January 8–21 , 2022
MOUNT WASHINGTON — Standout purple flower clusters are lifted above the garden on stalwart ten-foot stems that create a shrub-like border in late summer. A perennial herbaceous plant indigenous to the tri-state Berkshire region and south to Florida, New York ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis, hardy in zones 3–9, is a spectacular pollinator feeder, alluring to a diversity of butterflies and bees. Yellow swallowtails and monarch butterflies, both resident and migrating, alight and forage in the blossoms. The Great Swallowtail, in the photograph above, is the first I had seen in my decades of gardening. Human visitors and passersby also find New York ironweed magnetic.
In addition to its value as a preeminent pollinator plant, this outstanding native’s seeds provide winter food for birds. Seed heads hold on through harsh weather on their seemingly strong-as-iron stalks, creating a natural bird feeding station. One snowy morning I was drawn into the excitement of a gaggle of small gray birds flying into the stand of twiggy ironweed seed heads, filling the plant with foraging birds. By the time I had a camera in hand, the flock of titmice had mostly flown off, leaving the flock of juncos to continue to pick up seed knocked to the ground.
Vernonia is named for a 17th century British plant explorer, William Vernon. The translation of noveboracensis is novus (“new”) + Eborācum (“York”) + -ēnsis (“originating in”) There are numerous species of Vernonia, many described in an excellent Fine Gardening article, “Ironweed: The Superhero of Fall Plants,” and on another blog. I am enthusiastic about noveboracensis for its height, for perpetuating species stock and observing that it is not vulnerable to powdery mildew.
In my travels, I have seen a 40-foot border of ironweed growing as a screen between properties, part of it along a parking lot. The shade and privacy created by my small planting is my refuge when writing outdoors. I first met New York ironweed in a wetland beside a stream, growing as a companion to equally beautiful but delicate blue vervain, Verbena hastata. Vervain’s glowing, blue-violet inflorescence is in the shape of a candelabra. Once established, New York ironweed seeds itself in open ground. This is a benefit to admirers who are presented with a plant and to wildlife alike.
Delivering on the promise I made about sprouted cabbage in my November 15 column, here’s the follow-up.
By chance, when harvesting red cabbages in late September, I came across an article that described cutting cabbages from their stems as close as possible to the head, leaving the stem in the ground to sprout miniature cabbages, as well as potting the stems to grow indoors. The saute pictured below was prepared from plants that grew in the garden into December. The sprouted cabbage shown above is growing in a sunroom. Its pot includes three large sprouts, soon to be harvested. For more information, find the article here.
