February 2026 Moment in Nature

You can be surprised that I chose this for my #momentinnature. This is not a native plant. It was brought here as a result of a long path of botanical explorations that date back hundreds of years. Daffodils (Narcissus) have their origins in the Mediterranean (read more here). Bulbs like daffodils and tulips were part of a lucrative trade in the Netherlands in the 17th century.

European settlers brought them here and planted them in places where they persist even long after the humans have left, fooling some folks into thinking they are native. Here you can see the native American beech foliage in the woods behind this clump, giving all of it a naturalized appearance.

These particular ones haven't outlasted the humans yet. They are in my new yard (and they are in abundance!), planted by the original owners as many as 30 years ago. Deer don't seem interested in them.

So while they are not native, they bring a smile for many folks when they bloom in the winter (the earliest species often do bloom in winter here), their bright flowers appearing to defy the winter weather.

Enjoy the moment.

Goldenrod Gets Its Moment

 

Solidago petiolaris

Goldenrod needs to be in more gardens! Its late summer and fall blooms are very important to resident and migrating pollinators such as the Monarch butterfly. Yet, its message of positivity doesn’t always reach the gardeners. Instead, a fear of aggressive behavior (and the ridiculously inaccurate assumption that it contributes to allergies) keeps people from using it in designed landscapes.

A new trial garden report for goldenrod was released recently by Mt. Cuba Center as part of their ongoing efforts to evaluate native plants for gardens. This is their sixteenth report and two more are in-progress. These 3-year trials focus on the Mid-Atlantic region, but many of the species in their trials are native to Georgia as well. 

I have written about some good goldenrods for Georgia in 2011 and again about a particularly available species in 2023.

The report’s overall assessment on aggressive species is that “only a handful of the evaluated Solidago could be categorized as aggressive, and even these plants can be used to great effect in naturalistic gardens.” This was a full-sun trial but in the Mid-Atlantic that even includes our shade-tolerant species Solidago caesia. Several of the species of Euthamia were included. Of the 70 plants tested. Some of them were straight species, some of them undescribed (listed at the genus name only), and some were cultivars.

For beginners, the report includes a lot of useful information about plant structure (see photo above), taxonomy, habit, and care. Each of the top 13 performers has a detailed description (see example below). There is also a downloadable spreadsheet that I found very useful. Sun exposure, moisture, height, bloom time, insect activity, and even deer browse impacts are shown for each species in the spreadsheet.

I encourage you to read the report (and some of the other reports!) and get inspired, ready to incorporate some goldenrod into your garden this spring. Goldenrod (Solidago) is a keystone perennial for Georgia gardeners and your impact on supporting the local ecosystem increases with your use of it.