I just couldn't resist the challenge issued by the folks at Gardening Gone Wild to post a photo of a native plant in a garden setting, as part of a photo contest. Selecting the photo was very easy. I took this photo last summer at Deep Cut Perennial Nursery, when I went to their Bloomfest with the girl.
I was just in awe of the gorgeous display gardens there. After turning a corner, my eye lit on this area of Zinnias interplanted with Solidago and backed up by a beautiful Sumac (which I believe is a Cutleaf Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger' (Tiger Eyes)). While the Zinnias aren't native, the other two plants are. I loved the juxtaposition of what I consider wild plants with a piece of classical statuary. It didn't hurt that the color scheme is one of my favorites, chartreuse and magenta.
And now, other photos of native plants from the garden yesterday. These are some of my favorite plants.
Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa, which looks purple when closed and blue when open in the sun.
I love the feel of the ferny foliage of Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria).
Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) look so odd before they open their umbrella-like foliage.
The foliage of Anemonella (Thalictrum thalictroides) emerges burgundy, but will gradually turn green.
It's hard to believe that these little shoots of Solomon's Seal (Polyganatum biflorum/commutatum) will soar to over four feet tall. Like the Anemonella foliage, the foliage of Geranium maculatum starts off burgundy and turns green, but unlike the Anemonella, the Geranium foliage turns bright red in autumn.
The freakiest plant in my garden, Caulophyllum thalictroides or Blue Cohosh, has just started blooming. This plant, and the others pictured here, make me smile. There's just something so uplifting about the sight of native plants emerging from the earth in spring and spreading their foliage like the wings of birds about to fly.