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www.southerngraceva.com 5309 South Seminole Trail | Madison, Virginia | 540-948-2239 Woodland Tobacco (Nicotaina)
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Given the historical significance of tobacco to Virginia history, this night-blooming beauty is definitely one to investigate. Woodland tobacco is a clumping annual that grows 4 to 5 feet tall, with distinctive lime green foliage and delicate trumpet-shaped blossoms whose fragrance has been likened to buttercream frosting and jasmine. They are outstanding border plants, and make a lovely background in a sunny flowerbed where their height and spread helps fill in bare spots and their blossoms can be appreciated. Keep in mind that woodland tobacco is hearty and self-seeding, so if you like to be in charge of where the next crop goes, you’ll need to deadhead spent flowers. An added bonus? The sticky substance that woodland tobacco exudes when cut attracts and traps many garden pests such as aphids or whiteflies. Sea Holly (Eryngium)
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Sea holly is a showy must-try for gardeners who love a vibrant blue specimen in their gardens. Sea holly grows 3 to 4 feet tall with spiny, decorative bracts and large, egg-shaped blooms, most commonly in blue but also sometimes in white. These flowers are beautiful in fresh arrangements but are also gorgeous dried. They are very drought-tolerant and do best when seeds are sown directly into well-drained soil. With spiky, undulating leaves, sea holly resembles an underwater creature and lends graceful movement to flower beds where it grows well as a companion planting with yarrow, artemesia and daylilies. In Elizabethan times, it was prized as an aphrodisiac, but more recently, and perhaps far more exciting to avid gardeners: it’s a deer repellant. C h a r l o t t e s v i l l e h o m e S e p t e m b e r / O c t o b e r 2 0 1 4