Lemon Balm

This member of the mint family is a very versatile plant.

Its pretty foliage is typical of a mint with somewhat heart-shaped leaves that have a ruffled surface. The smell is very enticing – especially if you pick a leaf and roll it between your fingers.  It has a close cousin – the Lime Balm.

It makes a lovely addition to your garden as a foliage plant.  The flowers aren’t very noticeable except to pollinators.  Bees and butterflies love this plant

As a mint, it can be used in your cooking or to make tea.  Mints are famous for helping with an upset stomach plus it has the benefit of the lemon flavor.

Another benefit is that it repels mosquitoes.

The only downside is that it is invasive as many mints can be.  Be sure to cut off the flowers before they go to seed, or just let it spread into your lawn and enjoy the lemon scent while you mow the grass.

Butterfly Weed

Photo credit By Eric Hunt - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84315648

Asclepias Tuberosa is the proper name for this unobtrusive plant.  You might never notice it in the garden while it is only in its greenery.

If you knew the common name, you might pull it out thinking it actually is a weed.

However, this is an important plant for pollinators.  When it blooms, its bright orange flower clusters stand out atop the tall plants.  It is a favorite of bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

If you want these in your gardens, it’s best to purchase them from a reputable garden center.  They have long tap roots so if you try to dig up a wild plant, it most likely won’t survive the transplanting process.

It is a relative of the Milkweed – another important pollinator plant.

We need to support the insects that help make our agricultural crops succeed so consider adding a few of these to your garden.

Spiderwort

The name may not be attractive but the plant certainly is.

This is a small to medium-sized plant used mostly to add some lush green foliage to your garden.  The rich blue and purple flowers are a bonus.  Some varieties may have pink, white or red flowers but the blues and purples are most common.

The 3-petal flowers are unusual in their shape. They also seem to grow directly from the ends of the leaves rather than from a separate flower stalk.

They bloom in the morning during the summer and the foliage looks somewhat like a lush ornamental grass.  It grows as a clump so it could look nice along a border.

Your spiderworts can grow quickly under good conditions so they can be divided every few years.

Cardoon

When they’re small, cardoon plants are singularly unimpressive.  It looks like a bunch of scrawny leave jutting up from the ground in a way that is nothing special.

Once it’s fully grown, it is actually very pretty and makes a nice accent plant in your garden.

It can grow up to 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide.  Its arching fronds are now very impressive.

The cardoon is an edible thistle plant that is related to the daisy.  It is also called the Artichoke Thistle.

It has a growing season of 3 to 3-1/2 months before it’s ready to be harvested.  If you plan to eat it, the leaves should be protected from sunlight so they do not develop any chlorophyll. Only the centers of the leaves are eaten.

Cardoon is also a traditional supplement in the treatment of chronic liver and gall bladder diseases, jaundice, hepatitis, arteriosclerosis and the early stages of late-onset diabetes.

However you plan to use it, this is an impressive plant.

Coreopsis

The coreopsis is seen in many flower gardens just because it’s so pretty.

It is also known as Tickseed because its seeds resemble ticks.

It will flower through the summer – mostly with yellow or orange daisy-like flowers.  It can also have flowers in white, pale purple, pink or multi-colors. If you dead-head it, you’ll get more flowers.

There are over 80 varieties with both single and multi blooms.  It is a perennial in our area.

It loves full sun and is drought-tolerant.  Bees and butterflies love it, and it is resistant to damage from deer and rabbits.

They will add some bright color to your garden.

Japanese Knotweed

I’m publishing this article again as it’s very important that people realize how destructive these plants are.  If you have any on your property, it’s time to start spraying it so you may be able to be rid of it in a year or two.  It is easiest to spot when it’s in bloom – usually in July although everything is running late this year due to our long, cold spring.

It may look innocuous or even pretty but the Japanese Knotweed is invading our landscape.  Most people aren’t even aware of how noxious it can be until it’s too late.  According to Wikipedia it is listed by the World Conservation Union as one of the world's worst invasive species.  It was brought into the USA as an ornamental shrub and for erosion control.

This shrub looks a bit like bamboo and can grow up to 15’ tall but it often appears as a much smaller plant.  It has large oval leaves 3-5.5” long and clusters of small cream-colored flowers.  It is in bloom now in mid-September and you’ll often see it growing along the side of the road and in fields and the edge of the woods. 

If you’ve ever had it in your yard and tried to get rid of it, you will know about its “secret weapon.’  This plant spreads by underground runners.  BUT … these aren’t your typical underground runners.  The roots grow quickly and they can grow almost 10’ down with a horizontal spread up to 65’.  The plant itself can grow up to 8” per day.

It steals water and nutrients from other plants in the area and quickly kills or weakens other plants it encounters.  Even though it was introduced to control erosion, it actually causes erosion by crowding out any low-growing plants and leaving bare ground near its base.  It can also affect wildlife by eliminating native food plants and changing native habitat.

You can try to dig it out, but leaving even a ¼” piece of root will allow it to reappear.  The recommended treatment is to apply a glyphosate weed killer such as Roundup.  Even this can take up to 5 years of reapplications to completely eliminate the plants.  If you choose to use a different type of herbicide, be sure to verify it will be effective against this particular plant.  Some herbicides only put the roots into a dormant state and don’t actually kill them.  The best time to spray is when the plant is in bloom and its circulation system is most active.

Do not mow it as some small pieces may actually take root elsewhere.  Any parts of the plant that you cut down need to be bagged and put in the garbage.  It can also be burned if that is allowed in your area, but be sure that every bit of the plant has been incinerated.

For those who prefer not to use chemicals, it will be a long process to eliminate these shrubs.  Cut the plants to the ground and dig out the rhizomes. Be sure to bag all plant matter and dispose of it in your normal trash.  Leaving even a ¼” piece of root will allow it to regrow.  This plant can grow in literally any conditions and is tolerant to salt.

If you find this in your yard, try to get rid of it before it’s a huge problem and if you see it growing wild, report it to your local Parks Department.

Cranberries

New Jersey produces more cranberries than any other state except Massachusetts and Wisconsin.  That seems hard to believe.

There are a lot of boggy areas in south Jersey which are a perfect place to grow this little fruit.

Cranberries grow on small shrubs just like many other berries.  They are unique in the way we harvest them.

The area in which the bushes are grown is flooded and then specialized harvesting equipment gently thrashes the bushes until the berries come loose and float to the top.  Now it’s just a matter of scooping up the berries.

Now, most fruit is sold by the pound in boxes, but cranberries are sold in 100-pound barrels.  It’s like red crude oil (although lumpy oil.)

We eat a lot of jellied cranberries around the holidays but they also go well in chutney, muffins and other foods.  Plus they’re very healthy for you.

Loofah

Did you know that you can grow your own loofah sponges?

It’s not that difficult and can give you bragging rights to a fun product.  They could make great gifts too.

The loofah plant is a large vine, much like many squash plants.  If likes a rich soil and full sun.

You need to plan ahead when growing them in our area.  They’re barely hardy in USDA Zone 6 and since they need a long time to grow, you will need to start them indoors.

Allow plenty of time to get the plants started as they need 6-7 months to produce fruit.  It is actually edible when young but for the “sponge” you need to let it fully mature.

The plant needs plenty of room since the vines can grow well over 20 feet in length.  Plant them outdoors in mid to late May when the weather and the ground have really warmed up.  You should expect to get 8-10 loofah sponges per vine.  They remind me of giant cucumbers.

Once they’ve produced the loofah gourds, tend to the plants until the skin starts to change color to yellow or light brown.  This is the time to pick them and bring them inside to dry.

When the skin is dry enough to crack, remove the skin and the seeds and then hang them to dry.  They can be lightly bleached to lighten them up.

Enjoy them in your next shower.