Jun

The Black cherry is an important southern tree for both wild life and commercially. Young black cherries tend to have a conical crown but when given enough room, the mature trees develop long limbs and arching branches giving it an oval shaped crown. The Black cherry’s fall foliage is a golden…

Piedmont Staggerbush is a cute little shrub, averaging three to six feet tall. It is an upright shrub with alternate, simple, and oblong leaves. The flowers bloom in clusters of racemes of columnar-shaped, white to pink flowers. It grows well along marshes and shrubby swamps, but also wood edges and well-drained…

Seashore Mallow is a lovely, salt tolerant herbaceous perennial (some call it a subshrub) native to the Eastern shore of the U.S. The toothed, roughly triangular leaves and stems are softly hairy with tiny stellate (star-shaped) hairs. An obligate wetland plant, it thrives in full sunlight and wet soil. It is…

Horsemint or Spotted Beebalm is an erect, mostly unbranched, perennial wildflower, instantly recognized by its unusual “stacked” arrangement of multiple whorls of two-lipped, cream-colored, purple-speckled tubular flowers on the same stem. Each whorl is subtended by attractive and persistent pink to lavender leaf-like bracts. Leaves are narrow with a fine grayish-white…

Nodding Wild Onion is a delightful member of the onion family, a perennial herb which is beautifull as well as hardy and well behaved in the garden. Flat, grass-like leaves emerge as a clump from rhizomatous bulbs, followed by taller, round, leafless flowering stalks which bend over, dangling clusters of dainty…

Green-and-Gold, of which there are several forms, is a hardy, low-growing, long-blooming herbaceous perennial found along woodland edges and clearings on the East coast from New York south to Florida and west to Louisiana. With attractive, semi-evergreen foliage, bright yellow 1.5-inch daisy-like flowers on fuzzy stalks for much of the growing…

Mountain or Georgia Bush Honeysuckle is a selection of our native Bush Honeysuckle, a small shrub endemic to our southern Appalachians. This low, spreading shrub (3-4’h x 3-5’w) with an arching habit grows well in full sun to part shade at lower elevations like our Piedmont as well as in the…

Rattlesnake Master is a forb characteristic of the tall grass prairie but it is native to the eastern portion of the U.S. south of West Virginia. It has unusual form — some say architectural — as well as color (greyish green throughout), reminding one of a desert plant. Rattlesnake Master has…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.   The Halberdleaf Rosemallow is a big (3-6 feet), wet-loving herbacious perennial found in a few coastal and piedmont counties in NC but which is much more common in the Mississippi River valley and midwestern…

Oakleaf Hydrangea, the quintessential flowering shrub for the native garden, is a deciduous shrub native to our southeastern states with outstanding ornamental value. Its growth form is broad, rounded, with lower stems sweeping the ground; with beautiful exfoliating bark and bold, handsomely lobed, deep green leaves, holding aloft great pyramidal, fragrant…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.   John Clayton’ is a cultivar of Coral Honeysuckle’s forma sulphurea (yellow form). It has the same charming leaf forms as Coral Honeysuckle and lovely warm yellow 2-inch trumpet-shaped flowers. It blooms in late spring,…

The beloved Highbush Blueberry is a deciduous shrub native to much of Eastern North America, with outstanding landscape value over three seasons. It’s clusters of dainty, hanging, bell-shaped, white-pink flowers are lovely in spring, followed by tasty blue berries that ripen in summer. These are valued by humans, birds, and smaller…

Mapleleaf Viburnum is native to much of Eastern North America, inhabiting upland, dry woods. In NC, it is reported in mountain and piedmont counties only. It is a smaller member of the Viburnum genus, averaging only 4-6 feet tall. It suckers strongly, however, and forms colonies of sparsely branched shoots, and…

Southern Arrowwood is a dense, 8-10-foot shrub native to Eastern U.S. It is composed of many upright, spreading, straight stems and bears typical-Viburnum 3-inch, flat-topped corymbs of small creamy white flowers followed in mid-summer by blue-black seeds which generously support a range of birds and other animals. It is so useful…

Possumhaw Viburnum is a 12-15-foot tall (some report up to 20 feet) x 12-15-foot wide, deciduous, wet-tolerant shrub of surprising ornamental value found in Eastern states from Texas north to Canada. It ioccurs in all three NC zones, mountains, piedmont and coastal plain, though in the mountains the quite similar Viburnum…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.   Cranberrybush Viburnum or Highbush Cranberry is a dense, arching, deciduous shrub six to ten feet (or even taller) native all across Canada and our northern states down as far as a couple of counties…

This Viburnum — with its showy, flat-topped or domed white flowers and opposite, toothed leaves typical of Viburnums — stands out from its cousins because in addition to being handsome, it is a well behaved, small (6-foot) shrub that plays well with others. Two of them have volunteered on our property…

Wisteria frutescens is a deciduous, woodland flowering vine 25 – 30′ in length, native to the coastal plain along our southeastern states, around along the Gulf coast over to Louisiana and up the Mississippi Rivery valley to Arkansas and Kentucky. It grows in damp habitats. The forest-threatening, thuggish Asian wisterias (both…

Adam’s Needle is a broadleaf evergreen, suckering shrub from the Southeastern states. Although stemless, it has a rosette of stiff, sword-shaped leaves with loose filaments attached at the leaf margins, which distinguish it from other members of the genus. While these leaves reach only 2-3 feet in height, the flower stalks…

Zizea aurea, or Golden Alexander, is an herbaceous perennial found in piedmont and mountain counties of NC but is much more widespread in the midwest, north central and northeastern states. It consists of 30-inch, branching, erect, reddish, ridged stems which, like others in the carrot family, are hollow between the nodes.…

This herbaceous perennial is most rewarding to grow. From an attractive persistent basal rosette, vigorous, sturdy stems with dark green foliage rise to about 3 feet, terminating in branched panicles of numerous, showy, bright white, 1-inch tubular flowers which last a long time for an early season plant (spring to early…

Beautiful Wood Poppy is reported in a number of scattered counties centering on Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, peripherally in Tennessee and Virginia — close to, but not actually occurring in NC. Named (“diphyllum”) for a pair of deeply lobed leaves just below the 1-2- inch bright yellow, delicate flowers, the Wood…

Coralberry is a very showy colonial shrub native in the eastern and central United States, as well as central Canada (Ontario) and northeastern Mexico. It reaches 4+ feet, with smooth, opposite, dull green, oval-shaped leaves and shreddy bark. Greenish white flowers are tucked under the leaves in early summer, developing later…

Foamflower is a beautiful, clumping flowering perennial with immense versatility for shady gardens, featuring racemes of starry florets with a “foamy” effect above foot-tall mounds of attractive basal foliage. The leaf shape may vary from almost heart-shaped to deeply lobed with pronounced venation, and the leaf veins are often tinged with…

Foamflower is a beautiful, clumping flowering perennial with immense versatility for shady gardens, featuring racemes of starry florets with a “foamy” effect above foot-tall mounds of attractive basal foliage. The leaf shape may vary from almost heart-shaped to deeply lobed with pronounced venation, and the leaf veins are often tinged with…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Bellwort is a beautiful understory wildflower that sprouts up delicate green in early spring (April) in shady, dry-to-mesic woods or wooded gardens in piedmont and mountain counties in North Carolina. Found from Massachusetts southward, it…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Sparkleberry or (Farkleberry) is an attractive, tough, underused woodland shrub usually eight to ten feet in height, though occasuinally it takes on a tree form. It is found in dry woods and open forests from…

Blue-Eyed Grass is a graceful and fetching herbaceous perennial in the Iris family which resembles a small bunch grass — until it flowers. Blue, 6-parted, with pointed tepals (petals and sepals) with golden centers, the distinctly not-grassy flowers are held on flattened, branched flower stalks just a bit above the straplike…

This super-attractive, butterfly-drawing herbaceous perennial is small (1-2′ high x 1-2′ wide) with large (2-3 inch) very showy, usually single flowers ranging from cornflower blue (most often) to lavender and even, occasionally, white. The flower structure of Stokes aster reflects its membership in the Aster family: deeply notched blue or lavender…

Whorled Milkweed is a tough, attractive herbaceous perennial easily grown in dry, sunny locations in naturalistic as well as garden settings. It is on the small side, reaching 2.5 feet high and wide, with bright white flowers and delicate, whorled foliage. Like all Milkweeds, it is toxic to livestock, so it…

Iteaceae is a family of only one genus of trees and shrubs, and of the 27 species in that genus, Itea is the only one found in the U.S. (the vast majority of the others being from east Asia). Virginia Sweetspire, as often known as Itea, is a versatile and lovely…

Fevertree is a large, graceful, deciduous shrub or small tree valued in the landscape for its rich green foliage and a long lasting display of beautiful pink in midseason. While the actual flowers of the Fevertree are greenish yellow and inconspicuous, these are surrounded by large, showy, whitish to deep rose…

Jacob’s Ladder is a sweet herbaceous perennial wildflower not common in N.C. (only in 2 counties), but native to rich, moist woodlands in much of Eastern North America. The flowers are a dainty, bright shot of blue on 1 -1.5 foot high spray of foliage in a spring garden. From April…

Solomon’s Seal is a graceful plant which enriches the woodland haitat without competing with the larger specimens there. It grows slowly but surely in the deer-protected understory to be a beautiful show throughout the growing season. The individual plant is an arching single stem with alternate, shiny leaves and pairs of…

Swamp Azalea is a shrub up to 8 ft tall at maturity with an upright, loosely branched, multi-stemmed habit and a tantalizing, musky floral scent in late spring. Clusters of very fragrant bright white (often with pink accents), trumpet-shaped flowers with five petals, slender tubes and elegant, exserted stamens appear in…

This natural variety of Black-Eyed Susan is found in meadows and on roadsides in the eastern United States from New York to the Florida panhandle and west to Illinois and Mississippi. It is a lovely wildflower, hugely useful in the garden. The plant is 2-3′ high x 1.5 – 2′ wide…

Elderberry is a vigorous, beautiful shrub commonly observed on roadsides and in hedgerows and disturbed areas in most NC counties and most states as well. It is a a vigorous grower, 5-12′ in height and spread, with arching branches which support numerous flat-topped white flower clusters in mid-summer. These retain their…

Cinnamon Fern is an ancient, widespread and handsome fern native to North and South America as well as to Asia. It is found in swamps and moist woodlands as well as in upland gardens, in acidic soils from wet to moist/well drained. The fiddleheads of the fertile fronds, covered with cinnamon-colored…

Sourwood is a small to medium (30-70’) deciduous, understory tree found throughout the Carolinas in mixed hardwood forests It is the only member of its genus (Oxydendrum) and has no known subspecies, varieties or forms. It is in the Ericaceae family, and its closest relatives are in the genera Pieris and…

Purple Passion Flower is an attractive, fast -growing perennial vine reported to occur in most counties of NC and in most Southeastern states. Climbing by means of axillary tendrils, it grows to 12 feet (some say up to 25 feet, but we have not seen that) and is naturally found in…

Small’s Beardtongue is a bright perennial wildflower which naturally grows in the rocky soils of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Green to purplish stems rise from an attractive bronzy-tinted winter rosette. In early summer, it has tubular, snapdragon type bright pinkish-purple blossoms that attract hummingbirds and beneficial insects. They are lavender on…

Speckled Phlox is an upright, clumping, herbaceous perennial with beautiful bright clusters of small, aromatic, tubular flowers. It grows in moist meadows, along riverbanks and in bottomland woodland openings in the eastern mountains and piedmont and in the midwest, although it is not really common in the wild. Generally unbranched, the…

Phlox nivalis, or Traliling Phlox, is a low growing, early flowering, sun-loving species of Phlox which presents as a mound-forming mat of stiff, needle-like, evergreen foliage. Although reported in all three NC zones (mountains, piedmont, coastal plain) its strongest presence appears to be in sandhill and dry habitats of the central…

Piedmont Barbara’s Buttons is found in moist, well drained roadsides and fields from south-central Virginia to Florida. That said, it is truly our own wildflower as in NC, it is actually only reported in the very central counties of the state. A basal rosette of narrow leaves gives rise in early…

Partridgeberry is a beautiful, trailing, evergreen, mat-forming woody vine, no taller than two inches, reported in all states of eastern North America, and thriving in our piedmont Oak Hickory forest understory. Its leaves are rounded, paired, rich dark green with white markings, 1/2 to 3/4-inch long. Its tiny white, fragrant, tubular…

Wild Bergamont is a fantastic wildflower native to almost every state in the country! Like other members of the mint family, it has square stems with coarsely toothed and slightly hairy opposite leaves. Wild Bergamont flowers are…well, kind of wild; they are lavender to pink, with irregular tubular petals, protruding from…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.   Blackgum is a stately, medium-sized hardwood tree extremely desirable for its spectacular scarlet fall foliage and its wildlife appeal. It is adapted to a very wide range of habitats from standing water to dry…

Southern Sundrop is a day-flowering perennial (from the Evening Primrose family) native to much of Eastern North America and reported nearly throughout NC. Its habit is upright, (two feet tall x 1.5 feet wide), a little sprawling, with an overwintering evergreen basal rosette. It’s obvious value in the garden is from…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Black Walnut or American Walnut is a large tree of central and eastern North America which can grow well over 100 feet, but which averages fifty to seventy five feet. The trunk is straight and…

Scaly Blazing Star is un upright herbaceous perennial found in high quality natural habitats including openings in upland rocky woodlands, dry ditches and and barren savannas from the eastern Great Plains eastward to Virginia and south. In NC it is reported mostly in piedmont counties. Scaly Blazing Star is one funky…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.   Tulip Poplar is a superbly shaped deciduous canopy tree, one of the tallest of the eastern hardwoods. Individuals have reached 190 feet in height, but the average Tulip Poplar is only on the order…

It is a joy to write about Scarlet Honeysuckle today because as I write, the intensely scarlet flowers are brightening up the green world along my driveway. Because it is a climber, the deep crimson color meets the eye at different elevations (although it does not seem to flower on the…

Ashe’s Magnolia is a greatly underused, rare in cultivation, extremely ornamental small tree endemic to mixed hardwood forests and ravine slopes in a few counties in the “armpit” or panhandle of Florida. It is easily recognized by it’s very large leaf size, one to two feet long by six inches to…

Magnolia virginiana, or Sweetbay Magnolia, is a small tree or shrub at home in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains and piedmont as far north as New York.. With 3- to 5-inch, oval, leathery green leaves with silvery undersides, and beautiful, sweetly-scented, small (3″ wide) ivory flowers in spring and summer,…

Until recently, Hydrangea radiata was considered a subscpecies of Hydrangea arborescens, and they are very similar. Both are fast-growing and short-lived woody shrubs 3-6 feet high and wide. Both present a rounded form, with many, scarcely branched, twisting stems, shreddy bark, and white, flat-topped floral assemblages called corymbs, 3-6 inches across,…

Hypericum frondosum, or Golden St. Johnswort (the species) is a small, semi-woody shrub which grows in states all across the Southeast, but is not common. In NC, it is reported to occur in only two counties (in the mountains). Nevertheless, it thrives in our hot and humid piedmont, and should be…

In spite of its intimidating scientific appellation, St. Andrew’s Cross is a humble little “subshrub”, one that is not found elsewhere in the trade. It occurs in dry woods from Long Island south and over to Texas and Oklahoma. We are very fond of it as it volunteers along paths inside…

Ilex glabra, or Inkberry Holly, is a colonial evergreen shrub with an erect but rounded form, 8 – 10 feet high. If you are not normally fond of prickly holly leaves, Inkberry may be the holly for you: it differs from all other evergreen hollies by lacking spines on the leaves.…

Winterberry is a handsome deciduous shrub, averaging twelve to fifteen feet tall, with gray, twiggy, horizontal branches and spectacular red berries in winter.. It is native to swampy, wet areas of Eastern North America. Winterberry prefers full sun and moist, well drained, acidic, organic upland soil. However, it can also tolerate…

Boneset or Thoroughwort is a hardy perennial which is found throughout the Eastern half of North America in sunny, low, wet roadsides and fields. The plant grows three to four feet in height with multiple, hairy stems branched only near the top. These terminate in bright white clusters, up to eight…

Wild Geraniums are beautiful wild flowers of Eastern North America, reported to occur mostly in mountain and piedmont counties of the Carolinas. The plant is a clump-forming mound about 2 feet high, with generous, deeply lobed foliage topped by delicate, 5-petaled, upward-facing, pink flowers in late spring/early summer. Easy to grow…

Heuchera, or Alumroot, or Coral Bells is a wonderful, low, evergreen perennial with beautiful foliage which remains attractive year ’round if its cultural requirements are met. It does flower, but is often grown purely for its rich, patterned foliage which shows a wide array of leaf colors, patterns, shapes, and sizes.…

Leatherflower, described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, is a belle of the Southeast. This slender, herbaceous perennial vine is valued for its sheer delicate beauty. The nodding, reddish-purple, bell-shaped flowers are thickly textured and the rosy, recurved petals are cream-colored at the tips and inside. But they do more — the…

Coreopsis auriculata, or “Mouse-eared Coreopsis”, is a sun-loving favorite for the native perennial garden in the Southeast. The flowers are single, about 2 inches across, with a center of golden disk flowers and 8 golden, characteristically toothed petals or ray flowers. They are held at 12 – 24 inches high, well…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Lance-leaf Coreopsis or Lance-leaf Tickseed, is a perennial wildflower 2-3 feet tall with striking golden 2-3-inch flowers characteristic of the genus, that is, with about 8 notched sterile ray flowers surrounding a center of many…

Silky Dogwood is a hardy, spreading shrub that grows in moist habitats, mostly by stream banks and wet lowlands in the eastern U.S. While attractive, its ability to draw wildlife to it is also a very strong attribute. It is a medium-size shrub, growing up to ten feet tall and wide,…

American Hazelnut is a medium-sized, deciduous shrub found in moist to dry-mesic woodlands throughout Eastern North America. It is notably absent in the deep South. In North Carolina it is reported only in piedmont and mountain counties. This shrub is valued for its sweet nuts, which are edible either raw or…

Swamp Titi is an extremely interesting and underused shrub or small tree for our area. It grows to perhaps 20 feet (more often 12-15 feet) and can be described as having both lustrous evergreen or tardily deciduous leaves and colorful fall foliage! Its trunk(s) and branches are very nicely contorted, with…

Eastern persimmon is a lovely small- to medium-sized tree (up to sixty feet tall x thirty feet in spread) with lustrous foliage, dark green in summer and rich golden in fall, and beautiful bark. A member of the Ebony family, it is prized for its high quality, hard heartwood (used to…

Purple Coneflower is found naturally in meadows and roadsides throughout the Central U.S. The few western counties of NC where Purple Coneflower is reported to occur consitute the easternmost edge of its natural range at our latitude. However, this plant must be the all-time favorite native wildflower for sunny pollinator gardens…

Sweetbells Leucothoe is a handsome, deciduous, colony-forming, understory shrub which is naturally found in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont swamps, bogs and wetlands of Southeastern states. It can be cultivated easily in upland sites as well, reaching up to ten feet tall in consistently moist and shady locations. Arching, mostly unbranched…

Strawberrybush, or Hearts-a-Bustin’, is a unique, rhizomatous shrub with an unusual form that occurs in shady woodlands throughout the Southeast to Eastern Texas. Plants are 4-6 feet tall and multi-stemmed. The individual shoots are pencil-like and green with little branching. Leaves are long (~2 inches), opposite, and lance-shaped, colorful in fall.…

Found in moist woods, stream banks, limestone glades and rocky bluffs from Virginia south to East Texas, Fringe Tree is an outstanding ornamental shrub or small tree (twelve to twenty feet) well adapted to our climate in the Carolina piedmont. It thrives in moist, fertile, well-drained soils in full sun to…

Green-and-gold is a hardy, low-growing, long-blooming herbaceous perennial found along woodland edges and clearings on the East coast from New York south to Florida and west to Louisiana. With attractive, semi-evergreen foliage, bright yellow 1.5-inch star-like flowers on fuzzy stalks for much of the growing season, and an unfussy attitude about…

In North Carolina, Yellowwood is found only in a few of our western-most counties bordering Tennessee, and is among the rarest of our native trees. It is thirty to fifty feet high and nearly that wide at maturity and is prized as an ornamental for its form, for its smooth, Beech-like…

Sweetshrub, or Carolina Allspice, is a deciduous woody shrub six to ten feet in height and equally wide famous for its heady aromas. In nature it is found on streamsides and in moist woodlands from Western NC into Tennessee and south into Alabama (Southern Appalachians and Piedmont), but being an old…

Sweetshrub, or Carolina Allspice, is a deciduous woody shrub six to ten feet in height and equally wide, famous for its heady aromas. In nature it is found on streamsides and in moist woodlands from Western NC into Tennessee and south into Alabama (Southern Appalachians and Piedmont), but being an old…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  Golden Canna is a beautiful, wet-loving, long lived herbaceous perennial plant and is the only yellow Canna. It was originally described by William Bartram, who found it blooming along the rivers of coastal Georgia. It…

Not all sedges are the same and this one is a beauty! The finely textured, medium green leaves of Appalachian Sedge grow between 12-18 inches in length, but the clumps arch gracefully over to the ground, actually only 6 to 10 inches tall. It can be grown as a specimen, where…

Allegheny Chinquapin is a colonial, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree usually around 15 feet tall, taller if grown with single stem or cultivated with little competition. It is native to dry woods and ridges in the Southeastern states, and grows well where summers are hot. It is considered undervalued as a…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.   Southern Catalpa is a medium-sized (twenty-five to forty feet, sometimes taller) highly ornamental tree bearing large, heart-shaped leaves and strikingly beautiful flowers after about 6 years of age. The leaves are barely expanded in…

New Jersey tea is a compact, deciduous shrub that most often grows to only three feet tall and equally wide. It is common on dry plains, prairies, or similar open areas, on soils that are sandy or rocky, throughout Eastern North America and in the majority of NC counties. Leaves are…

Buttonbush is an open, woody, deciduous shrub usually 5-8′ tall (sometimes taller), with an irregular crown graced with many white, golf ball-sized, spherical flower clusters in June. The shrub is very ornamental, and the white, long lasting, pin-cushion like flowers are more often than not being visited by enthusiastic butterflies and/or…

Agarista, or Florida Leucothoe, is a tall (8-12′), evergreen, shade-loving shrub, well suited to our hot and humid southern summers. It is found in coastal environments, in a few counties from NC to Florida, but it performs well in upland Piedmont clay-based soils. We have seen it planted under large, deciduous…

The Pink Swamp Milkweed, being a milkweed, is important support for the Monarch butterflies But it is also a stunning perennial wildlfower and therefore deserving of a place in the perennial border. Even though it is found in wet meadows and swamp margins, it is also happy in a well drained…

Butterfly Weed, famous for its relationship to the endangered and beloved Monarch butterfly, nevertheless deserves a place in a perennial garden purely on aesthetic merits. It is a sun-loving, 1-2-ft, mound-shaped plant with dark green foliage and contrasting, bright orange, long-lasting flower clusters. These, in time, produce lovely pods of silky-threaded…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.   Baptisia albescens is a bushy, leguminous herbaceous perennial with foliage about two feet high supporting much taller spikes of white, pea-like flowers, hence the common name of “Spiked Wild Indigo”. Wider than it is…

Wild Blue Indigo is a tall (three to four feet), sturdy, sun-loving, shrub-sized perennial with upright racemes of pea-like flowers ranging from bright blue to deep indigo held above the foliage. Being a legume, it can fix nitrogen and therefore tolerates poor soils gracefully. It blooms in May and June. The…

If you think the outrageous color of Beautyberries is as much fun as we do, do not hesitate to grow this loosely open shrub on your property. It is robust and trouble-free, spectacular to look at, and attracts all manner of butterflies and birds. At the same time, it is highly…