SHaque Designs

Native plant of the Week: Blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) shows off its bright, bluish-purple blooms in late summer and fall. It's only 1-2 feet tall and spreads if it's happy, which is usually in sun to part-sun and moist to average soils . Goldenrods and asters seems to get all the love this time of year, but blue mistflower is an unsung beautiful little plant, in my opinion.

Native plant of the Week: American pokew**d (Phytolacca americana) is a perennial that mostly shows up unwanted in our gardens. But I've left a couple standing and have grown to love how beautiful it can be. I've seen them in ornamental pots in Europe, so sometimes you need to see them in a different setting to appreciate them. There's nothing else that looks quite like them, with their branching form and multi-colored stems and berries. It can grow 4-10 feet tall and 3-5 wide and usually shows up in woodland edges. Local birds love the fruit (humans should stay away, as they're poisonous).They self-seed easily, but as long as you pull them out quickly, you can keep them from taking over. If you have some space at the outskirts of your garden, keep one for the birds.


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When I notice something new in my garden, it's usually a w**d and I go "ugh." But every now and then, when it's a native plant that I didn't plant, and then when they combine with another and create something beautiful on their own, I go "squeeee!". White vervain showed up this year (Verbena urticifolia) and I noticed their cute white flowers like little stars in a part-shade corner. And then a few weeks later, these soft pink heart-shaped blooms climbed over the verbena and made this wondrous arch of beauty. Allegheny vine (Adlumia fungosa) is apparently a threatened species in MA, so I'm incredibly grateful that it decided to show up in my garden! These litlte moments make native plant gardening truly fascinating and joyful.

Design tip: Here's a simple and gorgeous plant combination that works. Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina), and great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) intermingle and complement each other through their striking foliage, vertical blue accents, and lovely scent. They all prefer part-sun and are great for woodland edges. All of them spread if they're happy and they're each hosts for different butterflies, bees, and/or moths. And these plants are incredibly low-maintenance. If you plant these, they will fill your garden with beauty.

Native plant of the Week: Hoary skullcap (Scutellaria incana). Yes, the name is awful but the flower is perfection. This lovely little perennial prefers part-sun conditions and can tolerate different types of soil. Blooming for weeks in late summer, it can lighten up a woodland edge beautifully. I think if the plant got a rebrand, it would be much more popular!

August's flowers - mostly native, all sun-lovers, all beautiful. Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), slender mountain mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium), broad-leaved mountain-mint (Pycnanthemum muticum), Russian sage (Salvia yangii), northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium), and rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium). These soft purples, whites, and greens complement the old silver pitcher perfectly. The best part is the gorgeous fragrance and tinkly movement of the grasses makes this an all-senses arrangement.

I recently went on a walk in the woods in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and was reminded of how wonderous and beautiful it is to see plants in their native habitats. A flowering purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) gone to seed, creepy doll's eyes (Actaea pachypoda), striking bluebead lilies (Clintonia borealis) and otherwordly ghost pipe (Monotropa uniflora) were just a handful of the fascinating plants along the trail. Next time you're looking for landscape inspiration, head out to nature to see how these plants grow and thrive in the wild. It might give you ideas for native plants for your home garden.

Design tip: Dress up a garden by adding layers. This rock wall started with a few perennials and shrubs on top. But at ground level it was empty. So I added a new layer with perennials that bloomed in succession, from spring until fall. And I added a wooden bench when I was tired of w**ding. The result is an immersive garden, fragrant with the smell of summersweet, buzzing with bees on the calamintha 'White Cloud', and filled with the colors of geranium 'Rozanne' and garden phlox 'Jeana'. Now it's a great place to sit and just be.

Native plant of the Week: Butterfly milkw**d (Asclepias tuberosa) is a small plant with a big personality. It's bright orange blooms are a highlight of the summer garden. This plant grows best in dry, free-draining, sunny locations. It only grows to be about 2 feet tall and wide, so it's great for small gardens. Not to mention that pollinators (including Monarch butterflies) love it.


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July's arrangement is simple but exquisite, created as a gift for a friend's engagement. Hydrangeas in pink, blue, and white, highlighted by the muted colors of Russian sage and mountain mint. Sometimes you just need a few beautiful flowers to encapsulate the season.