Wildflower Wednesday: Phacelia bipinnatifida and Love at First Sight

 It really was love at first sight.  

Who could resist the lavender-blue flowers with deeply divided, mottled fern-like leaves that bloom in early spring and attracts bees? Those leaves alone are worth having in your garden. They have lighter, grayish-green, or silvery, watermark-like blotches and can develop a purple tinge in late fall/winter. 

My little naturalized colony at its best

It's been so long ago that I can't remember when I added Phacelia bipinnatifida to the garden but, I remember quite clearly the first time I saw a naturally occurring colony on a shady damp hillside. I was going to visit a new friend's garden and was driving up her steep drive, as I turned a bend in the drive every where I looked Purple Phacelia was blooming and bees were dancing from flower to flower. There's something splendid about natives that mass naturally, and this was a dazzling and magical pollinator show.

My little Phacelia colony waxes and wanes from year to year. Purple phacelia/Phacelia bipinnatifida is a biennial wildflower in the Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf) family that is native to the southeast USA. Biennials require two growing seasons to complete their life-cycle. The first year is vegetative growth; the second year, they flower and produce seed and shortly after, they die. They're usually quite prolific and will set seed, but, you'll only have flowers every other year. If you want to have blooms every year, you've got to put a little bit of effort into making that happen.

 

Let's get more detailed about what that effort looks like.

When you are trying to get a biennial established it's important to remember: One year from seed, second year to flower, then it dies. To have flowers every year you have to get a colony started, so you need seeds, first year plants and flowering plants. I really was lucky to be given several plants in bloom and many first year seedlings. Here's how it works! Those first flowers were visited by Bumble bees and other pollinators and got fertilized, they set seed and then died. The fallen seeds germinated and over wintered; the following spring the original first year seedlings bloomed and their flowers were fertilized, set seed, and then died. It's not a complicated process, but it's a brilliant cycle that continues to this day.  

 

I make sure the cycle is not interrupted. Which means that I collect the seeds, and sprinkle them where I want new plants, sometimes I move the tiny seedlings, the first year plants and even the second year plants in late winter to make the colony larger. They always seem to survive!

 

If you're lucky it forms self seeding colonies that are simply stunning. 

 As all gardeners know, some years are better then others and this is a lean year. Lean because we've had a several years of low rainfall right when the seeds need moisture to germinate. I've watered enough so that I have flowers every year, but, I will be doubling my efforts this year to reinvigorate my little colony. To insure  the  colony will make it through the deluge/drought pattern Middle Tennessee has settled into, I'll hand water them during the severely dry times.

Bees and other pollinators that are out and about on warm days love Phacelia. It has wildlife value and supports  the following specialized bees: Andrena (Micrandrena) lamelliterga, Andrena (Euandrena) phaceliae, Hoplitis (Robertsonella) simplex.

tightly coiled inflorescence in bud

I am honestly not disappointed that it's a lean year. Especially when I see proof that it's  providing for a lot of early spring visitors. I don't have hillsides of Phacelia, that requires much moister soil than I can give it, but, where it's blooming it shines. 

 

 To successfully grow our Wildflower star give it part-shade, shade, moisture, (it can take some dryness) in acid, neutral, average loam. It won't turn it's noise up at rich moist, well draining soil! 

 There are a few online nurseries that sell Purple Phacelia just do a web search. Or if you're lucky and can find a friend with seedlings to share, you can start your own journey to having a colony of flowers that pollinators adore. I hope that post like this open eyes to the beauty of Phacelia. 

 

 The Particulars

 Botanical name: Phacelia  bipinnatifida

Common names: Purple Phacelia, Fernleaf Phacelia, Fernleaf Scorpion Weed, Spotted Phacelia, Loose-flowered Phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf) family, also sometimes classified in Borage family

Life Cycle: Biennial

Distribution: AL , AR , GA , IA , IL , IN , KY , MD , MO , MS , NC , OH , PA , SC , TN , VA , WV

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b  

Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. 

Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. 

Light: Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours) Full sun if mesic soil.

Soil:  Adaptable-clay, shallow rocky, loamy, sandy and/or high organic matter. PH acidic and neutral. Moisture-well draining and moist  

Flower description: Racemes of 4-12 blue to purple flowers are produced from March through April/May. Individual flowers are 1/2 inch across cup shaped with 5-lobed corolla, 5 sepals, 5 stamens, a slender style, and an ovary. The racemes occur at the top of stems with some secondary ones forming in the axils of the upper stems.  

Color: Blue/Purple/Lavender  

Bloom Time: Spring. March in middle Tennessee.

Propagation: I collect seed by placing a tray with potting soil under the blooming flower. I let most self sow. Seeds ripen shortly after blooming. I let natural rain fall water the seeds and they germinate when temperatures cool in the fall and through the winter. I usually don't notice seedlings until March. Some folks say that the seed needs to be sown fresh, but I am going to try to collect it and place in the refrigerator to see if it will grow when sown later.

 

Surface sowing is always successful and in my garden fallen leaves don't seem to keep them from germinating, so prehaps light isn;t a requirement.

Wildlife Value:  Phacelia support the following specialized bees: Andrena (Micrandrena) lamelliterga, Andrena (Euandrena) phaceliae, Hoplitis (Robertsonella) simplex.
   
Comments: Deer and bunny safe. This is a plant that should be in every shady garden. Find a friend who will share a few seedlings. Phacelia bipinnatifida should be allowed plenty of room in a naturalistic, woodland setting to move around as it wishes. If you want to maintain it in precise spots, transplant seedlings in the fall to preferred locations. 

My thoughts: When it comes to wildflowers almost all the attention centers on perennials. They're marvelous investment plants that you can count on to make a good show in your garden year after year, but, you might want to consider adding a few annuals and biennials that are native to your part of the garden world. They're charming plants and add another dimension to the garden~many of the seedlings and first year plant's foliage is quite attractive. (Gardeners, Do Yourself A Big Favor)

Thanks for reading! xoxogail


 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.

 

 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer 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.

Wildflower Wednesday: There Are Wildflowers That Like to Challenge the Boundaries!

At Clay and Limestone we call several of them good friends and Conoclinium coelestinum is one of the best!

Conoclinium coelestinum

This rough and tumble wildflower makes gardening on my shallow, too often dry garden soil worth the effort! It's an enthusiastic growers but, I decided years ago that a plant with lovely fuzzy lilac flowers that attracts bumbles, small bees, skippers and was a host plant to several moths was worth my having to pull out a few errant plants.

Yes, given the right conditions it can be an enthusiastic colonizer. It begins blooming in late August (Middle South) and continues through early fall and into October. The fuzzy appearing lilac-blue flowers add a softness to my late summer and fall garden when the Susans, Goldenrods, Cup Plant, Verbesinas, Joe-Pye weeds and Ironweeds are making a large and loud scene. It's especially beautiful when allowed to naturalize and make its own big statement.

There's the rub, you have to be willing to let blue mistflower do its thing to get the big effect of its lovely misty presence. That means living with the rough, but not unattractive leaves until the summer wains and the blooming begins.

The tall red stems are place holders while you're waiting and trust me the wait is worth it. I think they're quite attractive.

I discovered it years ago in the front garden where all the Susans once reigned supreme. The lilac blue blossoms against the pale green foliage was spectacular. It was an especially wet summer and I have to make a point to keep it watered if I want those delightful fuzzy blooms. It never disappears but it is lovelier when the soil is consistently moist.

Doesn't it look smashing with the gold flowers of Gaillardia? You can use it anywhere. I like it with the Rudbeckias, Coreopsis, the ex-asters and I'm thinking that it would be nice with grasses or edging the woodland garden. It's a perfect plant for a meadow, a pond edging, naturalized in a wet area. The possibilities are endless...except extremely dry soil.

compact corymbs or clusters  with up to 70 flowers per cluster

It's a shame that many gardeners under appreciate the charms of rough and tumble colonizers like Hardy Ageratum. Like many of the species related to Eupatorium, blue mistflower is a copious nectar producer and attracts butterflies of many species. When in more open areas, monarchs will spend a lot of time feeding on this plant, especially if near milkweeds. I've seen skippers, swallowtails and bees visiting the nectar-rich flowers, while birds goldfinches, juncos, and sparrows, are known to feed on the seeds, which also offer nesting material and cover for wildlife. If you want more, and once you see it massed you will, it's easily propagated from seeds, cuttings, rootball divisions or layering. It thrives best in a well-drained acidic to neutral soils in a sunny environment. If you want easy care this is a great wildflower, but, it does naturalize easily spreading by rhizome and seed (and is pulled out just as easily).  

If you have the space and temperament to let this plant go, please do. Conoclinium coelestinum is a plant that looks its best when allowed to naturalize. Cut it back in mid summer to keep it looking bushy and beautiful, and then let it do its beautiful thing.

 xoxogail

PS If you want to provide for fall pollinators you must never, ever, ever, ever, use pesticides in your garden. I mean never!

 

 

Family: Asteraceae

Botanical name: Conoclinium coelestinum

Common Names: Ageratum, Blue Boneset, Blue Mistflower,  Hardy Ageratum, Mistflower Wild Ageratum   

Life Cycle: Perennial

Native range: 

source

 USDA hardiness zones 5 through 10

Flower Color: Blue, Pink, Purple/Lavender 

Flower Inflorescence: Corymb 

Value To Gardener: Long bloom season     

Height: 1 ft. 6 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.     

Width: 1 ft. 6 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. 

Aspect: It grows in full sun to part shade such as low woods, wet meadows, and ditches.  

Bloom Time: Fall 

Flower Size: < 1 inch 

Flower Description: Flat-topped clusters of disc flowers that lack rays. It has numerous small, fluffy, tubular, blue-purple flowers (to 1/ 2” across) and blooms from July to October.

Stem Color: Green, Purple/Lavender, Red/Burgundy

Stems and leaves: Stems are clothed in pairs of attractive triangular, ovate or heart shaped leaves. 

Maintenance: Medium to high care due to water needs and possible need to edit it 

Propagation Strategy: Division, Root Cutting and Seed

Wildlife Value: Host plant to 13 specialist moths, including Eastern tailed-blue, hackberry emperor, American snout and aster flowerhead caterpillar. Mistflower provides abundant nectar for monarchs, swallowtails, queens, soldiers, pearl crascents, white peacocks, little yellows, and many other butterflies. Attracts native bees and skippers. 

Comments: Like many of the species related to Eupatorium, blue mistflower is a copious nectar producer and attracts butterflies of many species. Can be confused with Fleischmannia incarnata another member of the Eupatorium tribe Excellent in a meadow,  naturalized area, a pond edge, butterfly garden, native garden, pollinator garden, and mass planted. 

This species is pest resistant and foliage is unpalatable to deer and other herbivores.    

 

Thank you for stopping by and 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 your wildflower is in bloom or not; and, it never matters if we all share the same plants.

  

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer 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.

Wildflower Wednesday: Asclepias syriaca

I am super excited to share Common milkweed with you today for Wildflower Wednesday. Three years ago I planted one small plant and now I have well over a three dozen plants and most bloomed. That's both wonderfully exciting and terrifying. Now, if only a Monarch butterfly would lay eggs and cats would start consuming the leaves!

Bumbles and other bees love the nectar and pollen rich flowers

It's an interesting looking plant with gorgeous flowers that smell delicious. It typically grows 3-4' tall on stout, upright stems with thick, broad-oblong, reddish-veined, light green leaves (to 8" long), although, in ideal conditions it can grow to be 6 foot tall.

they bloom over a long bloom period from late spring well into summer.

The flowers or umbels are lightly drooping clusters of fragrant, pinkish -purple flowers that appear mostly in the upper leaf axils. The flowers are nectar and pollen rich and attract a variety of critters. Stems and leaves exude a milky sap when cut or bruised....thus the name milkweed.

Source

The seed pods develop after fertilization into warty seed pods (2-4" long) which split open when ripe. Once the floss/coma has plumped up the soft and beautiful silky-tailed seeds are ready to parachute away on the wind.

Botanists call this wind dispersal, but, for me it's pure magic. It's a trip to my childhood; where the dried pods were small boats and the feathery comas were soft fluffy pillows for fairies to rest as they floated in the puddles.

The seeds are cool (and fun to try to photograph) as they blow about, pausing for a brief moment before the wind catches them and they are gone. Traveling on the wind a few feet or a few miles, they will drop from the sky onto a spot of soil and wait the winter out. Technically that waiting period is called vernalization. Milkweed seeds need cold weather in order to germinate. Come spring, the seed will grow and any of the silk/coma that's left in the garden will be gathered by hummingbirds and warblers for their nests.

Total magic or nature at its clever best. You decide.

balls of pink fragrant blooms

It's a colonizer and when you plant one you can be guaranteed that there will be dozens before you know it. Trust me on this and plant it were you don't mind it taking off or be prepared to dig them up when young (taprooted so transplant when young) to share with others. Yes, it's aggressive, but, planting milkweed is important to Monarch butterfly. Besides, you do need this fragrance in your garden.

The preference is full sun, rich loamy soil, and mesic conditions, but this robust plant can tolerate  many different growing situations...even some shade. It can be found in a variety of habitats including croplands, pastures, roadsides, ditches and old fields. It's native from southern Canada and the eastern USA west to the great plains.

Nature's mega food market for insects

 "Common milkweed is Nature's mega food market for insects. Over 450 insects are known to feed on some portion of the plant. Numerous insects are attracted to the nectar-laden flowers and it is not at all uncommon to see flies, beetles, ants, bees, wasps, and butterflies on the flowers at the same time. Occasionally hummingbirds will try, unsuccessfully, to extract nectar. Its sap, leaves and flowers also provide food. In the northeast and midwest, it is among the most important food plants for monarch caterpillars (Danaus plexippus). Other common feeders are the colorful (red with black dots) red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus), the milkweed tussock caterpillar (Euchaetes egle) and the large (Oncopeltus fasciatus) and the small (Lygaeus kalmia) red and black milkweed bugs. The latter two are particularly destructive as both the adults and nymphs are seed predators. They can destroy 80 to 90 percent of a colony's seed crop. The red (or orange-red) and black coloration of most of these insects is known as aposematic coloration; that is, the colors advertise the fact that the organism is not good to eat." Source


Native Americans used this species as a source of fibers and during the Second World War children in the northern states were encouraged to collect the seed pods that were processed for the coma, or floss, which was used for floatation in life vests. Today the coma is harvested for use in pillows and comforters.

 Asclepia syriaca is one of my favorite rough and tumble native wildflowers. Rough and tumble wildflowers are beautiful and charming plants that are usually found growing in meadows, prairies and roadside ditches. The beautiful thing about them is that they haven't had their best characteristics bred out of them. There are no cultivars or hybrids~That means they have not been crossed or genetically altered by human hand to be shorter, more floriferous, double flowered, disease resistant, sterile or what ever else is the going fad. I am pretty sure you can't improve on what nature has already done~creating plants that dance beautifully and gracefully with their pollinator and wildlife partners.

That definition fits common milkweed perfectly. It has a beautiful relationship dance with pollinators and an especially important one with Monarch butterflies. Monarchs cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.), and Monarch butterflies need milkweed to lay their eggs.

Planting milkweed is one of the easiest ways that each of us can make a difference for them. There are several dozen species of this wildflower native to North America, so no matter where you live, there is at least one milkweed species naturally found in your area. Planting local milkweed species is always best and common milkweed is native where I live.

In case you wondered if you're gardening on the Monarch Migration Trail the following maps will help. Btw, Middle Tennessee, where I garden, is not on the migration trail, but, I planted common milkweed for all the visiting pollinators.

Happy Wildflower Wednesday my friends.
xoxogail

Moving north

Heading south

The particulars:

Asclepias syriaca
Common Name: common milkweed
Family: Apocynaceae
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Native Range: Eastern North America
Zone: 3 to 9
Height: 2.00 to 3.00 feet Spread: 0.75 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Description: Pink, mauve, white
Sun: Full sun/light shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize, meadow, field
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Wildlife value: High. Attracts: Butterflies, bees, flies, ants, beetles...
Fruit: Showy
Comments: Can spread somewhat rapidly by rhizomes. Often forms extensive colonies in the wild. Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Erosion, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil

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.

Wildflower Wednesday: Chasmanthium latifolium (River Oats)

There aren't nearly enough grasses in my garden. Shallow soil and a shady conditions limit them at Clay and Limestone, but, one that is quite happy here and makes a gorgeous big impression is Chasmanthium latifolium (River Oats).

 clump-forming, upright

I think it's important to tell the truth about plants I showcase and the truth is that I love this one.

Yellowing up on its way to bronze winter color

I planted it for it's year round beauty.

 This cool season clumping grass is a bright green in early spring, growing quickly to about 2 foot tall and sending up arching stems. A bit later, there are attractive flat, drooping seed heads that hang in terminal clusters on thread-like pedicils on arching stems.

As river oats age they begin to yellow (see above June 2016)  and by late summer or early fall the foliage and spikelets have turned a nice bright yellow. By mid winter they're a gorgeous bronze.

I leave them stand all winter where they continue to dance in the breeze, stand up beautifully in the snow and provide shelter for small mammals and birds.

the ex-asters are good companions

Way back when Clay and Limestone was just becoming a garden, a more experienced gardening friend exclaimed, "Oh my, why did you plant that?" when she spied a large clump of river oats. She knew what many of us learn from experience, that river oats can be a bit thuggish in some gardens. Each and everyone of those spikelets can make a new plant in moist soil. It can in dry soil, too!

April green leaves with Phlox pilosa

I love it anyway! But, then, I am a huge fan of colonizing, rough and tumble, take care of themselves native plants. This one has more pluses than minuses, but, plant it only if you don't mind a plant that vigorously reseeds.

wind pollinated

I've seen it growing in rich woodlands adjacent to cedar glades where it it comingles with Hypericum frondosum, Rhus aromatica and sedges.  It can also be found naturally growing in rich woodlands and  stream beds slopes. It's perfect for stabilizing a stream bank or a slope that's eroding. If you've ever tried struggled to dig a clump to divide or transplant you know that its fibrous and deep root system would hold back the steepest slope!

drooping inflorescences and compressed spikelets

I appreciate its year round beauty...flaws and all.

The Particulars

Botanical name: Chasmanthium latifolium
Common Name: river oats, inland oats
Type: Ornamental grass, River Oats is a perennial cool season grass, but it's seed is dispersed in the fall like a warm season grass.
Family: Poaceae
Native Range: Eastern United States, northern Mexico
Zone: 3 to 8
Size: 2.00 to 5.00 feet height by 1.00 to 2.50 feet spread
Bloom Time: August to September~seedheads last until late winter in middle Tennessee
Bloom Description: Green,  compressed spikelets, turn golden as they mature

Sun: Full sun to part shade

River oats behind the bird bath with Solidago, Amsonia and false dragonhead

Water: Medium to wet; more water if planted in full sun. It's happy in my garden near the birdbath where it gets a good soaking while I fill the bath or when the birds visit. 
Suggested Use: Naturalize, stream banks, dry forests, slope stabilization,

let river oats duke it out with False dragonhead

Companion plants: Wildflowers, Phlox, Itea virginica, the ex-asters, false dragonhead
Flower: Showy seedheads year round
Tolerate: Black Walnut, wet soil, deer do not browse
Pollinated by wind
Wildlife value: larval host for several skipper butterflies. The seeds are eaten by small mammals and birds, and the stems and leaves are used as nesting material by birds.
Comments: When happy, it is a rampant self seeder and requires vigilance to catch the seedlings. I would recommend with reservations to gardeners who want their plants to behave.

Only you can decide if there are more pluses than minuses! You'll be happy with Chasmanthium latifolium  if you can accept its one flaw~vigorous reseeding! Good looking foliage and nodding seedheads that flutter and rustle in the slightest breeze, while providing shelter and food for visiting birds, mammals and insects, more than make up for having to weed out unwanted seedlings!

Happy Wildflower Wednesday.
xoxogail

Welcome to Wildflower Wednesday where we come together to celebrate wildflowers from all over this great big beautiful world. It doesn't matter if we sometimes show the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. I hope you join the celebration...It's always the fourth Wednesday of the month!


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.

Wildflower Wednesday: False Solomon's Seal

Maianthemum racemosum (Smilacina racemosa) is the star of April's Wildflower Wednesday.

False Solomon's Seal is a colonizer that spreads very slowly, so gardeners, we don't have to worry that it will crowd out our beloved Spring ephemerals like other colonizing natives have been known to do. I find it makes a charming ground cover beneath understory trees in a woodland garden. In my garden it mingles with Golden ragwort, Christmas ferns and Purple phacelia. It likes rich, loamy woodland soil, but, is tolerant of both moist and dry conditions.

I am very fond of it and appreciate that it is attractive in the garden from early spring to winter frost.

crooked arching stems and large leaves of early spring are attention grabbers

The crooked arching stems and large leaves of early spring are attention grabbers, but soon the white flowers take center stage.

 Each plant produces a plume of slightly fragrant snow-white flowers with creamy or pale yellow stamen tips in April in my Middle Tennessee garden (Zone 6b/7a)

The plume might have up to 80 star shaped flowers that are pollinated by small bees, flies, and beetles. The bees collect nectar and pollen from the flowers, while flies and beetles feed on the pollen. Crab spiders and ambush bugs hang out on the flowering plumes, just waiting for a small bee or beetle to stop by.

crab spider hiding on flowering plume

It's not always easy to watch the little pollinators get grabbed by a predator, but, that happens in a wildlife friendly garden. Those predators are soon preyed upon by larger spiders and birds and those birds could be  dinner for a hawk...But, I digress! Which is very easy to do when you begin talking about gardening for wildlife.

Berries are starting to form

All those busy little bees, flies and beetles pollinate the flowers and soon greenish berries follow. They'll continue to swell and darken over the summer. 

Fruit is a cluster of waxy berries, each 1/8 inch across, that turn bright red when ripe

 By August they are a delightful mottled red. The color show doesn't stop there, the berries turn a dark cherry red when ripe and look stellar against the fading and browning foliage.

Photo by Vick, Albert F. W. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The ripe berries are eaten by woodland birds and mice. It's thought that a trip through the digestive tract of a critter helps the seeds germinate, it is also a good way for seeds to be dispersed around the garden. Deer don't seem to browse them, but, they are hidden beneath the understory trees. In this case, Rusty Blackhaw and a fall blooming witch hazel.

False Solomon's Seal has been used medicinally to treat coughs, but, I don't harvest them. The flowers and color show feed my soul and the berries feed the resident critters.

The Particulars
Maianthemum racemosum  (Smilacina racemosa)
Commonly known as False Solomon's Seal
Family:  Asparagaceae no longer a Lily family member
USDA Zones: 3-8
Native range: Entire North American continent
Plant Spacing: 18-24"
 Exposure: Full Sun/Part Shade/ Shade
Soil Moisture:  Wet-Mesic/ Mesic (Medium)/Dry-Mesic  Dry
Height: 2 feet
Bloom Color: White  with golden yellow stamens
Bloom Time: April/May/June
Plant Type: Wildflowers (Forbs)
Beneficial: A pollen and nectar food for bees, beetles, flies. A seed food for rodents and songbirds
Availability: Is available online~ seeds, plants and roots. Locally: GroWild
Comments: Love it used as a ground cover in wildflower/naturalistic gardens, plant with Solomon's Seal, Christmas ferns, wild ginger and Golden ragwort. Best in naturalized plantings, wild gardens, native plant gardens, or woodland gardens. But seriously, use it however you want, after all, it's your garden.

xoxogail

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday. This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.

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.