I realized, a few years ago, that I don’t know most of the plants that exist around me. They are just wild plants, or weeds, or whatevers. I discovered that any plant I can name, either nickname, or latin name, has a different experience for me than the others which just recede into the background of “whatevers”. I have been doing the practice of studying those plants that exist in the background so they emerge into the foreground for me. This provides a better knowledge of the plant kingdom and the plants exist with distinction.
Here are some recent plants that I have transformed, for myself, from background to distinct.
- Veronica anagallis-aquatica
- Blephilia ciliata
- Actaea racemosa – black cohosh
- Tradescania ohiensis
- Pycnanthemum virginianum
- Ratibida pinnata
- Zizia aurea
- Ruellia strepens
- Desmanthus illinoensis – false sensitive plant
- Monarda fistulosa – Beebalm
- Apocynum cannabinum – Dogbane
- Perilla frutescens














