Kato, is the soil moist? If so, Lobelia cardinalis will work. Otherwise you might need to water it.

I can send seed of both the variegated pokeweed and cardinal flower.

Goldenrod.

rocky soil as in dry and well drained? then I would go with:

lavender hyssop, columbine, wild ginger, big leaf aster, white false indigo, purple coneflowers, brown eyed susans, golden alexander...

I have a woodland edge that is thick clay, fairly moist, I grow some of the above but mostly it has: joepyeweed, cupplants, culversroot, red milkweed, mistflower, great blue lobelia...

I separated the lists, because the second list of plants do better in moist soils, they may not be successful, if you are in dryer conditions.

Maybe Asclepias Tuberoas as well as some other milkweeds for the butterflies.

Does the edge run North/South, or East/West?...as in it would get AM sun, and PM shade.

Sue

Hi Carol!
Those pictures of the pokeweed look great. The contrast between it and the other variegated plants makes for a nice grouping. Do your neighbors know its a pokeWEED? My neighbors would probably smile nicely and then walk away and talk about all the weeds I have later. I would love seeds though. I think you know I have a weakness for variegated plants.

Thanks for the suggestions and I'm sorry I didn't give enough info about the location. It's going to sound stupid, but I'm not totally sure if it is a moist area or not.... I've only been here since late June and there's been enough rain to keep all areas well watered.

But I THINK it's a moist area. It seems the solid shale construction fill that sits just a few inches below the clayish topsoil fill of my yard(my soil needs help)funnels alot of the rain towards this area. There's some Jewelweed nearby but not in this particular area, so I think it's borderline moist.

I do have some goldenrod that seeded in and I think I'll keep it(but keep an eye on it)... and I also like the culvers root and coneflowers... I think my biggest concern is that the plants will be able to hold their own against the pokeweed and goldenrod. But I will be watching, and I think I can coddle the cardinal flower a bunch since I always wanted to have a spot of it!

I'm going to try and take a few pictures so you can see what's growing there now and get a feel for the area (its a fairly small area actually)and hopefully keep me from ripping out anything that I should keep. But.. it might be a few days before I get the pictures (painting rooms, company is coming Friday and there's a christening Sunday!) so don't give up on me.

Oh and it's mostly an eastern exposure Sue! It should be a perfect spot for alot of things, right?

Wait until you see the pictures. It is a mess right now with the invasives and I'm in coal country, so none of this ground is undisturbed, but I think I can make it a little more productive for wildlife!

Yes...love the looks of that Pokeweed also.

I think I remember you saying you had a newfound love for Hydrangeas. How about a native hydrangea also?

Hydrangea arborescens L.
wild hydrangea

Sue

(painting rooms, company is coming Friday and there's a christening Sunday!) so don't give up on me.
Where yat Frank? I see you forgot to check the box to have the replies emailed to you...maybe I'll have to go see if you forgot about this post.

Is your company still there? If they are, they're surely smelling like fish by now. Don't they say, "Company is like fish. Both start stinking after 3 days."...or something like that?

Sue

I hope these pictures are worth the time it takes to open them! I took them yesterday and the other plant that I really wanted an id for isn't very photogenic..... unless its my camera skills?? Nooooooooooo
Here amongst the pokeweed, goldenrod and alianthus is the unknown white plant. Since seeing it in my yard I've been noticing it all over, so it's nothing special I guess.
{{gwi:1066560}}

The other unknown plant has a yellow bloom similar in form to this white one's flowering, but it has narrow willow-like leaves and grows to about 4 ft tall.

Sue, the company left Tues morning, but you know how things go..... I think they were as fresh smelling the day they left as they were the day they walked in the door.... but they're my family, not my wife's... her opinion might be a little different!
.... I know, I know, they're OUR family now, but I still seem to like them a whole lot more than she does.

Sorry to wander off topic, let me see if I have any other halfway decent photos.

Here's a view of the right side of the yard.

{{gwi:1066562}}
I'd like to plant things all along the woods edge. I think it's drier than I first thought- the last week or two without rain have shown that. Average soil moisture is what I'd call it now, so the cardinal flower is out..... (I still love it though)

I guess I have to abandon all those cool moisture loving plants and go with the dry list.
Actually I think I already have lavender hyssop seed that I never planted, I didn't even know it was a native. Also I can spread around the brown eyed susan seed as it ripens since there were a few that came up on their own.... plus goldenrod is doing well (a little too well).
I want to feed the bugs, so if you think of more good bee-butterfly-bug plants, let me know!

Here's the left side of the yard.
{{gwi:1066563}}
See the coal mining leftovers? I don't know if that or my FIL's white fence are more distracting as far as the view goes.

The white plant looks like Eupatorium rugosum, white snakeroot, but I guess it's been renamed to Ageratina altissima. I started some from seed this year, it will grow in dry partial shade and is a prolific reseeder.

Pokeweed is also a very prolific seeder, I've been pulling it all summer. The birds love the berries and spread them everywhere. Carol23, I like that variegated Pokeweed too, is it less agressive than the regular species?

I don't have any moist areas on this lot, it is sandy loam, pretty flat, well-drained. But I'm growing some native wetland plants in an area a little lower than the yard in a bed that was created using lasagne layers mulched with leaves. This includes Lobelia cardinalis, Cup plant, Eupatorium maculatum, Asclepias incarnata, and just give them some extra water when it's dry. I figure if they're all together then it's easier and more efficient to water. The Lobelia is so pretty and attracts a lot of hummingbird activity.

hmmmm. I was thinking about recontouring a different area of the yard to make a low spot for rain runoff.... I'm going to add that to the project list! Ha ha maybe I'll get to it by 2012?

I thought eupatorium first, but I think my picture gives it more floral credit than it should get.... the blooms really aren't too showy, not like the pictures I found online. I have to try for a better pic closer up.

I have coneflower, hyssop, and rudbeckia seeds planted. I would like to collect some colombine seeds to put further into the trees, but have to find the time to hike up to the spot I saw them growing at and see if they are still there.

I really liked all the goldfinches and butterflies that came to the thistles. I guess I have to keep a spot open for them.... assuming they don't take over everything else next year, then maybe they'll be on the banned list along with the alianthus and mugwort.

I agree with terrene, that pic is eupatorium rugosum.

Thanks for the confirmation on the eupatorium. I will keep it as well as the pokeweed, goldenrod and a few other things.

I just found that mugwort is not native and I hate the smell, so its got to go, as well as the alianthus and knotweed. Thanks for the help, I think I have a good starting point!
Frank