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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

A sweet coneflower

This is Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers,' otherwise known as sweet coneflower, and it's a great example of a plant you read about but don't fully appreciate till you see it in the flesh. I found it at Chanticleer, in Wayne, in the cutting garden, I believe, but it was two weeks ago and the memory is fading. I've either not seen it since it came on the market in 2003 or didn't pay attention, but it's definitely on the radar now. You can tell it's related to the black-eyed Susan, and we all like that one well enough. But it's different - five feet tall or so with quill-shaped, rolled petals, giving it a spare, bright-eyed, pinwheel look. It apparently was named for the nurseryman and prairie restoration specialist who came upon it along a streambed in Illinois and gets its common name - sweet coneflower - from the slight vanilla scent it occasionally gives off. I didn't think to smell it. But it's definitely like the name says. Sweet.
Posted by virginia smith @ 4:43 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
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About Virginia A. Smith
Ginny Smith, a Philadelphia native, worked as a reporter at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Ohio – with six short months at the end of the Bulletin tossed in – before returning to Philadelphia in 1985 to join the Inquirer. Her favorite beats here have included Center City, roving around Pennsylvania (and getting paid for it!) and alternative medicine. She’s also been City Editor and Pennsylvania Editor. Ginny has been happily writing – and learning - about gardening fulltime since 2006. She’s won two silver medals of achievement from the national Garden Writers Association and in 2011, Bartram’s Garden honored her with its Green Exemplar award for her stories about “the region’s deeply rooted horticultural history, cultural attractions and bountiful gardens.”
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