Thanks for the info! I sometimes wonder what the plants are that I pass by everyday!

I've seen the coreopsis off the freeway close to my house. I love this type of coreopsis - it was one of the first things I ever grew; it was in some pink fluffy seed-holding stuff I bought from Walmart (at that time I used to still shop there!)

I passed by a large Queen Anne's Lace in a sidewalk planting in front of a residence on my way to Piedmont Park the other day - it is so lovely.

Rose

rb

Thank you so much your pictures and for identifying the elderberry. There are some large ones I pass every day and a few times I have about driven off the road trying to get a good look, trying to figure out what it is.

I too, have wondered about those elderberries. They are everywhere up here around cartersville. As for those orange daylilies, also all over the place, I dug a couple up a few years back and brought them home, planted them behind my pool. Last year I guess it was I divided them, to spread them out, but these spread so wonderfully by themselves, I've just been thinking of next year moving a clump or two to elsewhere in the yard to let them colonize and spread at will. They continue to bloom throughtout the season, less heavily, but dependably, apparently.

I tried growing coreopsis from seed a couple of years ago, they died. Hmm, maybe I should try digging them up from the medians, lol.

One you missed, which is a fave of mine, the thistle! I do suppose in a yard garden thistle might not work too incredibly well, but I love seeing them blooming like crazy in the fields and along the roadsides. My two young daughters and I go wildflower every spring, the thistle is a great for long lasting cut flowers. In fact, I'll try to post a picture of a vase of wildflowers including thistle and also what I believe esh ga was refering to as queens anne's lace. But I've never posted a pic before, so it might not work out, but thanks for the thread anyway. I think I'll look into the elderberry bushes - (trees?) as maybes for the shrub garden. Also interested in one more, which is noticable later in the fall by its bunches of red berries. Esh do you know the name of those ones? I have thought they're kinda twisty like henry lauder's walking stick, but I'm not sure. The berries are tiny and appear dryish (though I've never tested them), and last a long time, so I'm not sure the birds care for them.

Anyway, thanks for the info again.

Okay let's see if I can make this work.

The yellow flowers - we call them buttercups though we don't know what they are- they leave a mess of pollen. And there's what I think is the queen anne's lace, and the purple thistle. There's also a couple of purple reddish wild roses on the far side of the vase. They grow like crazy in a nearby field on the edge of some woods. In fact i keep meaning to get a cutting from them, and I reckon now is right about the right time for rose cuttings.

Okay I can't make the picture work. Nevermind. LOL

And since when are you only allowed one post per thread without changing the subject title?

Hey, wanna garden, here is a picture of Queen Anne's lace:

And is this the thistle you mean? Certainly beautiful in it's own thorny way! It is a noxious weed in western states where a lot of ranching takes place. I'd heard you can be fined in Idaho for allow it to grow on your land.

Elderberries are shrubs. It is hard to find the species plant in stores (but you can order them from nurseries that specialize in berries). The purple and yellow cultivars should be available.

Not sure what you're seeing with the red berries. Do you think they are trees or shrubs? Nandinas have clusters of red berries; they are arranged similar to grapes. They are planted around a lot of older homes. Or do you see these berry plants growing wild?

You can post multiple responses, but there seems to be a time limit in which you can use the same title. Most people figure out how to work around it like you did.

Canadian thistle is an invasive weed that is all over. Don't let it grow in your yard unless you want it all over. It spreads by seeds AND underground. And it's very difficult to get rid of.

I have eldeberry in my yard (thanks for identifying it for me) and am trying to get rid of it as well. It too spreads underground. And while I like the white flowers, it grows way too wild for me. I cut ours down to the ground and they are already at 6 feet.

I suggest checking around for reports of how the Elderberry cultivars have performed in your area before spending the money on them. I don't think some (most?) are well-adapted to our Southern heat and humidity, as they are derived from European Sambucus nigra. I purchased two different forms a few years ago in one gallon size, and they died in their containers from the Summer weather before I could even plant them!

Well, the elderberry type shown in the first picture DEFINATELY does VERY WELL in my area. All over the place. But I did think they must be at least somewhat hard to manage, since they are as I said all over the place. Yeah maybe I won't bring that one right into the yard, lol. Don't need to anyway, since there are a few growing along the fence of the farmer's cow pasture behind my house anyway. No thistle either. Lovely in the fields though, and that's where they can stay, and as we've been doing, we can continue our may wildflower-picking jaunts. I actually heard on the radio this year, somewhere in the atlanta area or north thereof they were having a thistle cooking contest. Which I surely can't imagine, I don't even like spiky lettuces.

Yes, esh ga those are the same queen anne's lace as I thought you must have been refering to. They are very prolific up here, and they do last in a vase.

The red berry plants I was refering to are very common up here, in the cartersville area, 30 miles north of the city. They are I guess large shrubs. Not nandina, I don't think, though I suppose it could be a variety of nandina I'm unfamiliar with. The berries are smaller, and grow in perfect bunches. In fact I've used them for holiday decorating. They seem very dry, but I've never tried to pierce one. The twig shape kinda sorta reminds me of the henry lauders, well actually, when I first saw a picture of henry lauder, I thought that was it, but if I recall right, the henry lauder description didn't include clusters of red berries, and the bush isn't really quite as twisted as henry lauder's either, but I'm often all confused, and the bulk of my familiarity with plant life comes from books, so it's easy to get mixed up.

Anyway, no big deal, they're just one of the several wild things that have caught my eye since moving to georgia, and seeing them every year, and using the berry clusters for christmas decor, I've wondered what they are. Maybe I'll figure out how to post a picture by the time fall arrives, and then I'll post a picture of one.

I do like the idea of growing native plants, but I do reckon the truth is that many of these roadside gems aren't real appropriate for yards.

I still have the lilies!

Wanna_garden, I wonder if what you are describing is one of the sumacs? Here's a picture of Staghorn sumac:

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I just noticed that the scientific name for elderberry was wrong in the original. It should be Sambucus canadensis or Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis. Ours is now considered a subspecies of the previously considered European one. It has obviously adapted itself to our hot summers.

There is no doubt that Elderberry can be a big shrub. It does best in a place (like a fence or field) where it can get big and do it's thing. It's not something that every garden can accommodate. Unfortunately, lot sizes seem to be getting smaller and smaller (in order to stay affordable!).

I always enjoy seeing Elderberries and Queen Annes Lace. They make a complimentary pair, both with flat(ish), white inflorescences. I also love seeing big thickets of sumac. They are aggressive spreaders, particularly Smooth Sumac, but a group in full bloom and fall color is impressive.

Lo and behold, at a Home Depot today I saw Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace' for sale! $50 for a plant about 5G size. Now how long will these last in a HD parking lot with no water?? LOL!

Yucca...
I had to go to SC yesterday and was taking a doggy potty break at a truck stop and noticed a couple of yuccas in a cleared over site blooming profusely. I wasn't certain if they are native or what since the companion plants were the usual suspects like... like every one I can think of to name. Maybe someone can clue me in.

Yes, I thought about Yucca after I posted this. There is a house on Trickum Rd. in Woodstock that has about 30 yuccas in a straight line (like a hedge) across their front yard. Every one is in bloom. It's quite a sight.

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Yucca filamentosa is native and that is likely the one you saw. It's an attractive plant in it's way and certainly drought tolerant once established. There are many other yuccas native to the US, most of which are found in Texas and further west.

Here is a link that might be useful: Yucca filamentosa

Do you know how long the blooms last?

Yes esh ga that is it! Good job! You've just identified all of my mysteries.

I'd never recognize it without the berries, but that surely is it.

Yucca. Everywhere. Took my son to a specialty doctor last week in duluth, and we tend to take the long way (shorter distance, longer travel time) because I like it so much better than going all the way down 75 to 285 and across. So we take 140 all the way to roswell instead. It's a nice winding country road. I must have seen yucca growing in a few dozen yards.

Now I had yucca here when we first moved in, but every spring it became literally covered in thousands of little bugs. I don't know what they were, but the yucca was planted right next to the garage door. I have a teenaged son who skateboards; he practically lives in the garage and on the driveway.

After living here for a few years now, I have changed my mind about that, and I no longer let him leave the garage door up all summer because of air conditioning costs. We live in a raised ranch, so allowing the garage to fill up with heat isn't wise. I didn't know that then, and I tore out the yucca and planted a rose vine to keep the yucca bugs from infesting the garage. But the yucca keeps coming back! I cannot seem to get all of its tuberous root. Since it is determined, and I am cheap, this year I dug out part of it as could be dug out and planted it elsewhere -far from the house.

What are those bugs? It's been a couple years so I don't remember them, except for that they were smaller things, and they flew, and they apparently travelled in packs of hundreds and loved yucca.

And on that same basis -the fact that I'm cheap- I might have considered moving some elderberry into my backyard.
My backyard is pretty big, and almost completely bare. When we moved in there was nothing but a large pool and a row of wax myrtles growing behind it up against the fence. I pulled out all but four of the myrtles the first year, and have been trying to get them evened out ever since. I started planting other things, and planning a nice big veggie garden, and then my husband brought home a large rambunctious labrador "puppy".

Long story short ending, I have revised my backyard plan to basically a shrub garden. If you could see my still pretty bare back-yard you'd understand my considering the elderberry shrubs, lol.

On the yucca, I think about two to three weeks, but I'm not positive. There are a few growing roadside up the street still, and I think the blooms last 2 to 3 weeks, no more than a month for sure.

Here is the old thread. Anyone else get excited about roadside natives?

Here is one that got me interested years ago. It took me a while to figure out what it was (after driving by it so many times). This is Asclepias tuberosa, Butterfly weed, host plant for the Monarch butterfly: