Plant Profile: Tatarian Daisy (Aster tataricus)
Karen Tatarian daisy is a herbaceous perennial native to southern Siberia, northern China, Mongolia, Koreas, and Japan where it grows in wetlands and meadows. It is a member of the aster…
Plant Profile: Rhone Aster (Aster sedifolius)
Rhone asters are herbaceous perennials native to southern Europe. They belong to the Asteraceae family that also includes daisies, sunflowrs, and lettuce. The multi-stemmed plants have a bushy habit with…
Plant Profile: Flowering Ash (Fraxinus dipetala)
Flowering ash, also called California ash and two-petal ash, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub native California, northwestern Arizona, southern Nevada, Utah and norther Baja California where it…
Plant Profile: New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae aka Symphyotrichum novae-angliae )
New England aster, also called Michaelmas daisy, is a herbaceous perennial native to much of the US from the Rocky Mountains to the East Coast where it grows in a…
Book Review: A Butterfly Is Patient
As a gardener I rejoice at seeing butterflies in my garden and love to share my experience with my grandchildren. Dianna Hutts Aston’s book, A Butterfly Is Patient, is the…
Plant Profile: Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
Showy milkweed is a herbaceous perennial native to Northwest and north central US where it can be found in sunny moist to dry sites including savannas, prairies, roadsides, abandon fields,…
Plant Profile: Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Swamp milkweed is a herbaceous perennial native to North America where it grows in moist to wet soils including swamps, ditches, and the edges of ponds, lakes, and streams. It…
Plant Profile: Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Native to Eastern US where it grows in moist shady sites, wild columbine is a herbaceous perennial and a member of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, that also includes clematis, delphinium,…
Plant Profile: Weeping Butterfly Bush (Buddleja lindleyana)
This deciduous shrub is native to China but has naturalized in southeastern US where it can form substantial thickets by means of stolons. It has cinnamon colored trunks and dark…
Butterflies in the Garden and How to Attract Them: Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)
The viceroy can be found through out most of the US, southern Canada and northern Mexico where it inhabits moist open or shrubby areas such as land around lakes, along…