Plant of the Week: Penstemon smallii

This is one of the showiest of all the beard-tongues and naturally occurs in TN, GA, NC, and SC but grows absolutely fine here in Kentucky.  The 2 - 2.5' tall plant flowers in May and June for an extended period and it has such a wonderful deep lavender color to the flowers. This is a good drought tolerant plant and prefers sun to partial sun and will thrive more in poor, shallow soils rather than good, rich loamy soils.  It has a tendency to be short-lived in good soil. The flowers are attractive to hummingbirds and bees and the plant is somewhat deer resistant. Native Americans chewed on the roots for relief of tooth cavities and to treat rattlesnake bites. A good companion plant is bluestar (Amsonia taberna  montana)

New Study Shows Rabbit Fencing Still Better Than Commercial Repellents

Wildlife Extension Specialists have long held the belief that permanent fencing is the best method of permanently solving wildlife damage problems. I think I have heard of every type of repellent used including mountain or coyote droppings, human hair, human urination, and the list continues.  In addition people swear by such things as soap or certain chemical repellents.  The research based information for the past three decades hasn't changed; repellents are simply not as effective at deterring browsing animals as are fences. A new study in the Journal, Human-Wildlife Interactions, two authors from CT tested 8 commercially available repellents against two fences and the fencing won out each time. None of the repellents worked 100% of the time and the blood-meal based product performed the best of the commercial repellents. Those containing putrescent egg solids sold next best.  If considering the use of a commercial repellent, be sure to calculate the cost of treatment and re-treatment and in the long run, you are better off building a good rabbit proof fence to keep them out of the garden.

Plant of the Week: Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica)

Early summer in most woodland gardens is pretty boring because the spring ephemerals have flowered and are gone and the later summer lilies, cohosh and other species have not yet flowered.  This plant, which is not that uncommon in southern Kentucky is a real gem of a woodland edge or woodland flower and is quite at home in full shade, full sun, part shade and full sun for much of the day.This is an easy to grow species in rich, moist soil and will spread over time to form large colonies in some cases supporting over 75 individual flowers in mature clumps.  It flowers in late May and June and if you cut back the flowerheads, it will rebloom during the summer. The glossy green pointed egg shaped leaves grow up to 4" long and the flower reaches heights of 2".On top of the already mentioned great attributes, this species only gets about 18" tall.  This can also be easily divided and moved to other areas around the garden. The Cherokee Indians used this as a ritual or ceremonial herb to induce visions and to foretell the future. There can be no doubt this is a real show stopper in any perennial garden.This plant has no known disease or insect problems and the one great attribute about this species, is that it is a hummingbird magnet, right up there with cardinal flower.  One combination I like for real show stopping is to use sundrops (a bright yellow and showy flower) as an accent to the red flowers of Indian Pink. Finally, this species enjoys being drought tolerant.  Because of its showy nature, numerous nurseries sell this species.

Plant of the Week:Shrubby Saint John's Wort (Hypericum frondosum)

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Imagine an easy to grow shrub that in the wild can reach 6' tall or more but in the home landscape there are cultivars like 'sunburst' that get 3' tall at most and 3' wide.It has somewhat flat linear almost bluish leaves that are bright green and up to 3" long.  This plant likes full sun to partial shade and rich sandy loam soils but does well in landscape plantings.  It bears flowers on new wood and thus it should be brimmed back, and the roots mulched, in late fall. While the entire bush can be covered with these beautiful 2" wide flowers, the reddish fruits are also quite attractive in late summer and fall. This is a drought tolerant species and prefers limestone, but will do okay in other soil types.  It is somewhat susceptible to wilt and root rot.  The genus.Hypericum has long been noted for its medicinal properties and H. frondosum has been reported to heal conditions ranging from muscle pain and skin burns to depression, ADHD and Parkinson's disease.