I just added this plant to the edge of my woodland garden. Browneyed susan is a biennial, so I am hoping that it will self-seed in that particular area. That may be wishful thinking on my part, because the plant would do better with a bit more direct sunlight. However, other folks have had no problem with Rudbeckia triloba maintaining a presence in their yard, from self-seeding alone, in less than ideal circumstances. Right now it is displaying a mass of beautiful showy quarter sized flowers. The blooming period lasts for a month or two from July through August. Triloba points to the three-lobed leaves, but the plant also displays 5 and seven lobed leaves. Seems to me the naming convention folks were somewhat quick to pull the trigger…
This vine is native to eastern North America and can be found in roadside hedges here and there on Cape Cod. The highway beautification crews up in the Boston area use this vine to cover the sound barriers along Route 93. It is often planted for its attractive, reddish orange, and sometimes yellow flowers. It does not need encouragement however, as this vine is extremely agressive and difficult to eradicate once established. Older plants have a massive root system that can undermine walkways, roads and walls. It will quickly climb up any support structure it can find, even if that means enveloping your house. It has its uses though – The dense growth makes it useful for erosion control. 
Asclepias amplexicaulis is also known as sand milkweed and grows to 3 or 4 feet in height. It has pink flowers like the common milkweed, but the flower cluster is less dense. The distinguishing feature of the plant, however, is the way the leaves are curled or whorled. This milkweed prefers dry soil conditions, and grows best in full sun to partial shade. Asclepias amplexicaulis blooms from mid June to early July, on Cape Cod. It requires dry, sandy soil, is rhizomatous, and drought tolerant. This plant attracts bees, ants, and butterflies.
I’ve known about Echinacea, the herbal supplement, since childhood. In Europe it’s been an essential ingredient of several cold and flu medications. Most of the research on the uses and benefits of this plant was done in Europe, Germany in particular. Although there remains some scepticism about the validity of the studies, researchers contest that Echinacea stimulates cells responsible for fighting all kinds of infection. Unlike antibiotics, which directly attack bacteria, Echinacea helps our own body attack bacteria, viruses and abnormal cells, including cancer cells. There are claims that Echinacea increases the number of immune system cells including anti-tumor cells, promotes T-cell activation, stimulates new tissue growth for wound healing and reduces inflammation in arthritis and inflammatory skin conditions. In the United States, we have relied much more heavily on antibiotics, and Echinacea is largely relegated to second tier shelves in pharmacies, although that has changed somewhat over the last few years.
Lobelia siphilitica is another short lived perennial (2 to 3 years) native to eastern and central Canada and US. It grows 3 to 4 feet tall, and produces blue flowers from August to October.
The diversity of the fauna in my backyard never ceases to amaze me, the other day I discovered a bug that was so well camouflaged, I thought it was a breadcrumb or a piece of lint. I was brushing it off my shirt when I realized the breadcrumb had legs. Hours of nature show watching alerted me to the fact that this was probably an insect of some sort, regardless of its appearance and asymmetrical shape so I picked it up off the ground and examined it closely. Sure enough, it was a bug – a lacewing larva or “aphid lion”. Some lacewing larva use pieces of material such as insect bodies or secretions or even grains of sand to make them appear to be those objects or at least hide their true identities. It’s pretty amazing, their camouflage is not their own body but in some cases a costume made out of another insect’s parts. We got some photos of this fascinating bug that is a perfect example of nature’s strange and powerful capacity for adaptation and survival.
Lobelia cardinalis produces spikes of bright fire red flowers for about a month. I added these to the woodland garden to attract hummingbirds, and so far they have not disappointed. These little avian wonders have a smorgasbord to select from, with bee balm and a nectar feeder to boot, but they make the extra effort to visit these flowers. In the wild it is pollinated by the ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).
The common name of this natively European plant comes from an old tale about Queen Anne, a fervent lacemaker, who pricked herself on a needle, causing a drop of blood to fall on the lace. The flower structures of the plant are very much lace-like. In some of the flowers there is indeed a tiny blood red or dark brown center. The other common name, wild carrot, is somewhat more appropriate – this plant is the original carrot, the forefather of the cultivated root on our dinner plate! The use of various types of wild carrots goes back about 5,000 years. Historians think that the modern orange-colored carrot was cultivated in the 16th century in the Netherlands. It is the Royal House of Orange, after all.
