St. John’s Wort

Plant Profile: Hypericum kalmianum

St. John’s Wort is a small to medium sized shrub that blooms most of the season.

A hypericum shrub in flower is covered in golden blooms

Our St. John’s Wort shrub grows in the border garden overlooking the main wildlife planting.

Click on the link below to learn more about this native plant

Kalm’s St. Johnswort – Hypericum kalmianum

Hairy Beardtongue

plant profile: Penstemon hirsutus

A young seedling of hairy beardtongue awaits planting

Hairy beardtongue shares the stage with lance-leaved Coreopsis in early June

Click on the link below to learn more about this native plant

Hairy beardtongue – Penstemon hirsutus

Rosin Weed

Plant Profile: Silphium integrifolium

Rosin weed grows tall and is beloved by pollinators and songbirds alike.

Don’t be fooled by its size at planting time. Rosin weed is one of the tallest plants in our wildlife garden. It easily grows over 4 ft high and strong enough for whole flocks of goldfinches to perch on it and feast upon its tasty seeds in autumn.

Click on the link below to learn more about this native plant

Wholeleaf rosinweed – Silphium integrifolium

Yellow Coneflower

plant profile: Ratibida pinnata

Yellow coneflower is long-blooming and robust, deer and drought tolerant

A young seedling awaits planting in the garden. Yellow cone flower can have several different leaf shapes depending on the stage of its development.

Also called “gray-headed coneflower” its petals curve downward and flower centers resemble thimbles. Yellow coneflower is a prolific self seeder. It thrives in full sun.

Click on the link below to learn more about this native plant

Yellow coneflower  – Ratibida pinnata

Prairie Smoke

plant profile: Geum triflorum

Prairie Smoke is a very unusual flower. It grows low to the ground and is a member of the Geum genus. It thrives in partial shade, but can be quickly overrun by more vigorous plants.

Prairie smoke has dainty pink buds and delicately cut leaves.

The name “Prairie Smoke” refers to the halo of fine filaments that surrounds each bloom.

Click on the link below to learn more about this native plant

Prairie smoke – Geum triflorum

Downy Sunflower

plant profile: Helianthus mollis

Downy sunflowers shine brightly in the late summer sun. Distinctive velvety leaves and buds make downy sunflower easy to identify. The flowers are favored by pollinators and the seeds attract chickadees looking for a tasty snack in winter.

Downy sunflower emerging in the spring

Tiny hairs flock the stems of downy sunflowers. Each developing bud shows a dark mysterious center behind rows of petals and calyxes which resemble tightly clasped claws.

Click on the link below to learn more about this native plant

Downy sunflower – Helianthus mollis

Upland White Goldenrod

plant profile:  Solidago ptarmicoides

A plant of many common names: Prairie Goldenrod, Prairie Flat-top-goldenrod, Upland White Aster, Stiff Aster, Sneezewort Aster

Prairie (Upland white) goldenrod

And a plant of many different botanical names as well: Aster ptarmicoides, Aster ptarmicoides var. georgianus, Doellingeria ptarmicoides, Inula alba, Solidago asteroides, Solidago ptarmicoides, Unamia alba

Whatever you call it – upland white goldenrod looks very different from other goldenrods. Inconspicuous when first emerging, it blooms in clouds of little white aster-like flowers in late summer.

Leatherback beetles and other pollinators love the pollen of Upland White Goldenrod

Click the link below to learn more about this native plant.

Prairie (Upland white) goldenrod – Oligoneuron album

Butterfly Weed

plant profile: Asclepias tuberosa

Our plants were tiny seedlings when we began the garden. Pictures often show native plants in their established glory. Young plants can be hard to recognize. Many do not bloom in their first season but can prolifically set seed in following years. Baby plants often lack the distinctive blooms and leaf structures of more mature specimens.

Butterfly weed has distinctive orange blooms in July. Plants can be slow to establish but are very sturdy and drought tolerant. Asclepias tuberosa is one of the native milkweeds that Monarch caterpillars rely on for food during their development.

Flower clusters vary from bright orange to orange-yellow and appear in July.

After pollination butterfly weed forms slender seed pods filled with hundreds of seeds each with their own silk parachute.

Pods open in August and release butterfly weed seeds to the wind. If they find new and promising ground they will spend the winter under the snow stratifying in the cold and wet. Stratification is the period of time seeds spend softening their shells and preparing for germination in the spring.

Click on the link below to learn more about this native plant

Butterfly weed – Asclepias tuberosa

Garden Art

Skyridge Wildlife Garden weaves a tapestry of colors, shapes and textures throughout the seasons.

• 

  Pale lavender Penstemon and golden yellow coreopsis

• 

  Butterfly weed seedpods open spilling silk into the wind

• 

  Pink coneflowers dazzle in the bright sunshine
  

• 

  A mix of billowing blooms and striking seed pods

• 

  Showy goldenrod and little bluestem grasses

• 

  Milkweed pods in late summer

• 

  Rattlesnake Master and Rosin weed
  

Pollinators in the garden

Monarch on Rosin Weed

Leatherback beetle on Rudbeckia

Beetles in cahoots

A variety of pollinators visit the Skyridge Wildlife Garden both for food and shelter. Regal Monarch butterflies forage on the rosin weed. Leatherback beetles feast and mate. Bumble bees investigate every bloom on the native hypericum shrubs. The garden hums with pollinators all through the season, but especially in late summer when goldenrods and asters are in full glory.

Downy Sunflower treats a bumble bee to a buffet of late summer pollen.

Several varieties of milkweed provide a nursery for Monarch caterpillars in the garden.

Swamp Milkweed

Common Milkweed

Butterfly weed

Whorled Milkweed

Green Milkweed