Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Lobelia cardinalis

Family: (Campanulaceae)

(P) to 3′. Cardinal Flower. An American native with racemes of brilliant scarlet, fan-shaped flowers. Green leaves remain basal. A “must-have” for the red bed and the woodland. Hummingbirds love their nectar. Moist soil. Sun/partial shade. 3 & 6A

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Lobelia siphilitica

Family: (Campanulaceae)

(P) to 3′. Great Blue Lobelia. A native of eastern North America. Clear blue, sometimes white, inch-long, fan-shaped flowers with small, white stamens bloom on dense racemes from July to September. Brings a feeling of coolness to the garden in the hottest part of summer. Moist soil. Sun/partial shade. 3 & 6A

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Monarda fistulosa

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 4′. Wild Bergamot. Distinctive, sweetly aromatic foliage reminiscent of Earl Grey tea with lovely pale violet-pink blooms in terminal clusters of tubular, lipped flowers. Usually found in dry open fields and meadows, so it makes a good plant for the wildflower or natural garden. Blooms midsummer. 3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Penstemon digitalis

Family: (Plantaginaceae)

(P) to 3′. Foxglove Beard-Tongue. Eastern and Southeastern US. A very pretty, clump-forming Penstemon with basal, bronze foliage. Panicles of white flushed rosy-pink, two-lipped, tubular blooms with purple nectar guides. Flowers in mid-summer. Comes true from seed. Sun. 3 & 7 for 4 weeks, then T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Phytolacca americana

Family: (Phytolaccaceae)

(P) to 12′.  Pokeweed.  An American native.  Long, spike-like racemes of small, white, apetalous flowers have five petal-like sepals with numerous stamens and a large, green, globose, compound superior ovary resembling a segmented green pumpkin.  After flowering comes the Pokeweed’s raison d’être.  Many-seeded, shining, blackish purple berries follow, which hang in drooping clusters on bright, pink-red inflorescence stalks and produce deep red juice.  The juice from the fruit was used to colour wine and as ink.  The early-season green leaves are ovate-lanceolate and rather fleshy, and turn a reddish purple in autumn.  We love it only in our Flower Garden, in the back of the Red Bed.  BEWARE, all parts of this plant are poisonous!  Sun/partial shade.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Pycnanthemum muticum

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 4′. Mountain Mint. North America. Flat-topped clusters of white to pale violet flowerheads are surrounded by large, silvery bracts that give the plants a delightful, frosted appearance. Pointed, oval, very aromatic, deep green leaves with a clean, pungent, minty fragrance. Midsummer. Moist, well-drained soil. Sun/partial shade. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Pycnanthemum tenuifolium

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 3′. Slender Mountain Mint. North America. A very aromatic plant with a peppermint scent and taste. Narrow, linear leaves. Flat-topped clusters of white to pink flowers. Long lasting and great in arrangements. A tough and easy plant to grow. Sun. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Ruellia pedunculata

Family: (Acanthaceae)

(P) to 3′. Stalked Wild Petunia. Solitary, pale lavender-violet, petunia-like blooms open in summer all along the leaf axils of upright, bushy plants. The paired, opposite leaves are a lustrous dark green. Sun/partial shade. 3 &T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Sisyrinchium angustifolium

Family: (Iridaceae)

(P) to 12″. Narrow-leaved Blue-eyed Grass. Eastern North America. Delicate fans of narrow, grass-like foliage produce an always welcome display. The star-shaped blooms of six pale violet-blue tepals each tipped with a small point and sporting a yellow central eye accentuated by the yellow stamens and stigma. Blooms late spring and early summer. A cheery, easy going and charming native for the rock garden, woodland edge or the meadow. Sun. 3 & 7 for 90 days then T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Solidago caesia

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 3′. Blue-stemmed Goldenrod. Eastern North America. A plant of the woodland edge and clearings. Graceful, arching, bluish tinged stems with small, golden yellow flowers clustered in the leaf axils. The narrow, dark green, lance-shaped leaves are sharply toothed and slightly hairy. Blooms August through September. Well-drained soil. Partial shade. 4 & T2