This afternoon, my garden buddy Lynn from Sin City to Slaterville stopped by for some Joe-Pye weed (or as she prefers boneset) to plant in her ditch.
I’m more than happy to share. It’s not like it’s scarce around here. In fact, the plant defines this place with it’s wet soils along the wetland. I’ve got several cultivars planted around the place. But I’m fond of the wild…
Bowed by the rain, it bounced back just fine.
Plenty o’Joe-Pye out into the wetland.
It was fun, Craig! Thanks so much. Your place is so inspiring. To clarify, I call the pink one Joe-Pye and the white one boneset, but I’m the transplant here and don’t honestly know if both are both. I just like saying, “boneset” and knowing they both have a medicinal history, as Jeff was saying, too. Is the sunlit photo from this evening? We had a little shine through there at the end, but I was too muddy to go and grab the camera.
Lynn, you’re absolutely right on the ‘boneset’ common name. According to my well-worn copy of ‘A to Z’, E. perfoliatum is known as boneset or thoroughwort. Several other species (including the other ones we were digging) are Joe Pye Weed. Lots of other cool names in that genus, my favorite being hemp agrimony.
According to botanical.com, about boneset: “no plant in American domestic practice (has) more extensive and frequent use”
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/b/bonese65.html
I’d love to take a course just in the origin of plant names.
Love the Joe Pye in the wetland…how beautiful…i only have one plant in it’s first year…am hoping to get a cutting or two next spring to multiply…the patch with the solidago are particularly inspiring!