Wildflower Wednesday: Hypercolored Hypericum Heaven

Each fall when I see Hypericum frondosum's brilliant color I wonder why more American gardeners haven't planted them. It's a wonderful Southeastern US native* shrub with four seasons of interest and good wildlife value.

Plants are pollen rich, but have no nectar!

I would plant it for the pollen rich golden flowers alone, but when you add blue-green foliage, red seed heads, exfoliating winter bark, excellent wildlife value and hypercolored fall foliage you really do have a winner.

I'm puzzled that it's not offered in better gardening centers, but, I'm always puzzled that the same old same old bread and butter shrubs are sold all over this part of the gardening world. Especially when you compare the merits of a Burning Bush to all that Cedarglade St. Johnswort has to offer.

You want fiery reds~You got it!

Or, burgundy and orange~It delivers.

 How about golden leaves with just a touch of rose that looks stunning next to a bright colored bench!

In Middle Tennessee it is endemic to woodlands adjacent to cedar glades

Isn't the color delicious and don't you wonder why Hypericum frondosum isn't promoted as an alternative to invasive Euonymous alata. I do. Especially when I see the look on garden visitors' faces when they see the fall color for the first time. They are blown away...

This plant propagates so easily from seed or stem cuttings that no one can convince me that it is not commercially viable.

Mid November 2012

I have dozens of Golden St John's wort shrubs in my garden now. All the offspring of one Hypericum frondosum 'Sunburst' cultivar that I bought fifteen years ago. Yes, I said dozens! It's a shrub that thinks it's a perennial and a few seedlings pop up near the mother plant each spring. I have moved them all over the garden and every one is covered in golden flowers that attract pollinators, just like its cultivar parent. They're planted in full sun, shade, dry soil and soil that's wet all winter.  It looks best and is happiest planted among shrubs that might be found in a woodlands adjacent to a cedar glade~Juniperus virginiana 'Gray Owl', Panicum virgatum, the native ex-asters, Chasmanthium latifolium, Phlox pilosa, Penstemon calycosus, Christmas Ferns and more.

If you don't know by now, let me tell you how very much I love this shrub!

I love its hyper-colored fall display,
the exfoliating bark,
the blue green summer foliage, and
the pollinator magnet golden sunburst flowers.

Golden foliage with red seed capsules

It's a year round beauty that makes Clay and Limestone the garden it is today....In other words, I can't imagine gardening without it! You should try it, too.

xxoogail

* Native from South Carolina and Tennessee south to southern Georgia and west to eastern Texas, Zones 5-8

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. Please leave a comment when you add your url to Mr Linky.




Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

I never tire of seeing frost flowers blooming on a cold morning

I hope you don't either.

They're nature at its most magical.

If that's too fanciful for you, then they we can go with science and call it capillary action. 

All it takes is a warm winter day followed by a cold winter night. During the day, Verbesina virginica's roots draw water up into the stem and later that night freezing temperatures force the sap from the stems where they freeze into sculptural ice candy flower curls.

Capillary action is magical when it's this beautiful!

It will "bloom" ice crystal ribbons on and off all winter whenever the day warms up and the nights freeze.

I hope to never tire of seeing the marvelous and magical that nature has to show me.

xoxogail

More about Verbesina virginica read: 
Bees Don't Care If  Flower Is Beautiful, 
Have You Seen The Frost Flowers and 
An Almost Perfect Winter Flower

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.  -- Eden Phillpotts

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Happy Thanksgiving My Friends

I wish you all a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving and loving times with your friends and family.

xoxogail


Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Itea virginica, A Perfect Autumn Partner

Layanee at Ledge and Garden has asked "What plant in your garden has gotten your attention recently?" It is definitely Itea virginica. Just look at that color! It's a spectacular mixture of yellow, orange, crimson and maroon.

I think Iteas might be one of the best native shrubs for Zone 5 and warmer gardens. I think of it as a four season planting, but, it really shines in early summer when the lightly scented flowers are abuzz with bees and fall when it is a technicolor beauty.

It partners so well with many perennials, grasses and other shrubs.  One of my favorite pairings is with one of the floppier Switchgrasses (above).  I like how the golden grass blades gently bend over the fall colored leaves of the Sweetspire. 

Mid-October Itea virginica 'Merlot'

Itea virginica is also stunning partnered with a cobalt blue pot.

Or,  planted in one! 

I'm hoping that this new partnership~ cultivar 'Little Henry' and Korean mum 'Ryan's yellow'~ continue to work well together.

Fall 2009 witchhazel and Sweetspire

Itea virginica is a beautiful stand alone shrub and in the right spot will colonize and make a stunning year round display, but, each fall when I see it dancing with the golden grasses or complimenting the  witch hazels, I know that pairing this plant with a good partner doubles the pleasure.

xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Going, Going, Gone...November 2012 Blooms

The October Blue sky over the garden has been beyond incredible. So has the weather! Had the warm weather continued the garden would still have many wildflowers in bloom, but, after two days in the mid-seventies, wind, rain and freezes arrived to remind us that this is Autumn in Middle Tennessee.

The Japanese Maples in an homage to the Golden ginko down the street dropped all their leaves as if on cue. They had been stunning.

Almost every perennial in the garden is mush or toast, except for several Rudbeckia trilobas that refuse to quit blooming, a lone Gaura lindheimeri that is limping along, Helenium autumnale that is trying to bloom, the annuals I covered, and the very, very late blooming native ex-aster.  If you take anything away from this post, please note that R triloba and Symphyotrichum praealtum  should definitely be planted in your garden, both are beyond belief floriferous and frost/freeze hardy! The Bumbles and little bees with thank you.

Photo from November 15, 2012

As I sit here, looking over my photos and writing about the last of the blooms at C and L, I can only conclude one thing~This has been a delightful autumn, worthy of praise!

If I think about the extended bloom season, the stalwart asters, the stubborn rudbeckias, the loyal Bumbles...One plant stands out as exceptional and worthy of praise and that is  Hamamelis virginiana.

Just look at those flowers, they light up the garden against that Autumn Blue Sky!

xoxogail

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world share their garden blooms. So head over to Carol's to take the Mr Linky magic carpet ride to more gardens than you can imagine visiting in one day! 

 This is my November 2012 contribution.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

The Best Native Ex-Aster Is A Very, Very Late Bloomer!

Symphyotrichum praealtum with its telltale prominent veining

'Miss Bessie' is a very, very, late blooming flower in my garden. It begins opening in mid to late October just as the Little ex-asters are starting to fade and continues to bloom through much of November. It has survived light frosts and we'll see today whether it survived the freezing fog that is forecast this morning.

Even after fifteen straight hours of rain the willow aster is the place to bee for nectar

It's an extremely important food source for pollinators still out and about on those beautiful warm fall days; one source suggests that it's a go to food source for migrating Monarch Butterflies. If you garden along the monarch trail I recommend planting this beauty (Prairie Moon Nursery has seeds).

Bumble moving very slow stops to nectar on 

I am thrilled when royalty stops by the garden, but, all the pollinators adore this beauty. By all, I mean every Bumble, tiny little fly, small bee or Skipper that's in the garden can be found nectaring on the sweet lilac-blue flowers from the time the sun moves past the canopy trees and warms up the garden, until it sets and everything cools off.

It leans toward the sun in less than full sun settings

Symphyotrichum praealtum is a tall grass prairie native that is harder to find than a tall grass prairie. It's listed as an endangered and threatened species in several states, including Tennessee, and in several Canadian provinces. (Go here to read about rescue efforts in Canada.) Luckily for me, blogging friend, Sweetbay, generously shared several starts of 'Miss Bessie' a few years ago. I am happy to say they bloomed that first fall and every one since then. It's ironic and wonderful that an endangered Middle Tennessee wildflower found its way home from NC. The resident pollinator send their thanks and love to you SB!

Willowleaf aster is an important late fall source of nectar and pollen

In my garden,  Willowleaf aster stands straight and tall until the top heavy blooms have it leaning toward the sun. It sways in the slightest breeze and only patience and hundreds of shots yields a good photo of any pollinators nectaring!  

You can tell this is a fly by its stubby antennae 

I'm scattering seeds and moving a plant or two to the hillside garden along with Chasmanthium laterfolium, Panicum virgatum and Rudbeckia triloba, where they can all colonize to their heart's content!

I can see it now~the best ever, late blooming native ex-aster swaying and dancing with the River Oats
while Bumbles nectar on its blooms.

xoxogail

PS It goes without saying, but you know me, I have to say it. If you want happy pollinators to live and visit your garden, you must, never, ever, ever, ever use pesticides. I'm not kidding...



Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

I Get Your Garden

Nothing makes me smile more than hearing a fellow gardener say "I get your garden." That was exactly what happened when a gardening friend stopped by last week.  Those simple words made my heart sing.

It's gratifying when others appreciate the work that has gone into creating this garden for wildlife. My goal is to have a four season garden that is a delight to me as well as the critters. But, Clay and Limestone is not appreciated by everyone. I’ve seen the puzzled looks on visitors faces and watched them struggle to find something to say! I know they enjoy the spring drifts of Phlox pilosa and later the Penstemon calycosus, but, after the intense bloom of spring and before the late summer aster explosion, a shady Middle Tennessee garden is a lot of green! Some people have said it's too natural for their taste, others think it's not floriferous enough and one dear friend asked if Nashville had weed laws.

There was a time when I might have agreed with them.

just a bit ago in the front garden

But, that was once upon a time. Now, a conventional garden with neatly weeded beds that are filled with exotic plants is beautiful to behold, but, it's not the standard by which I measure my garden success. When I discovered the beauty and wildlife value of native plants, my gardening standards changed. Nowadays, decaying grasses and seed heads are left standing all winter, the beds are mulched with shredded leaves, and the Danthonia spicata lawnette is dotted with critter friendly 'weeds' like clover, dandelions and Salvia lyrata.

It looks beautiful to me and the critters that live and visit here seem pretty happy... that feels like success.

But, that doesn't mean that I am not deeply touched when you all 'get my garden'.
I am...

Thank you.

xxoogail

"And it's all right now
yeah, I learned my lesson well
You see, you can't please everyone
so you gotta please yourself.
- Rick Nelson



Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.