Wild Bergamot

Last week I saw a field of wild bergamot or Monarda fistulosa in full bloom. This miracle of nature, which may or may not have been helped along by human beings, was a sea of pale purple. Butterflies—monarchs, sulphurs, swallowtails and red admirals—danced just above the blooms, landing long enough to sip nectar. The buzzing … Read more

Accidental Butterflies

The butterfly weed, or Asclepias tuberose, in my garden is obviously the result of wish fulfillment, because I never planted it. For years I thought about it, but was always distracted by the horticultural equivalent of brighter, shinier objects. My plant dollars went for all kinds of specimens, but never for butterfly weed. Still, as … Read more

The Many Aliases of Joe Pye Weed

What do Thomas Jefferson, early American nurseryman John Bartram, and a long-ago Native American healer have in common with the twenty-first century Dutch plantsman Piet Oudolf? All are part of the long history of Joe Pye Weed, a beautiful and useful native perennial.  Jefferson used the plants in his garden, John Bartram sent seeds to … Read more

Butterfly Weed

Lots of plants pop up in the fertile ground under my privet hedge—poison ivy, Virginia creeper, wild grape, Japanese honeysuckle, Oriental bittersweet and common mulberry, to name a few.  I spend a good chunk of time every month battling them.  It is a quixotic battle, based on the romantic notion that I can actually defeat … Read more

Flowering Tobacco

Over the centuries, humans have had a complex relationship with members of the tobacco—Nicotiana—family.  We have praised them, vilified them, smoked some species, distilled others into insecticides and burned still others in various rituals.  One thing is clear.  When it comes to ornamental or flowering tobacco, there is much to praise and almost nothing to … Read more