F LORA & FAUNA
GEORGIA SAVORY
Clinopodium carolinianum
While most of the herbs we use in our kitchens are from the Mediterranean region, this handsome sub-shrub from the mint family is native to the South. Georgia savory( Clinopodium carolinianum) grows only one to two feet wide and tall. It is a great plant to use as edging in a perennial garden. It blooms in late summer with tubular light purple and pink flowers and is typically mobbed by butterflies and skippers. Deer do not bother this plant. It prefers dry, welldrained soil and full sun.
IRONWEEDS
Vernonia sp.
Ironweeds( Vernonia sp.) are tall beauties and a common sight along roadsides when fall arrives. While their vivid magenta flowers attract many butterflies to sip nectar and caterpillars to munch leaves, deer ignore them. The denticulate longhorn bee( Melissodes denticulatus), a small ground nester around half the size of the honeybee, is a specialist bee, relying on this plant’ s pollen to feed its offspring. In winter, the seed heads feed sparrows, juncos, and finches. Try to fit one of the smaller varieties into your garden so you can enjoy the varied insects and birds it attracts!
ROOTS 2025 • 85