Sundays after church, my dad would pile the family into the car and take us for a drive through the countryside just outside the boundaries of the big city. We would see miles of delicate pink flowers lining the edges of the roads, growing the cracks in the sidewalk, and on the banks of the hills. Pink evening primrose is one of the wildflowers …
Gardening with Native Plants
Native plants are well-suited to the growing conditions in your area and are often great nesting habitat, a food source, or a host plant for the wildlife around you. By adding native plants to your garden, you can create wildlife habitat that helps pollinators like bees and butterflies, attracts hummingbirds and songbirds, and provides cover for many small mammals. Learn about native plants and how to grow them in your garden.
Early Spring Wildflowers of the Southeast – Trillium, Jack in the Pulpit, and Bloodroot
The first flowers to show their faces after winter are the native wildflowers. By mid to late-March, they are usually in full bloom. Bloodroot, trillium, and Jack in the pulpit are some of my favorite early-blooming southeastern native plants. Which one is your favorite? Incorporate Native Plants in Your Garden Choosing to incorporate native …
Japanese Honeysuckle vs Native Honeysuckle Vine
Have you ever plucked a honeysuckle flower, turned it around, and gently sucked the nectar from the tube-shaped back of the flower? If you grew up in the southeastern U.S., I bet you did. That taste of super-sweet honey nectar always makes me think of summer nights spent chasing fireflies and summer days spent running wild and free. Imagine …
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Obedient Plant – Physostegia virginiana
The obedient plant is native to most of the U.S.. It produces lovely pale purple blooms in the fall when most things are shutting down. It's also easy to dig up and divide. Deer-resistant AND it can grow in clay soil - what's not to love about obedient plants? Like all native plants, it is particularly suited for the growing conditions of its …
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Partridge Pea: Butterfly Host Plant & Pollinator Plant
Summer is the time of the year that you’ll see the bright yellow flowers of partridge pea blooming along the side of the road or along streams and ditches. They will continue to flower from late summer to early fall. Creates Food for Pollinators & Wildlife This little plant packs a mighty punch when it comes to benefiting …
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Lyreleaf Sage – Mississippi Wildflower
Spring comes early in Mississippi. While my friends who live in states to the north continue to fight through snow and ice, I start to see the fresh green of new plant growth emerge from my lawn in mid to late-March. The early arrival of spring weather is one of my favorite things about living in Mississippi – the early respite from the cold, …
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