ken_adrian, I took that photo at Island Drive Park in Adrian (which is where I live). Here's what it says about S. marilandica on the U of M herbarium site: Not always easily distinguished from S. lanceolata, though frequently taller and more branched. The sides of the stem in S. marilandica are usually ñ grooved or channeled, while in the other species the sides are usually flat or slightly convex, and the leaves of the latter are often more irregularly toothed (even somewhat incised toward the base). In this photo the stems do seem deeply grooved. I'm going back after the lawn guy leaves and take more photos.

What the pics don't show is how freaking hot it was! I had to get out in the garden at 5 a.m. to pick, bag, box and pack into the truck so that I could get to the farmer's market and be set up by 8 a.m. Then unpack the truck, set up the tables and displays, and get ready. The noon rush was the busiest time and the most fun time. The little children who accompanied their moms or grandparents were so darned cute and generally quite precocious children. We had indepth conversations about EVERYTHING. One little boy asked if he could have just one of my Shasta daisies. When I asked what he was going to do with it, he replied that there was a girl in his Pre-K class that he was in love with and he wanted to impress her (his very words). We talked for awhile and I told him that when his grandparents were ready to leave, if he would come back by I would give him one, so it wouldn't wilt in the heat. He said,"Why thank you! That is so thoughtful of you!" Five years old. I found that most of the children who came to the farmer's market LOVED fresh veggies and fruit. They were very intelligent and had incredible vocabularies. They were very knowledgeable about a good many subjects. What a testiment that good food grows good brains. The other best groups who were customers were the handicap folks, the college students from OSU, and the foreign students and teachers. I was the only vendor selling organic produce and vine-ripened fruit. I offered free printed recipe sheets for things like zucchini bread, and recipes showing how to use the produce & herbs I sold. These contributed to selling many of my wares. I also offered specific helpful information on using herbs for seasonings, as a dietary alternative to salt for people who were on special dietary restrictions. Being knowledgeable about my customer's needs and wants also expanded into becoming aware of the various cultural cuisines - a bonus. I knew what each culture would be looking for to buy and they would come back time after time because of my knowledge about their foods. They often came by to give me recipes to share with others or just for me to try. Some came by to offer me seeds of fruit or herbs to grow that they said I would be able to sell...and I did! It was extremely competitive. It was a lot of fun. I helped others and I learned a lot from them too. It was very rewarding. ~Annie I set out little bowls of fruit and small tomatoes so people could 'sample' them before buying. This worked really well. The little kids came every day to "sample".

I personally think that the best part of native plant gardening is finding native plants in your area, figuring out what these plants are, and propagating some for your yard. This will not only help you plant a great garden, but will help you become familiar with the native plants of your area. This is also the best way to make sure you are growing plants that actually occur in your region. I recommend you do this: Take a careful look at your yard and decide which areas you want to use for native plants. Identify the characteristics of the areas you want to plant. Look at the exposure (south facing, north facing, all day sun, etc.), the types of trees you have, the type of soil (do you have really rocky or sandy soil, is it a clay soil that seems to be wet much of the time?). You don't need to get too scientific about this step, just be aware of the conditions in your yard. Go on walks around your neighborhood, woodlands, forests, etc. in your area and look for native plants that interest you. Be aware of the environments your plants are growing in, and try to focus on plants that grow in areas similar to your yard. This is particularly important if your yard leans toward the extreme in one respect or another. For example, if you are looking for a plant to grow in a really wet part of your yard, look for plants growing in really wet places. Identify the plants that interest you. I think Newcomb's Wildflower Guide is great for identifying flowers. You'll need a different guide to help with trees and shrubs. Once you have found a plant and want to grow it, you can either find a place to buy it, collect seeds, perhaps collect a division or seedlings if you can obtain permission. Some plants can be grown from cuttings, so you won't actually have to remove a plant from the wild in order to have one. How to propagate the plants you want could fill books, so I won't try to tell you too much here. Once you have decided what you want to grow you can look for information on how to grow it. At first it will seem like you'll never get your garden planted, but within a year or two I think you'll start worrying about running out of space to grow new things you discover. I know I never have enough space, but keep seeing new native plants I want to try. One step that you can start as soon as the weather permits is preparing places to plant. The first step is usually removing the non-native plants that are already there. If you have low vegetation (a lawn, for instance) you can start by covering the lawn with a think layer of fallen leaves. This will smother the grass and start building the soil. Good Luck.

It's been growing all summer on a southeast facing slope, basically sun all the heat of the day, with no water and expanding in size. Definitely a hardy thing! Big healthy canes compared to the 1/4" stems of the cut flowers that I rooted (only a few made it) in the spring. Would be a great grow on a slope and leave alone rambler. The scent was so powerful I smelled it on the breeze going 75 miles an hour and looked until I saw it up ahead and across the freeway! The bright pink flowers (what I call "hot pink") gave it away. It is growing at an almost 2,000 ft. elevation in uppermost Shasta County on Hwy 5. Hot in the summer and some snow in the winter.