A handsome plant, New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis) can grow really tall, up to 10 feet, but the sturdy stems usually keep the plants upright during the blooming season, July through September.  Brilliant, deep purple flowers at the top of the plants are regularly visited by nectaring insects, especially the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and other large butterflies.…

Seashore Mallow (Kosteletzkya virginica) is a very showy plant with profuse display of pink and yellow flowers that bloom at the ends of stems or in leaf axils. Open during the day, the petals close at night.   The flower looks like hibiscus, but they are much smaller and a deep pink.  A single plant…

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepis incarnata) is one of the best plants for monarch butterflies – the nectar feeds the adults and the larvae (caterpillars) eat the leaves. The deep pink flowers growing in wide clusters are attractive also to pollinating bees, wasps, and other butterflies. Long, narrow leaves are paired on thick, 4-foot stems. This species…

The small shrub Virginia Sweetspire is attractive throughout the growing season, with white flowers in the spring and spectacular leaf color in the fall. From May through June 4-inch white spears of flowers cover the plant, attracting many species of early butterflies. Because the flowers are small and close together, small insects can easily gather…

Through most of winter and into spring slender brown stalks of Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana) can be seen around beech trees. This is the remains of a flowering plant that is parasitic on beech trees, sending tiny strands into the roots of the tree to absorb water and nutrients. No harm is done to the beech…

“Umbrella Plant” is another name for Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) because it has large leaves that spread widely from the center, overlapping neighboring leaves to form a canopy. Hidden underneath are small white flowers – early insects visiting the flower for nectar also carry pollen from the yellow stamens or neighboring flowers. The fleshy, egg-shaped fruit…

Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) is an easy to grow native wildflower that has unusual foliage and flower. The striped green and purple canopy (spathe) curves gracefully over a club-shaped spadix (the “Jack” or preacher in his canopied pulpit). The lower portion of the spadix carries tiny flowers of one or both sexes, where heat and odor…

Tulip-tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) is a beautiful tree for all seasons – in the spring tulip-shaped whitish flowers stand on short stalks near the leaves. Often the flowers are first recognized on the pathway below the tree, each pale petal with an orange spot at the base. Numerous straight stamens are inside the petals, surrounding a…

Often used in holiday decorations, Ground Pine (Dendrolycopodium obscurum) somewhat resembles a tiny, thickly branched pine tree with oversized cones. A perennial which stays green all winter, the erect stems grow to 12 inches tall; the plant propagates from extensively rooting, deep-creeping rhizomes. The linear leaves are dense and sharp-pointed. Ground Pine is distinguished from…

Easily recognized in summer and fall by their daisy-like flowers, the genus Aster represents over 250 species, most of which botanists have re-categorized into other genera such as Symphyotrichum and Eurybia. Like milkweeds and most goldenrods, asters do not need to be pampered other than providing good drainage and full sun, and they can tolerate…