Garden Photo of the Day

Unusual Beauties From Wiley

Mostly natives worth drooling over

close up of light pink flowers with yellow centers

Today’s photos are from Wiley Bennett in Charlotte, North Carolina.

close up of unique white flowers with yellow detailShooting star (Dodecatheon meadia, Zones 4–8) is a beautiful and not too commonly grown native wildflower.

close up of small, fuzzy white flowersTiarella cordifolia (Zones 4–9) is another native, found in moist woodland sites around the eastern part of North America.

close up of small purple flowersPhacelia bipinnatifida, a biennial wildflower that is native to woodlands around eastern North America, has lovely blue flowers.

close up of small pink flowers with white specklesThe wild gingers (Asarum species) have beautiful flowers that are often missed because they bloom low to the ground—the better to be accessed by the beetles that pollinate them. But look closely and you will be rewarded by these beautiful flowers. The foliage is an attractive, deer-resistant, native addition to any shade garden as well.

close up of wispy white flowers on a shrubThe Alabama snow wreath (Neviusia alabamensis, Zones 5–8) is a beautiful shrub native to the Southeast that produces clouds of airy white flowers in the spring.

large shrub with pink flowers, with most of the petals on the groundCamellia (Zones 7–10) is the classic winter-flowering shrub. This one has great pink flowers that perhaps make even a better display after they have fallen.

close up of tree with yellow foliage in fallIt’s hard to beat the bright yellow of a ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba, Zones 4–9) in the fall against a clear, blue, North Carolina sky.

close up of bright purple flowers with bumblebee on oneGeorgia aster (Symphyotrichum georgianum, Zones 3–9) has intensely pigmented purple flowers that are equally loved by humans and bumblebees.

close up of light pink flowers with yellow centersSurely one of the most gorgeous native wildflowers in eastern North America is Sabatia kennedyana (Zones 6–9), with its incredible pink flowers. It prefers wet sites.

close up of unique orange lilyAnother fan of wet sites is the pine lily (Lilium catesbaei, Zones 7–10).

monarch butterfly caterpillars under a plant leafJust a FEW monarch butterfly caterpillars feasting away—one of the pluses to growing lots of native plants!

If you want see more beautiful plants from Wiley, check out his Instagram: @wileyb2141

 

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Comments

  1. User avater
    user-7007816 01/04/2023

    An amazing collection of plants and beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing.

  2. btucker9675 01/04/2023

    Thank you for sharing this - you have given me hope that I will be able to do the same here in Waxhaw, just south of Charlotte! I've had a pretty steep learning curve here with the red clay. These plants are all simply beautiful.

  3. User avater
    simplesue 01/04/2023

    Love those Georgia Asters and photo of the monarch butterfly caterpillars on the Milk Weed! Very nice display of natives!

  4. User avater
    treasuresmom 01/04/2023

    Everything is so lovely!

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