LOBELIA

September 16, 2026 Karen Logan

LOBELIA

Plant Detective: The Secret World of Cardinal Flowers

by karen blackerby logan

There is nothing quite like sitting quietly in the garden with a sketchbook, playing plant detective and watching nature unfold it’s quiet magic. Lately, I’ve been completely captivated by our native Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis). Watching it through a biomimicry lens, studying how its physical structures, evolutionary strategies, and relationships with pollinators weave together, has provided me with profound insight into a beautiful evolutionary mutualism.

While I was out observing and drawing, a ruby-throated hummingbird came by for a visit, giving me a front-row seat to one of nature's magical partnerships in action.

sketchbook entry about cardinal flowers [karen blackerby logan]

Cardinal Flower and Hummingbird Mutualism

If you look closely at a Cardinal Flower, the details of its design tells a story of co-evolution.

Hummingbirds have exceptional vision for red, unlike bees, which generally cannot see the red color spectrum and lack the physical aspects to access deep nectar. The flower's red, deep tubular structure is a beacon, perfectly matched for the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird's vision and long, slender beaks.

Even more fascinating is the engineering inside the stamen tube. The Cardinal Flower features a hollow angled, stamen tube with brush-like anthers at the tip, safely holding the female stigma inside until the timing is right. When a hummingbird dips its beak in for a drink of nectar, its forehead makes direct contact with this angled brush tube coated in pollen. The pollen precisely transfers onto the bird's forehead, ready to be carried off to pollinate the next flower.

Detail of male phase (upper) and female phase (lower) [image credit: karen blackerby logan]

Detail female phase and petal arrangement [image credit: karen blackerby logan]

Close up of female phase [image credit: karen blackerby logan]

Pollination Strategy

Cardinal Flowers bloom in vertical spires, opening sequentially from the bottom up. Because hummingbirds naturally forage in this same upward direction (where the lower blooms offer the most nectar), self-pollination is prevented.

Each individual flower goes through two distinct phases:

The Male Phase: When the lower blooms first open up, the pollen is available on the anthers, while the female stigma is tucked away in the hollow fused stamen tube .

The Female Phase: As the season progresses and the hummingbirds work their way up the stalk, the older lower blooms age and the pollen phase is complete. The stigmas finally push their way through and open up, ready to catch fresh pollen brought by another hummingbird from a different Cardinal Flower.

The petals are designed for this partnership as well. The two side petals curl back while the lower three cleft petals droop into a funnel-like bullseye for the hummingbird to swoop in. In contrast, the Great Blue Lobelia’s (Lobelia siphilitica) "landing pad" lower petal evolved specifically to invite heavy-bodied native bees to land on.

This evolutionary split between the Cardinal Flower and the Great Blue Lobelia is a great lesson in resource sharing and pollination efficiency, allowing each plant to optimize its own unique pollinator specialist.

**Lobelia Starship Deep Rose & Scarlet Bronze Leaf**

**Lobelia Starship Deep Rose & Scarlet Bronze Leaf**. Rich bronze or purple foliage throughout the growing season. Adds a bold color for the late summer to early autumn garden.

Lobelias in your Garden

While Cardinal Flowers are hummingbird magnets, Great Blue Lobelias are native bee havens and they both deserve a special place in your garden.

In nature, you’ll typically find these North American natives growing in wet, swampy soils, woodland edges, or low, damp spots in the landscape. If you have a rain garden, a spot near a pond or stream, or just a part-shade garden that holds moisture well, they will thrive. With consistently moist soil, they can thrive in sun as well.

Whether you fall in love with the classic native Cardinal Flower, the deep foliage of 'Queen Victoria' (a Royal Horticultural Society Award winner), or the slightly more compact Starship series, these plants bring an incredible sense of place, wonder, and life to the garden.

Grab a sketchbook, find a quiet spot near your flower beds, and see what stories your own garden plants are waiting to tell!

Lobelia ‘Great Blue’. A blue counterpart of the Cardinal Flower. Desirable plant for woodland gardens especially since it blooms bright blue in late summer.

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CARE

Prefer fertile, evenly moist soil.
Can be divided every 2-3 years in spring.
Allow to self sow.
Winter over with stems on.
Can be pinched back before flowering to produce more compact plants

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USES

Woodland paths
Perennial beds and border gardens with moist, well-drained soil.
Given enough water they can be fine with more sun.
Great choice for partial shade gardens
Well-suited for use in rain gardens, around ponds and streams and other moist areas.
Pairs well with ferns and heuchera

Stop by Vineyard Gardens to bring this wonderful native plant home and watch the garden magic unfold!

AUTUMN GARDEN

[PLANT PROFILE] ASTERS

ANEMONE

August 28, 2026 Karen Logan

ANEMONE

WINDFLOWER

The common name windflower comes from the way the delicate, poppy-like blossoms sway gracefully in the breeze, a trait reflected in the Greek word anemos, meaning "wind." Ranging from native spring ephemerals to summer and autumn bloomers, anemones can offer a continuous display from spring through fall. Don't let their whimsical blooms fool you, many varieties are remarkably tough because they spread via underground rhizomes and can form robust colonies over time.

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JAPANESE ANEMONES

Japanese anemones add a magnificent splash of color to the autumn garden when most perennials are beginning to fade. They are exceptional garden extenders that spread happily when sited in moist soils and space to roam.

CARE:

Sunlight: Thrive best in partial shade and protection from harsh afternoon sun. They can tolerate full sun as long as the soil remains consistently moist.
Soil: Prefer rich, moisture-retentive soil. Water regularly during dry spells.
Bloom Time: Mid-summer to late fall.

LANDSCAPE USES:

Mixed borders, cottage gardens, coastal gardens, and naturalized areas.
Moonlight Gardens: White-blooming anemones stand out strikingly at twilight, catching the evening light to create a luminous, glowing effect.

Japanese Anemones We Carry at Vineyard Gardens

Most garden-variety Japanese anemones are hybrids (Eriocapitella × hybrida), varying in height up to 3 to 4 feet. While many popular selections feature single blossoms, we also offer double-flowered forms like 'Pamina'.

'Wild Swan': White blossoms featuring a distinctive bluish-violet band on the reverse of the sepals.
'Honorine Jobert': Classic white single flowers.
'September Charm': Silvery-pink single flowers.
'Robustissima': Vigorous grower with clear pink single flowers.
'Bressingham Glow': Deep, rich rose-pink flowers.
'Pamina': Deep rose-pink double flowers.

Flowering abundantly from mid-summer through late fall, Japanese anemones are a brilliant, elegant alternative to traditional autumn mums.

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NATIVE ANEMONES ON MARTHA’S VINEYARD

**Wood Anemone (Anemone quinquefolia)**

A native spring ephemeral. It blooms early before the overhead tree canopy leafs out, utilizing the spring sun before dying back to dormancy as shade takes over. It typically has 5 sepals (which function as petals) that linger longer than true petals and is why it’s scientific name is quinquefolia meaning five leafed.

**Tall Thimbleweed / Tall Windflower (Anemone virginiana)**

Thrives in partly shaded locations with moist to moderately dry soils. In early summer, it produces greenish-white sepals above dark green foliage. Following the bloom, it develops characteristic thimble-like seed heads that turn fluffy as they disperse in autumn.

**Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis)**

Features long stems topped with white blossoms from May to June. While its foliage looks delicate, it is a very hardy plant that forms dense colonies in moderate to moist soils with partial to full sun.

An excellent choice for a deer deterrent border because most Anemones have a natural bitter compound that make it unpalatable to deer and rabbits.

***Wood Anemone (Anemone nemerosa ‘Vestal’***

ECHINACEA

July 20, 2026 Karen Logan

ECHINACEA

CONEFLOWER

Echinacea comes from the Greek word echinos meaning hedgehog or sea-urchin in reference to the spiny central cone.

A Closer Look at Echinacea

Beauty, Biodiversity, and What to Plant

Walk through any summer garden center and it’s hard to miss the bright, joyful flowers of Echinacea, from the vibrant magenta to fiery oranges to soft whites. Beyond their colorful appeal, coneflowers are adaptable and are pollinator magnets.

Native Coneflowers

At our nursery, we grow several species of North American Native Echinacea from seed, including:

Echinacea purpurea: classic purple coneflower
Echinacea pallida: pale, drooping petals
Echinacea paradoxa: a rare yellow species

Starting plants from seed introduces new genetic combinations, which increases the plant’s ability to adapt to changing conditions and resist disease. These North American natives offer long-term benefits to pollinators, wildlife, and the resilience of the garden itself. Native color palettes are more limited, primarily pinks and yellows, but their ecological value is profound. They are long-lived, drought-tolerant (once established), and deeply rooted in local ecosystems.

Hybrid Coneflowers

Coneflower cultivars are mostly derived from Echinacea purpurea and have been carefully bred for color, size, and form. At the nursery you can find Echinacea in shades of:

Reds (Salsa Red)
Oranges (Adobe Orange)
Greens (Green Twister)
Whites (White Swan)

We sell countless hybrids that the horticultural industry has created from mostly Echinacea purpurea. Hybrids are typically propagated asexually through cuttings or tissue culture to maintain consistency in appearance. This can make them less genetically diverse, and potentially less adaptable, especially under stress from disease or climate extremes. When carefully sited and well-maintained, they’re a stunning and reliable part of any garden design.

Coneflowers come in a rainbow of colors!

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ECHINACEA AVAILABLE AT VINEYARD GARDENS

*If food for pollinators is your number one reason for planting Echinacea, either plant the native species. The doubles are not believed to be good food for pollinators. Many of the doubles are sterile and produce no seed.

USES

Pollinator Magnet: Coneflowers attract a wide variety of butterflies, bees, birds, and other beneficial pollinators, making them a valuable addition to any ecological garden.
Winter Interest & Wildlife Support: Leave the spent flower heads standing through winter. Their seed-filled cones provide an important food source for birds, especially finches. In early spring, simply cut the stems back to the ground to encourage fresh growth.
Medicinal Tradition: Long used in herbal medicine, Echinacea is believed to support the immune system and may help reduce the duration of colds and flu. Their distinctive blooms are often associated with healing and wellness in both gardens and apothecaries.

GROWING CONDITIONS

A hardy herbaceous perennial, Echinacea is native to the Midwestern prairies of the United States and thrives in a wide range of conditions.

Adaptable and resilient, it tolerates drought, heat, humidity, and even poor soils once established.
Best grown in full sun with average to dry, well-drained soil, it doesn’t need rich soil to flourish.
Coneflowers are low-maintenance and rarely troubled by pests or disease. They require little to no fertilizer.
Expect a vibrant display of blooms in mid-summer, with some varieties continuing into fall.

An excellent, long-blooming flower for massing in the border, meadow, native plant garden, naturalized area or wildflower garden. Often massed with black-eyed Susans.

NATIVE SUMMER BLOOMING SHRUBS

HELLEBORE

March 13, 2026 Karen Logan

HELLEBORES

LENTEN ROSE

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On a walk through Coastal Maine Botanical Garden last year at the beginning of May, one of the many surprises I stumbled upon were the enormous array of Hellebores dappled throughout the shade gardens. I was mesmerized by their range of colors from deep red to shades of pink and white. In the shade of the Giles Rhododendron and Perennial Garden, swaths of Hellebores were groundcover for the Rhododendrons and Azaleas. I have always been in awe of Hellebore’s unique flower structure and evergreen foliage but witnessing it in these numbers was just glorious.

Hellebores awaken in mid April when they begin to put on a show with their abundant blooms. Their flowers last for several weeks and once the petals have faded, the sepals, which look like a flower, remain attractive for several months. The sturdy evergreen foliage is appealing well into the winter months. With all their different stages they are the plant that keeps on giving from spring to winter.

Hellebores are perfect in woodland gardens and in shady areas under deciduous trees.

Helebore at Maine Coastal Botanical Garden

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GROWING CONDITIONS & CARE

Easy to grow
12 x 24” H. Spreads over time
Drought tolerant but thrives in slightly moist conditions
Sensitive to poor drainage
Cold hardy and tough
Rabbit and deer resistant
Perfect along shaded borders and woodland gardens
Beautiful when planted under deciduous trees as a ground cover
After a long winter, the large evergreen leaves look flattened and tattered. Remove the worst of these before the flower stalks begin to grow. Do not remove leaves prior to that or may harm plant.