine-textured foliage in the garden. To learn more about this species of ornamental plant, read this article…
Beetles (Coleoptera)
The beetles are the most numerous group of insects, with both pest and beneficial species. Regardless of whether they are plant feeders, scavengers, or predators, the adults all have the first pairs of wings hardened into sheaths that cover the abdomen. To learn about some of the most common types of beetle, read this article…
Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale
Those cheerful yellow flowers are everywhere in spring. Dandelion is a European species that has made itself at home throughout North America. A menace to gardeners and homeowners looking for a lush, green lawn, this plant can also be cultivated or foraged as food. You can find out more about this ubiquitous weed in this article…
Ramps, Allium tricoccum
There aren’t many native woodland plants that also double as vegetables, but the spring ephemeral Allium tricoccum is one. To find out more about this perennial plant, read this article…
