Cait's Garden

I usually try to use only photos I have taken of my own yard on this blog, but I just purchased this particular plant and I’d like to blog about it before it blooms in about 2 months. The past few years, I have been fascinated by native plants. Fortunately for me, they are showing up more regularly in the stores. You just need to grab them when you see them because supply is very random and sparse. Imagine how pleased I was to see a pot of this plant at a nursery over the weekend. “Vernonia fasciculata”…also called Smooth Ironweed…is a wildflower common to many states, including Illinois, and is a member of the aster family. They grow to be 2 to 4 feet tall and like other asters spread by clumping (so you can share). The flowers are the exciting part. Magenta clusters in late summer that attract bees and butterflies. Exciting! I will be sure to keep you posted on its performance later this summer.