Full sun to partial shade dry gravelly or sandy soil

Question 1

Violets

Answer 1

Viola adunca, viola pedata
dry to mesic
host plant for fritillary butterfly
easy to grow from seed
McCargo

Question 2

Plantain-leaved Pussytoes

Answer 2

Antennaria plantaginifolia
dry
May bloom
foliage 1-11/2” like groundcover (basal rosette)
thrive with flax leaved stiff aster
dioecious
stoloniferous
plantaginifolia = the leaves of the plant resemble those of a plantain
McCargo

Question 3

Three-toothed cinquefoil

Answer 3

Sibbaldiopis tridentata
dry to mesic
doesn’t compete well with grass
rocky ledges/gravelly soil
McCargo

Question 4

Northeastern beardtongue

Answer 4

Penstemon hirsutus
mesic-dry
Pollinated by bumblebees and humingbirds
good at edge of paths
super tough
tolerant of shade (not dense)
McCargo
basal rosette
hirsutus = hairy, bristly, prickly
“penstemon” may come from the Greek words penta (“five”) and stemon (“stamen”)

Question 5

Ozark beebalm

Answer 5

Monarda bradburiana
mesic-dry
doesn’t spread as aggressively as other monarda
stays as a clump
about 2’ tall
coppery foliage in the fall
Native to west or south of New England
McCargo

Question 6

Tall anemone

Answer 6

Anemone virginiana
mesic-dry
clump forming unlike canadian anemone
thrives in full sun or dry shade
super tough
seeds ripen in October
Bloom - late June
McCargo

Question 7

Sundial lupine

Answer 7

Lupinus perennis
dry, sandy
Native to pine barrens
about 1’-1.5’ tall
requires dry, gravelly, well drained soil
host to …
easy to grow from seed
McCargo

Question 8

Bellflower/Scotch bellflower

Answer 8

Campanula rotundifolia
dry sandy or rocky
circum boreal plant
will seed in if happy
McCargo
rotundifolia means “round leaved”

Question 9

Foxglove beardtongue

Answer 9

Penstemon digitalis
mesic-dry
low clump of foliage ((basal rosette)
tall flowering stalk
pollinated by hummingbirds and bumblebees
easy to grow
McCargo

Question 10

Partridge pea

Answer 10

Chamaecrista fasciculata
mesic-dry
annual
leguminus family
1’-1.5’ tall
plant in patches early on in new garden - will disappear as other plants graw/mature
hot& dry
needs 2 weeks of cold before it germinates
McCargo

Question 11

Butterfly milkweed

Answer 11

Asclepias tuberosa
dry sandy
McCargo
Tuberosa is a term that can refer to the tuberose plant (it does in this case)
Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine

Question 12

Spotted bee-balm

Answer 12

Monarda punctata
dry sandy
don’t like mulch
clumping
1’-2’
attracts unusual insects
dry to use like oregano
great for edge of parking lot/driveway, then let seed in, else will be short lived
McCargo

Question 13

Hoary vervain

Answer 13

Verbena stricta
dry sandy
super tough
McCargo
stricta is from the Latin strictus meaning “drawn together”, “upright” or “straight”

Question 14

Wild petunia

Answer 14

Ruella humilis
mesic to dry
thrives in sandy edge of pathway
extremely heat tolerant
McCargo
When a plant is much smaller than other plants in the same species, it can be described as humilis.
medium salt tolerance

Question 15

Coneflowers

Answer 15

Echinacea pallida, purpurea, tennessiensis
mesic to dry
not from NE, but attracts many of the same insects
make excellent garden plant
McCargo

Question 16

Black Eyed Coneflower

Answer 16

Rhudbeckia hirta
mesic to dry
short lived perennial
blooms the first year from seed
along roadsides
seeds in where it wants to be
not invasive
needs disturbance to thrive
2’ tall
pairs well with hoary vervain (purple with yellow)
McCargo
The Latin word hirta means “rough hairy”

Question 17

Yarrow

Answer 17

Achillea millefolium
dry
white
grows on edge of road in crappy, salty soil
super tough
McCargo
Millefolium is a Latin word that means “a thousand leaves”
- refers to the plant’s many feathery leaves, which are divided into many small segments

Question 18

Flax-leaved stiff aster

Answer 18

Ionactis linarifolia
dry, sandy
tiny plant
McCargo
The genus, Ionactis, comes from the Greek word, “ion,” meaning “violet,” and “atkis,” meaning “ray.”
The species, linariifolia, refers to the flax-like leaves.

Question 19

Purple wood/Showy aster

Answer 19

Eurybia spectabilis
dry, sandy
McCargo
spectabils = showy

Question 20

Smooth blue aster

Answer 20

Symphotrichum laeve
mesic-dry
most widely available
thrives in super dry
McCargo
laeve, comes from the Latin word levis which means “smooth”

Question 21

Gray/downy goldenrod

Answer 21

Solidago puberula
dry, sandy
stays as a clump
McCargo

Question 22

Seaside goldenrod

Answer 22

Solidago sempervirens
dry, sandy
McCargo

Question 23

Sunflowers

Answer 23

Helianthus divaricatus
edge of road or forest
all sunflowers seed a lot
grow as a clump

Question 24

Little bluestem

Answer 24

Schizachryium scaparium
almost all roadside grasses are from Asia as agricultural grasses
a lot of cultivars in nurseries