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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…

Golden Ragwort is a very versatile flowering perennial member of the Asteraceae which we have found useful in various garden circumstances. It is native to the entire Eastern half of the U.S., and in North Carolina it is reported to occur in mountain and piedmont counties. While USDA says it occurs…

Virginia Bluebells is a magical spring ephemerel plant, an absolute must for every garden with a spot of shade! It is an early spring riser with soft, floppy, grey-green, oval shaped leaves. The flower buds are pink, bluish pink or lavender as they uncoil near the top of each stem, then…

Recognized by its paired, green-and-brown/maroon spotted leaves (like trout), the Trout Lily is sometimes called Dogtooth Violet for its white underground corm. Trout Lily is a lily, not a violet. It is a common spring ephemeral wildflower that grows in woodland colonies in Eastern North America, except for Florida. In North…

Southern Maidenhair Fern is a clumping, deciduous fern cultivated worldwide for its delicate, frilly looks and hardy nature. It is native to a huge part of the Earth, in temperate and tropical regions from the Southern half of the U.S. to Central America, South America, Europe, large parts of Asia and…

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…

Common Witchhazel is a deciduous shrub 12-18′ tall, and sometimes taller, famous for producing its aromatic, crinkly yellow flowers as it drops its foliage in late October/early November. Seeds from the previous season are ready for dispersal at the same time, and are expelled with some force from their capsules. Witchhazel…

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…

Rusty Blackhaw is one of our Southern woodland viburnums whose range is central and southeastern U.S. In NC it occurs mostly in piedmont and coastal plain counties. It is a deciduous, dense, showy, highly arching understory shrub or small tree. Mature height is about 18′, but can be taller if grown…

Xantho (yellow) rhiza (root) simplicissima (most simple, as the stems are unbranched) — what a wonderful name!! — is a very interesting, deciduous, rhizomatous subshrub native to shady, damp depressions and stream banks in wooded habitats throughout the mountains and piedmonts of our Southeastern states. It has lacy foliage to a…

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…

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…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Indian Pink is a beautiful and unique herbaceous perennial which is currently enjoying great popularity among native plant gardeners. This is a good thing as North Carolina lists it as Endangered and Natureserve lists it…

American Bladdernut is an interesting understory shrub or small tree found in sometimes large colonies in Piedmont bottomlands and woodland thickets from the eastern mountains and piedmont into the midwest as far as Kansas and Oklahoma. It is not difficult to identify: Bladdernut typically grows 10-15′ tall, with opposite, trifoliate leaves,…

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…

The common Blue Wood Aster (of which ‘Avondale’ is a cultivar) is an herbaceous perennial native to a huge swath of north-central-eastern North America, and the counties in NC where it is reported represent the southeastern tip of its range. Found in dry to moist (well drained) deciduous woodlands and woodland…

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…

Common in forested stream bottoms and damp slopes and ravines across Eastern North America, Christmas fern is the workhorse fern for gardens and naturalized areas in the mid-Atlantic region. It is a sturdy, attractive, medium sized (2 foot) fern which is evergreen (though the fronds fall flat on the ground in…

Dwarf Coastal Azalea, one of the smaller native azaleas at about 6 feet (with more exposure to light, usually on the order of 4 feet), occurs in sand hill and coastal communities from southern New Jersey to Georgia. It is adorned in spring (April, May) with clusters of wonderfully aromatic, funnel-shaped…

The Oconee or Piedmont Azalea is a beautiful deciduous shrub native to woods, slopes, sandhills and edges of stream banks in a few counties in the piedmont of South Carolina and Georgia. It is easy to remember this shrub: Native to a hot area, it is exceptionally heat and drought tolerant…

The Pinxter Azalea is a deciduous native azalea famous for it’s stunning flowers all the way from New Hampshire to Alabama. In NC, it is present in most counties of the state except for the highest mountain counties and the swampiest counties in the northeast corner. Pinxter Azalea’s funnel-shaped flowers, with…

A bright spring ephemeral and one of the first flowers to emerge in the brown, still-dormant forest, the Bloodroot is an exciting harbinger of wonderful things to come. The delicate white flower with prominent golden stamens emerges on a single stalk arising from a woody rhizome, opening during the day and…

The Mayapple is a foot-tall herbaceous perennial that grows in open mixed deciduous hardwood forests and alluvial woodlands and meadows in much of eastern U.S. It is valued for what it does best, which is to form dense colonies in part to full shade, usually from the rhizomes of a single…

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…

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…

Beebalm is a showy herbaceous perennial herb in the Mint family, very popular in Southeastern gardens for its long bloom time and easy nature. Bright red, somewhat coarse flowers are supported by sturdy, three-foot tall, square stems in July and August here in the piedmont, making excellent cut flowers.Our southern Appalachians…

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…

Sensitive Fern is a very handsome, very vigorous, running deciduous perennial fern. It is “sensitive” only to the first frost in the late fall, and perhaps to drought — but very hardy otherwise! It is widely reported to be two- to three-foot tall and taller in wet soil, but we have…

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…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  Allegheny or Mountain Spurge is a short, shrubby ground cover which barely reaches a foot tall. Grown in dappled sun to full shade, it spreads by rhizomes to form a carpet of semi-toothed, crisp blue-green…

Wild Sweet William or Woodland Phlox is a beautiful and beloved wildflower that can brighten a shady area in need of spring color, — ranging from a soft exquisite true blue to lavender and occasionally, white. It occupies a position between the low groundcover phloxes and the tall garden phloxes. During…

Phlox stolonifera, or Creeping Phlox, is a low-growing Phlox found in rich deciduous woodlands, along stream banks and shaded rocky slopes mostly in the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to Georgia. Unlike the other ground-hugging Phloxes, therefore (which hale from more xeric locales), this one thrives in shady and semi-shady niches on…

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…

The Great Blue Lobelia is a colony-forming, clumping perennial which is well known for its long-lasting, deep violet-blue floral spires from late summer to mid-autumn. The deep blue floral racemes play exceedingly well against the dominant yellows of other fall garden greats, and draw their own share of butterflies, bees and…

Shining Fetterbush (“lucida”) is a commonly encountered evergreen shrub of the south, 3-5 feet tall and wide (or occasionally taller), found mostly in counties of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains from Virginia south to Florida and west to Louisiana. The leaves are alternate, smooth, thick, and leathery. The sweetly fragrant…

Solomon’s Plume is a widespread perennial, reported in all of the U.S. mainland states, but conspicuously almost entirely absent from the coastal plain from NC down to Florida and over to Texas and throughout the great plains. It is abundant here in the piedmont, with gracefully arching, unbranched stems reaching up…

Eastern Red Cedar is a sturdy, aromatic, evergreen, pyramid-shaped or columnar tree which usually grows to about 60 feet, though it can reach 90 feet. This species is considered a pioneer tree that colonizes sunny areas that are relatively dry and sterile. Adapted to dry habitats, it is native throughout central…

‘Blue Arrow’ is a cultivar of Eastern Red Cedar, an evergreen tree of wide variability in form, seen on roadsides and hedgerows throughout the eastern U.S. ‘Blue Arrow’ was selected to provide a reliable, vertical evergreen accent in a more formal landscape. Red Cedar (the species) is dioecious, with seed cones…

Many people know Mountain Laurel as a stunning native shrub which is a spectacular sight in our mountains in May and June, but many don’t realize that it also grows in rocky floodplains of our rivers in the piedmont. Since we collect our seed from natural stands on the Haw River,…

Doghobble is a graceful, informal, evergreen shrub common in the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plain which shows off best when planted in mass. Stoloniferous, it is naturally found in drifts or colonies along banks of creeks or shady ditches and woodlines. Doghobble’s arching form reaches 3-4 feet or 4-6 feet (reports…

Spicebush is a shrubby tree — five to ten feet-tall (and often wider than tall) — which has a great many attributes, beginning with its wonderfully spicy-citrusy aromatic foliage. The blooming period for Spicebush occurs during the mid-spring and lasts about 2 weeks. The males (yes, it is dioecious) have showier,…

White Wood Aster is a two foot-tall, rhizomatous, drought-tolerant herbaceous perennial which grows in open, dry woods and shady clearings in much of the Eastern U.S., including many mountain and piedmont couties in NC. This plant lights up shady, dry woodland sites with delicate white daisy-like flowers from September to November.…

American Beech is one of the most beloved trees of Eastern North America, a late-successional tree reported in many counties of NC from the mountains to the coast. It is a medium to large tree, growing usually to 80 feet (but observed also at 100 feet tall or more), and can…

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,…

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.…

American Holly is a slow-growing, medium sized, evergreen tree known and loved throughout the mid-atlantic, south-central and Gulf state lowlands (in NC, is reported in most counties throughout). An understory tree in our deciduous forests, it generally reaches 40 to 60 feet, with pyramidal form, occasionally much taller. In cultivation, however,…

Dutchman’s Breeches is a shade-loving, spring ephemeral wildflower found in undisturbed mesic woods of most of the eastern U.S. In NC it is reported to occur in several mountain and piedmont counties, including our own Chatham County. Averaging six to ten inches tall, it has a basal rosette of finely-divided leaves…

Log fern is a fertile, naturally occurring, semi-evergreen hybrid between D. ludoviciana (Southern Shield Fern) and D. goldiana (Goldie’s Wood Fern) with a range in central, eastern and southeastern U.S. Log fern grows rapidly with wide, shiny, deeply cut, dark green fronds and dark stripes along the central rib. The sori,…

Marginal Wood Fern is a smallish ( 1.5 – 2 foot high), well behaved, evergreen fern found in shady, rocky slopes in most of eastern U.S. In North Carolina, is is found in mountain counties and a few piedmont counties. It is clump-forming and non-colonizing, propagated by root crown division and…

The genus of Scouring Rush Horsetail, or Puzzlegrass, is the only living genus of a class of plants which for over one hundred million years dominated the understory of late Paleozoic forests (Wikipedia)! And Puzzlegrass does, indeed, have a primitive look. It now favors wet areas along railroad embankments, stream banks…

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.…

Sweet Pepperbush is a beautiful, multi-stemmed woody shrub native to our East coast from Nova Scotia and Maine down to Florida and over to Texas. In NC it is found in swamps and moist woods on the coastal plain and outer piedmont. Clethra is rhizomatous by nature, and if allowed, can…

‘Ruby Spice’ is a cultivar of one of our most beautiful native shrubs, Clethra alnifolia or Sweet Pepperbush. They are deciduous shrubs of medium stature with rich, dark green foliage, and flowers with head-turning, sensuous, honey-sweet scent in mid- to late-summer when few other shrubs are flowering. The flowers of ‘Ruby…

Sixteen Candles’ Clethra is a more compact cultivar of Clethra alnifolia, a wet-tolerant and beautiful coastal shrub all along the eastern seaboard and southern coastal states. Like the species, ‘Sixteen Candles’ is long-blooming, having sweet-fragrant flowers in the heat of the summer against a rich, medium-to-dark green foliage. But the plant…

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…

Carex pensylvanica, or Oak Sedge (or Pennsylvania Sedge) is found in dry woods mostly in Northeastern U.S. In North Carolina it occurs naturally in the mountain counties. This is one of the more popular sedges for gardeners and landscapers in our area because of its versatility. Plants are about 8 inches…

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Old Field Sedge, or Reflexed Sedge, is a clump-forming, evergreen, grasslike plant usually found in dry, deciduous forests throughout Eastern North America. In NC it occurs in some of the piedmont counties, including our own…

Ironwood is a small to medium-sized (twenty to thirty-five feet) deciduous, understory tree that grows in woods throughout Eastern North America. It has handsome, smooth-textured, rippling bark (“Musclewood”) and alternate, doubly-serrated, oval leaves with a corrugated texture. The timber of Ironwood is of greater-than-average hardness and durability as suggested by its…

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…

Northern Maidenhair Fern, native to moist woods throughout Eastern U.S. (except Florida), is a lovely addition to any wooded landscaped area, with its wire-like reddish brown-to-black stems and drooping, frilly fronds that start to grow outward in a flat whorl. Fiddleheads are pinkish/purple. Averaging 12-18 inches tall, it will thrive in…

Aesculus sylvatica, or Painted Buckeye, is a shrub about 6 feet tall commonly observed along streams and on open forest slopes of the Piedmont counties of NC and other Southeastern states. Painted Buckeye’s appeal lies in the variety of subtle colors displayed by the tender leaves as they emerge in an…

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…

Generous, easy to grow, cheerful and carefree, Wild Columbine is a favorite in perennial gardens from the simplest to the most sophisticated. Native to the entire eastern half of North America, it thrives in partial shade, but tolerates full sun (if not too hot or dry) as well as full shade.…

Asarum, or Wild Ginger, is an herbaceous perennial which grows in colonies in shady woodland locations especially in the more northerly Eastern U.S. Each plant consists of two heart-shaped leaves emerging from a fleshy root/rhizome complex. Between these two leaves a single, somewhat inconspicuous maroon flower arises in May/June, most often…

The Pawpaw is a fun little tree (25-35 feet) to cultivate. In a favorable place, it will send out rhizomes and colonize. In spring there are lovely, dark red flowers emerging just as the leaves begin to unfurl. If there is another genetically distinct individual nearby, these flowers will give rise…