What’s In Bloom

Tall herbaceous plants are a great choice for height impact in a garden in place of trees and shrubs. This week a few of our favorite high-rise perennials are bringing color to the Greenway at eye-level!

 Shining Coneflower (Rudbeckia nitida ‘Herbstonne’ or ‘Autumn Sun’)

This cultivar of Rudbeckia has been blooming high above the ground in our Fort Point Channel and Wharf District parks over the past couple weeks. Standing up to 7 feet tall, Rudbeckia nitida ‘Herbstonne’ has large daisy-like flowers with drooping yellow petals emanating from elongated center cones. Its stalks are sturdy, upright and typically don’t need to be staked. A native to the Eastern United States, ‘Herbstonne’ is well-adapted to be cold-hardy and grow in a variety of conditions, but it prefers full sun and well-drained soil. This perennial can be dead-headed to prolong it’s blooming even further, but even with minimal care it should put out show-stopping flowers for weeks.

Shining Coneflower

 Gateway Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium maculatum ‘Gateway’)

Eupatorium maculatum‘Gateway’ can be seen blooming in the Fort Point Channel parks all the way up to the North End. Standing from 4-6 feet tall, this cultivar grows shorter and bushier than other species of Joe Pye Weed, but it is still tall enough to have a dramatic impact. ‘Gateway’ puts out mounded clumps (called ‘corymbs’) of tiny pink flowers atop attractive wine-red stems whorled with dark green lance-shaped leaves. Another Eastern U.S. native, Joe Pye Weed was named after Joe Pye, a Native American medicinal healer who used plants within the genus to treat a variety of ailments.

Gateway Joe Pye Weed

Thinleaf Sunflower (Helianthus decapetalus)

Thinleaf Sunflowers are another native perennial, growing unto 5 feet tall. Helianthus decapetalusis named for its flower heads of 10, creamy yellow flower petals.  These sunflowers like partial sun and moist to mesic conditions, and may spread vigorously. Take a stroll through our Wharf District Parks to see these and other native perennials attracting pollinators and garden aficionados alike.

Thinleaf Sunflower

Other noteworthy blooms this week are the ‘Chicago Apache’ Daylillies (Hemerocallis ‘Chicago Apache’, a deep red flower) and Rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) in the Fort Point Channel Parks, Crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) in the Urban Arboretum, and ‘Blue Fortune’ Giant Hyssop (Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’) in the North End.