Top Plant Picks August 2021
As summer continues, celebrate the season by taking a stroll through our gardens! Cheekwood’s Plant Collections Manager, Shanna Jones, shares her top plant picks for August.
Rosinweed (Silphium asteriscus)
Bloom Time: July – October
Sun Requirement: Full sun
Water Requirement: Medium
Tolerates: Drought & Deer
Wildlife: Butterflies, bees & songbirds
Native to North America: Yes
Location: Bracken Foundation Children’s Garden
Zones: 4-8
Other: Indigenous peoples used the sap of rosinweed to make a chewing gum.
Purple Top Verbena (Verbena bonariensis)
Bloom Time: June – Frost
Sun Requirement: Full sun – part shade
Water Requirement: Medium
Tolerates: Poor soils
Wildlife: Butterflies & Goldfinches
Native to North America: No
Location: Wills Perennial Garden
Zones: 7-11
Other: Will self-seed and naturalize in warmer climates.
Mexican Oak (Quercus greggii “La Siberia”)
Sun Requirement: Full sun
Water Requirement: Medium
Tolerates: Clay, deer & drought
Wildlife: Birds & squirrels
Native to North America: Yes
Location: Sigourney Cheek Literary Garden
Zones: 7-11
Other: New leaves are fuzzy and crinkly. ‘La Siberia’ is a town located near the High Mexican Valley.
Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra “Aureola”)
Bloom Time: N/A
Sun Requirement: Part Shade-shade
Water Requirement: Medium
Tolerates: Deer & shade
Native to North America: No
Location: Burr Terrace Garden
Zones: 5-9
Other: ‘Aureola’ is a gold-striped variety.
Pickerel Weed (Pontederia cordata)
Bloom Time: July – October
Sun Requirement: Full sun
Water Requirement: Wet
Tolerates: Low fertility
Wildlife: Dragonflies and fish
Native to North America: Yes
Location: Martin Boxwood Gardens Grotto & Robinson Family Water Garden
Zones: 3-8
Other: Seeds and leaves are edible.
Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
Bloom Time: June-September
Sun Requirement: Full Sun
Water Requirement: Dry-medium
Tolerates: Drought
Wildlife: Butterflies & bees
Native to North America: Yes
Location: Howe Garden
Zones: 5-9
Other: Plant host to swallowtail butterfly larvae.
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Bloom Time: July – September
Sun Requirement: Full sun – part shade
Water Requirement: Medium- wet
Tolerates: Drought
Wildlife: Butterflies & Bees
Native to North America: Yes
Location: Howe Garden, Herb Study Garden, and The Carell Trail
Zones: 3-9
Other: Great for rain gardens and woodland edges.
