You Need This Plant in Your Garden

When searching for a great addition to your pollinator garden, what are some of the prerequisites you require?

•     nectar rich
•     continual blooms
•     waterwise
•     perennial
•    disease resistant

There may be many plants that meet these requirements, but there is one that is often overlooked.  That plant is Zexmenia (Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida). 

Zexmenia defies our hot summer weather and is unperturbed by the humidity.  If it suffers from any disease issues, I have not found them.  Producing bright golden flowers from May thru November, this tough perennial will provide excellent nectar for smaller butterflies and other pollinators in your garden.  It will grow to a height of about two feet. 

I very successfully grow this winner in a brick-enclosed courtyard where most other plants have failed. 

Zexmenia happily survives on nature's rain and most any soil from clay to sand.  

You need this underutilized perennial Zexmenia in your pollinator garden.

💗 For the Love of Seeds 💗

I am totally fascinated with seeds and seed pods, and fall is the prime time of the year to collect.  Seeds come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.  Of course, their real purpose is the reproduction of the plant; however, they are also a source of wonder and fascination.

The largest seed is the Coco de Mer which weighs about 40 pounds.  The smallest seeds are tropical rain forest orchid seeds which weigh only 35 millionths of an ounce.   

I could not possibly give a survey of all the interesting seeds and seed pods, but here are a few.

The Aristolochia tomentosa (Woolly Pipevine) is very intriguing due to its shape.  Most seeds are somewhat round or oval, but this one breaks that rule.  It is a triangle.  The seed pod itself is also interesting.  The grayish seeds are packed tightly together as if they had been lined up inside the pod.

Stately Magnolia trees are beautiful, but equally lovely is its cone and brilliant red seeds.  Many find these cones a nuisance; however, I love to gather them and use them as decorative objects.  Sprayed with shellac, these beauties are a treasure.

Besides being a host and nectar plant for Monarch and Queen butterflies, the milkweed plants produce amazing seeds.  Nestled tightly inside the pod, each of these brown seeds is attached to a fluffy white silk.  The silk can be used in all kinds of commercial applications and floats in water while supporting as much as thirty times its own weight.  Its real purpose, however, is to help the seed fly away to start a new plant.

As you enjoy the cooler weather and have the opportunity to walk around your neighborhood, look for interesting seeds and seed pods.  Nature is fascinating!