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
Lately I have been fascinated by plants with ugly names—a few weeks ago it was streptocarpus, better and more euphoniously known as Cape primrose. Right now, as my snapdragons prepare to bloom, it is their plant family, known as the “figwort” family, or Scrophulariaceae. Gardeners have long celebrated members of this family, which includes summer … Read more
Right now, in mid-July, the roses are taking a mid-season rest, while the daisies—coneflowers, coreopsis and Shastas—take center stage. I love them all, but at this moment I am absolutely infatuated with the streptocarpus plants that are currently strutting their flowery stuff on my covered front porch. The name “streptocarpus” is awful, invoking virulent sore … Read more
Scent is important to me. I have been known to stop in my tracts to insert my nose into a particularly alluring rose or inhale the intoxicating fragrance of a blooming linden tree. I didn’t expect much when I got up close and personal with an echinops or globe thistle, but to my surprise, the … Read more
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
