ASCLEPIAS tuberosa $9.95 24" x 16" z4 Butterfly Weed Butterfly weed should be in every garden . Bold, brilliant ,tangerine-orange flowers are very showy and fun to play with in the early to midsummer border. Brilliant with blues and purples. It really is a butterfly magnet. An essential food for the monarch butterfly, and almost guaranteed to attract them, this asclepias thrives in hot dry areas, with lots of sun and good drainage. Perennial, but where happy it will multiply by seed, so it is a good choice for naturalizing. It is useful as a cut flower and deadheading will prolong its flowering period. The limegreen seed pods are attractive dried. Grow in the perennial border or the cottage garden or allow to naturalize in the wildflower meadow. Keep your eyes open for the yellow, black and white striped Monarch caterpillars on the leaves and the greenish pupae suspended from stems. If you find holes in the leaves, it’s a good thing. This plant is also really fun to grow if you like to garden with children. Remember, if you spray your gardens for insects, you will not get butterflies. Photo: WildThings ASTILBE False Goatsbeard z4 The queen of the shade garden. Large, showy plumes range from the deepest reds, magentas, purples and pinks to snowy white, and bloom above lovely, ferny foliage, which in many varieties is tinted an attractive bronze or mahogany. The flowers are followed by long lasting, cinnamon coloured, feathery seed heads. Excellent cut or dried. Astilbe perform well in sun or shade, but must have ample moisture. Here, they flourish in ordinary soil, well-amended with compost. The taller varieties will spread to 3', smaller varieties about half that. Very easy to grow in moist to wet, humus-rich soil, pond side, in boggy areas or in containers. To simplify matters, we have divided them into the following groups: Arendsii - A group of hybrids developed by a German nurseryman, George Arends. Intolerant of drought. Wide range of colour, size and shape. Chinensis - Later blooming, useful for extending the season. Narrow, branched plumes. Good spreading habit makes them useful for massing as a groundcover. Moderately drought tolerant. Japonica - Glossy green leaves, often red-tinged. Dense, pyramidal flower clusters. Early bloom season. Simplicifolia - Glossy, lobed, bronze-tinged leaves. Compact mounds beautiful even out of flower. Open, airy panicles of star-like flowers followed by ornamental seed heads. A bit slower to establish. Not tolerant of drought. Thunbergii - Late blooming with open, nodding flower plumes on tall stems. www.wild-things.ca 13 1-877-538-3228