Friends and phlox

Possibly prairie phlox

Whenever I visit friends who live in the country, not only do I like to see their cultivated gardens, I also wander through their marginal areas, the transition between what is cultivated and maintained and the natural habitat.  I am more likely to ask for a piece of plant from the marginal habitats than their cultivated gardens.  My friends have gotten used to my strange requests.

Possibly blue phlox

Two of my prettiest finds have been native phlox.   A quick search through my native plant book lists at least nine native varieties (and since my book is not exhaustive, there are probably more than that).  I think what I have are blue phlox and prairie phlox but I won't swear to it since I identified them myself.

The prairie phlox looked small and insignificant in my friend's yard.  It was competing with grass and getting mowed or was under a significant tree canopy.  I brought home a few sprigs, planted them in my rain garden, and let them go.  Not only are they evergreen perennials, they freely reseed so each spring the prairie phlox might turn up in a new place.

The blue phlox has better manners.  It is perennial but seems to stay put, spreading through an expanding root system.  It also blooms early in the spring, creating an amazing pop of color in my shaded garden. 

Thanks to good friends who let me dig up the "weeds" on the edges of their yards.