Some photos of my landscape in southeast PA

I took some shots of my mostly native, naturalistic landscape just some 30 miles west of Philadelphia on the 4th of July, when most of my perennials are beginning to bloom. The first two photos in the front yard show lots of Purple Coneflowers. The next three are in the backyard with my prairie style garden with pink blooming Queen-of-the-Prairie, Rattlesnake Master forming scapes with small rounded flowers that will soon bloom white, and white blooming Culver's-Root (Veronicastrum) that is like a tall Veronca or Speedwell. Little Bluestem grass will send up its flowering grass scapes soon as will the Big Bluestem grass and Switchgrass. Serviceberry, Spicebush, Summersweet, a Gray Birch are behind the perennials.

You have a lovely yard, RIck; it's interesting to see how you've put things together. I have Queen-of-the-Prairie and Rattlesnake Master, but I didn't think of putting them together because I thought the former liked swampy conditions and the latter dry ones...although I did wonder how the water-loving Queen managed to survive on prairies.

What a charming house. Love the white with blue shutters and the mature trees. Nice cottage style gardens too. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! Well, during two strong summer droughts here in se PA I discovered that Queen-of-the-Prairie does not like really dry soil while Rattlesnake Master is alright with it. This May there was no rain at all, so the Queen was significantly smaller. (During a wet year, she gets real big.) I did make an environmental mistake, though it is not real bad. This year I dug up a lot of the Queen because her clumps grew real big over the years and was crowding out some nearby plants as the Wild-Indigo. I planted some of those clumps along a run about half a mile away where I have volunteered to control various East Asian invasive plants. One clump is very happy there; the other two got washed out when lots of rain returned.

What a beautiful setting for your native plants. Your Culver's Root looks very happy there. Ours has just started to bloom. Those blue shutters are the perfect touch on your house, too.

Hope your battle with the invasives goes in your favor and that the clump you planted keeps spreading. Congratulations on your certification, by the way.

Very nice, RIck!

I'm sure we'd enjoy following along on your invasives control project, too, if you're inclined; maybe in the Native plant forum where Muddy posts hers.

Yes, that would be great!

That doesn't sound like an environmental mistake as much as unfortunate timing, Rick.
I had a similar problem when I planted native seedlings on a stream bank shortly before we got a 3" rainfall. That area was flooded and all of the Jewelweed washed away. I think some of the Wingstem hung in there, though. Hopefully the Jewelweed (and your Queen plants) will lodge in some rocks downstream and bloom anyway.

Hi Rickwebb, I just love the Downingtown area and have spent some time in the Newtown area, Longwood and visited the Mercer locations, quite a lovely area. Quite laid back considering the nearby urban sprawl so close by.
I'm glad to see your prairie environment working well with such odd spring/early summers we have been having. Congratulations on your certifications, we too are a certified habitat, but use everything in our scape from tropicals to desert plants.

I'll later post photos of what I call Persimmon Run that is next to Beaver Creek Elementary School and about 1/2 mile from my home. I am encouraging more Persimmons over there while cutting down invasives as many Amur Honeysuckle and Multiflora Rose. I've been scything down some Japanese Knotweed in there too. That area is loaded with Jewelweed full grown now.

In the last response I see lots of Elephant-Ears. I still love annual flowers, which was my first horticultural job in my carrier. I keep my tropical and annual plants mostly on and next to the back deck. The blue-purple flowering Anise-scented Sage is a big hummingbird magnet.

Beautiful home and garden Ric, I bought Queen of the Prairie last year this is my first bloom. It is quite the plant a very nice addition to our gardens. We have a lot of EE's and tropicals pots of them are dropped all over the garden in different beds. The ones on the corners of the Gazebo are Portadora Alocasia and they get huge.

Rick, how much shade do those coneflowers get?

My Purple Coneflowers get a few hours of direct sun and then it is bright

Ok, that's helpful, thanks.