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.

Hellebore

Helleborus orientalis 'Pink Lady' Lenten Rose

Helleborus x hybridus

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HELLEBORES AVAILABLE AT VINEYARD GARDEN

Hellebore Ice N' Roses® Bianco (Monrovia)
Hellebore Ice N' Roses® Red (Monrovia)
HelleboreIce N' Roses® Rosado (Monrovia)
Helleborus x iburgensis Ice N' Roses® Merlot Hellebore (Monrovia)
Hellebore Ice N' Roses® Rose (Monrovia)
Helleborus Paris in Pink (Walter’s Garden)
Helleborus Rio Carnival (Walter’s Garden)
Helleborus Romantic Getaway (Walter’s Garden)
Helleborus Maid of Honor (Walter’s Garden)

Helleborus Wedding Bells (Walter’s Garden)
Helleborus Spanish Flare (Walter’s Garden)
Helleborus New York Night (Walter’s Garden)
Helleborus Rome in Red (Walter’s Garden)
Helleborus Snowbells (Walter’s Garden)
Helleborus French Kiss (Walter’s Garden)
Helleborus Sandy Shores (Walter’s Garden)
Helleborus Ivory Prince (Walter’s Garden)
Helleborus Irish Luck (Walter’s Garden)

A hardy, deer resistant perennial with evergreen foliage, long-blooming flowers and multi seasonal interest!

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MARCH GARDEN TIPS

EARLY SPRING COLOR

[PLANT PROFILE] LOBELIA

September 12, 2022 Karen Logan

LOBELIA

30% off

A North American native plant that has spires of colorful hood-like flowers that open from bottom to top. Lobelias are typically found in wet, swampy soil or woodlands. They are a perfect choice for low spots in your garden that stay too wet for most plants. Although, given enough water Lobelias will be fine with more sun. They are an excellent choice for partial shade gardens.

Two perennial species we carry are Lobelia siphilitica, the Native Great Blue, and Lobelia cardinalis, Cardinal flower.

We carry the Lobelia cardinalis in its native green leaf form, as well as Queen Victoria, a red leaf form that won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. A newer cardinalis hybrid we are offering is the Starship Series. This series is a little shorter and better branched. We usually have it in scarlet, rose and sometimes blue.

**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.

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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.

Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Pairs well with ferns or heuchera.

[PLANT PROFILE] CRAPE MYRTLE

September 6, 2022 Karen Logan

Lagerstroemia

[CRAPE MYRTLE]

An all-season performer that shows off colorful foliage in fall, attractive exfoliating bark in winter and showy flowers in the summer! Crape Myrtle bloom from July to September, with some varieties blooming until first frost. Flowers have a crepe like texture and range in color from red, purple, pink, orchid and white. There are several varieties that range in size from 2-foot shrubby dwarfs to large trees.

Crape Myrtles’ showy flowers adds a punch of color in late summer & early fall.

Crape Myrtle (front), Rudbeckia & Hibiscus

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HISTORY

Better known by their common name of Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia is a genus of about 50 plants native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The Genus is named after the director of the Swedish East India Company, Magnus van Lagerstrom, who supplied Carl Linnaeus with plants he collected.

Only 2 species are primarily used in gardening and landscape horticulture. The Lagerstroemia indica from China and Korea was introduced to Charleston, North Carolina in 1790 by French botanist Andre Michaux. In the wild it is a large multi stemmed shrub but 200 years of cultivation have resulted in a huge number of cultivars with varying characteristics.

Another species from Japan Lagerstroemia fauriei is becoming increasingly important as a landscape plant and as a parent in hybrids with L. Indica. This species is more resistant to fungal diseases, has highly ornamental bark and is more cold hardy than L. Indica making it valuable as genetic material for hybridization.

FALL IS A GREAT TIME TO PLANT. allowS CRAPE MYRTLE time to establish their roots before going dormant in winter.

CARE

Prefer full sun. The more sun the more blooms!
Once established, Crape Myrtles are quite drought tolerant.
They need good drainage.
A common mistake is over-pruning.
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USES
Crape myrtles make great additions to any size garden. Some ideas for how to use them:
Plant multiple dwarf or medium-size varieties together to form a hedge.
Use dwarf varieties as colorful additions in borders and beds.
Dwarf varieties make excellent choices for large containers.
A good choice near walkways and driveways.
Use larger varieties as an individual accent

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we have dwarf varieties available to add to your garden if you don’t have space for a larger speciman.

Crape Myrtle ‘Like a Latte’ [photo: walters gardens]

CRAPE MYRTLE VARIETIES WE HAVE AVAILABLE

Lagerstroemia 'Like A Latte' (Dwarf)

Lagerstroemia 'Barista Cherry Mocha' (Dwarf)

Lagerstroemia 'Tuscarora'

Lagerstroemia 'Tonto'

Lagerstroemia 'Muskogee'

Lagerstroemia 'Muskogee Lavender'

Lagerstroemia 'Natchez White'