Gillette's Habitat GardenAbout 150 sq ft · west wall of the house, part sun to part shade from the silver maple and willows · moist clay outer arc (FAC to FACW), dry 18-24 in eave strip · Floodplain / Riparian Woodland (CEGL006219)
Section A, Deck Pocket (sunniest): purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis), woodland stonecrop (Sedum ternatum), red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), hyssop 'Blue Fortune' (Agastache, hybrid).
Section B, Main Arc: lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata), purple coneflower 'Pica Bella' (Echinacea purpurea 'Pica Bella'), smooth phlox 'Morris Berd' (Phlox glaberrima 'Morris Berd'), aromatic aster 'October Skies' (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'October Skies'), great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), American alumroot (Heuchera americana) x2, hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus), foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis), Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica, eave), limestone wild petunia (Ruellia strepens), garden phlox 'Glamour Girl' (Phlox paniculata 'Glamour Girl'), bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' (Monarda 'Raspberry Wine').
Not Ohio native: Indian pink (Spigelia marilandica, US native), sweet coneflower (Rudbeckia subtomentosa, US native), Short's goldenrod 'Solar Cascade' (Solidago shortii, a federally listed Kentucky and Indiana endemic), common lilac (Syringa vulgaris, non-native, south end).
Out in 2026: goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' (Section A's only fall bloom) and royal catchfly, both dead.
2026: The dog clipped the Section A coneflower buds and it has struggled since. By late August, 'Blue Fortune' was Section A's only bloom. In Section B, 'Glamour Girl' bloomed and rebloomed, and great blue lobelia and sweet coneflower were open August 29. The lilac was frost-damaged in May.
Next: Section A has no September or October forage. Options: ironweed or smooth blue aster (Symphyotrichum laeve). Other options: blue vervain (Verbena hastata), Culver's root 'Lavendelturm' (Veronicastrum), white wood aster (Eurybia divaricata) for the eave.