The Journey Museum
IN OUR GARDEN

Plant Photo
Plant Description

Penstemon strictus Penstemon. We are fortunate to have in the Black Hills an abundance of this fine plant. This specimen, strictus, is available from many greenhouses as a cultivated plant. It is a first cousin, if not the same as the wild penstemon glaber or smooth beardtongue. It is adaptable, hardy and produces not only lovely spikes of flowers but also beautiful seed heads which can be used in dried arrangements. The crown of the plant will stay green most of the winter. It will produce dense mats of plants although it is not hard to manage.

Tulipa Tarda Daystemon. We can only wish that this little native of Central Asia were native to the Black Hills. However, we plant it and enjoy it for its vigor and bright color in the early spring. Tulipa tarda has been described only since 1933 but it quickly earned a place in spring gardens. It is a short, multi-branching little tulip that is adaptable in most settings. It goes dormant after bloom but often produces lovely, woody seed pods which are used in dried arrangements.

Pulsatilla Patens Pasque. Of all the native spring flowers this is the one most eagerly awaited. It is the state flower of South Dakota. It is now possible to purchase the native as cultivated plant stock from area greenhouses and we recommend doing that. Although they grow in some demanding sites in the wild, ours are very happy in highly organic, well-draining soils. The plant will remain green almost all year. After the flowers bloom out, the seeds heads are produced with long silky filaments which are also attractive. Pasque, if undisturbed, will slowly create a patch of several plants.

Amelanchier alnifolia Serviceberry. Fortunately this lovely shrub/small tree is finding a place for itself in our landscapes. In the wild it forms thickets by root sprouting. Its habit of producing tip branches makes it appropriate for many domestic settings. It flowers in early spring and produces berries that are much favored by birds as well as other animals and humans. The Native Americans made wide use of the berries as a food. One of the primary uses of serviceberries was as an ingredient in pemmican.

Oenothera Comanche Campfire. Evening Primrose. Sundrops. The original plant was cultivated from seeds collected in western Oklahoma by the GreatPlants for the Great Plains group in Nebraska and introduced to the public in 2001. The large shiny silver leaves are complimented by ruby stems and large yellow flowers in the late summer. It is drought resistant and has proven hardy in our gardens. The plants are available in local greenhouses.

Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' Stiff upright flowers are pink in July, turn beige in August. It has a wheat-like appearance. This compact and upright grass is valued in the garden for its hardiness, winter interest and adaptability. It will tolerate most soils. It does not demand great water but it is advisable to water it in the heat. Grows to 4 1/2 ft. It is found throughout the gardens at The Journey Museum. Available as a potted plant at most greenhouses/nurseries.

Achillea millefolium, common white yarrow. This plant is very badly behaved in a flower bed and needs to be deadheaded and watched closely because it will spread mindlessly. The advantage to having some is that it is a host plant for a number of beneficial insects. It forms a dense, feathery mat which is almost evergreen. It is hardy. The flowers dry well. It is a fine plant for a truly wild area; otherwise it should be ruthlessly disciplined. It is found throughout The Journey Museum gardens. It is easy to get a "start" from a friend's garden. Greenhouses tend to carry colored achillea which often behaves a little better.

Blue Lupine The Black Hills has at least two varieties of native lupine, according to Johnson and Larson in Plants of the Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains. The example we have growing in our front north garden, back by the rocks, is a domestic cultivar raised from seed. It probably is doing well because the rocks protect it from the strong north-west winds and they also retain heat. Lupine is a lovely late spring plant. We find that it is very sensitive to its location - doing well here in a fairly protected site. Lupine is almost always available in the spring as started plants in greenhouses.

The Lily The lily native to the Black Hills, the incredibly beautiful wood lily, lilium philadelphicum, grows from a scaly bulb but seems to have a root as long as a bad joke. Because they are difficult to transplant and because, ethically, this is not the right thing to do, we raise a variety of domestic lilies in the Journey Museum gardens. This is a L.A. Hybrid, a new cultivar that has lovely, large flowers, strong color, vigorous growth and is hardy for this area. They make beautiful cut flowers. Left alone in the garden they produce healthy clumps in a short time. The L.A. Hybrid is available in most greenhouses in the spring.

Nearly Wild Roses Our true Black Hills native rose is the rosa arkansana. It is a bit smaller than its cultivated cousin which we have in the gardens, 'Nearly Wild', which is featured in the front gardens, is a magnificent rugosa shrub rose selection that was hybridized over 60 years ago. This rose blooms steadily, is virtually problem free and stays small. We trim ours as they finish blooming until late August when the last bloom is retained to make rose hips for winter interest. In the spring we clean them a bit. Ours thrive on animal manures and organic mulch. These roses are available as potted specimens in greenhouses in the spring.

Walker's Low(blue mint) The mint family is large and unfortunately it has received a bad reputation due to its habit of spreading and generally trying to conquer the world. 'Walker's Low' pictured here is a solution to the presumed mint problem because it is a sterile plant, won't spread, keeps its form, blooms steadily, takes heavy pruning and provides almost constant color in the garden as well as a cloud of butterflies and bees. Because it is growing in popularity, it is usually easy to find as a started plant in the greenhouses. It is a perennial.

Callirhoe Although we don't have callirhoe growing as a native in the Black Hills, the callirhoe or poppy mallow is a Great Plains native. This one, the callirhoe involucrata, 'Wine Cups' forms a mat with bright purple cup-shaped flowers all summer. Another variety we have in the gardens is a new release from the University of Nebraska Statewide Arboretum GreatPlants project. It is 'Logan Calhoun' and has white flowers. These perennials are available as started plants in the greenhouses in the spring.

Cerastium Tomentosum This plant, cerastium tomentosum, is the domesticated cousin of the lovely spring native, cerastium arvense, prairie chickweed. Cerastium tomentosum is known best by its common name, 'Snow in Summer.' When it blooms it truly looks like a snowbank. This long-lived perennial is hardy if placed in well-draining soil. After it blooms, shear it back and it will regrow a lovely mat of silver-gray leaves. It looks best when several (a dozen or more) of the plants are planted in a drift. They are available in the spring from greenhouses.

Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum(ox-eye daisy) It is ironic that the most common daisy seen in the hills in the spring is really part of the chrysanthemum family. This plant, the ox-eye daisy, is chrysanthemum leucanthemum, which is fun to try to say quickly with a mouth full of crackers. It is hardy, colorful, spreads madly unless dead-headed after bloom, is easy to divide and share and almost impossible to kill. It is a perennial (as well as a re-seeder) and is usually available at the greenhouses.

Hen and Chicks It is sometimes still possible to find clumps of sedum, succulents and sempervivens growing around deserted claim sites and deserted farm and ranch houses. These plants "traveled well" as early settlers moved across the prairies and hills. These little ground cover plants are generally hardy, always colorful and remarkably easy to move about and share. They will grow in almost any kind of soil and tolerate a wide variety of conditions - a fact that should endear them to any gardener. These are almost always available form greenhouses. Most people who have them in their gardens are willing to share. There are several specialty growers. Check the internet for appropriate web sites.

Monarda Monarda, bee balm, horsemint, Oswego tea. This is a plant that has been hybridized endlessly so there are numerous cultivars to select from. These are our true natives that carpet the meadows in the late summer and perfume the air. Monarda, at least the native, is well suited to slightly moist areas, semi-bogs and water-collecting swales. It is not a particularly successful cut flower. The leaves are used as a tea by Native Americans and some herbalists. Our native monarda was removed from private property with permission in the early fall. There are many named cultivars available from most greenhouses.

Helianthus Who doesn't love a sunflower? Ours are being planted primarily by birds, squirrels and the occasional mouse and we usually leave the sunflowers where they want to be. They are well suited to this climate and our soils; they are fine cut flowers, and left in the garden, return the favor to the birds by providing them food. Many varieties and cultivars of sunflowers are usually available as started plants in greenhouses in the spring. They are also very easy to grow from seed. If the seed head is left on the plant in the fall the wind and the birds will plant more.

Asclepius incarnata Swamp Milkweed. This wonderful plant, host to butterflies and bees, lover of slightly wet places, produces lovely dusty pink flowers in summer. It is a native perennial. One of the late season joys of the milkweed is the beautiful pods that can be harvested and used in dry arrangements. Left to reseed, it willingly obliges and it is possible to have a lovely community of milkweed in a couple of seasons. (If you don't want the babies, weed them out.) This can be found as a started plant in some greenhouses and catalogs. Once in place it will spread nicely if the spent blooms are allowed to set seed.

Nigella Love-in-a-Mist. This is not a native plant to this area. Rather it is a gift of the wind. Nigella, also called Persian Jewels, is a lovely little annual that reseeds with recklessness. It is treasured in most gardens for the lacy, open elegant flowers and the beautiful seed pods that do well in dried arrangements. It tends to germinate, mature, bloom and set seed at least twice in a season. The small plants - from fall seeds - can stay green all winter. There is no real reason to remove it from the garden as it wanders about, willfully during the season. It makes a good cut flower. Start from seed. They will multiply rapidly by seed after that.

Coreopsis Tickseed. This is one of the colorful plants that dot our native meadows. This is wild seed, which produces rich mahogany and mahogany and yellow flowers. We planted a limited amount of seed in the spring of 2002 and were delighted to find that the wind has scattered the seeds from those plants nicely about the gardens. Tickseed is a fine cut flower. Because of its tendency to wander, it might be difficult to maintain in a formal bed. The seed for the Plains Coreopsis, an annual, was obtained from Wildseed Farms, Fredricksburg, Texas (www.wildseedfarms.com). We let it reseed.

Solidago Goldenrod. Here is a plant whose reputation has suffered unfairly. There are those who label it the hayfever culprit and that is wrong. Plants whose pollen is spread by the wind cause hayfever; goldrenrod is pollinated by insects. Goldenrod is native to our area and adds bands of color to late season meadows. In the garden it is a wonderful plant, good cut flower, gives great color and is heat hardy. There are a number of fine cultivars available in the greenhouses. There is a choice of height, texture, and to a lesser degree - bloom time.

Heliopsis helianthoides False Sunflower. This is a very tidy first cousin to the native sunflower. It is a robust plant producing beautiful double flowers. It does well in heat, is a hardy perennial and is a good cut flower. It blooms mid-summer until frost. This is available as a started plant in most greenhouses.

Phlox paniculata Tall garden phlox. This, along with daylilies, lilac and perhaps some old roses was sure to be found around a settler's home. Tall garden phlox are hardy perennials, spread slowly, are good butterfly magnets, fine cut flowers and survivors of heat and wind. There are numerous varieties of this fine perennial. They will spread slowly and are easy to transplant. Look in the greenhouses in the spring.

Hemerocallis fulva The common daylily, also known as the orange lily, tawny lily or ditch lily has a hard time competing with some of its highly hybridized cousins. However, as one of the flowers that settled the Great Plains it ranks right at the top. They can still be found growing happily and vigorously around the crumbling foundations of long-deserted farm and ranch building. Ours came from plants grown for several generations in and around Rapid City. They are our living pioneers. This fine old perennial is still available in many catalogs. It is also easy to get a shovel-full from a friend. The greenhouses tend to carry the newer cultivars (which are also very nice!) but may also have this wonderful old plant.

Sedum The gardens at The Journey contain many specimens of sedum - some we purchased and some came in pots and boxes from the gardens of museum volunteers. When the sedums, succulents and sempervivens bloom. it is quite a show, usually encouraging visitors to stop and admire the plants. We have varieties that bloom white, pink, red and yellow at varying times of the spring and summer. Because we don't trim them until they have set seed, we find ours is spreading, both vegetatively and by seed. Sedums, succulents and sempervivens are very popular now. Check the greenhouses in the spring for a good selection. Some spread very quickly, several are very slow growing. Almost all are good candidates for the front of borders and rock gardens.

Keep checking back for updates as we continue to add more plants.

Back to The Journey Museum home page

Plant Photo	Plant Description
	*Penstemon strictus* Penstemon. We are fortunate to have in the Black Hills an abundance of this fine plant. This specimen, strictus, is available from many greenhouses as a cultivated plant. It is a first cousin, if not the same as the wild penstemon glaber or smooth beardtongue. It is adaptable, hardy and produces not only lovely spikes of flowers but also beautiful seed heads which can be used in dried arrangements. The crown of the plant will stay green most of the winter. It will produce dense mats of plants although it is not hard to manage.
	*Tulipa Tarda* Daystemon. We can only wish that this little native of Central Asia were native to the Black Hills. However, we plant it and enjoy it for its vigor and bright color in the early spring. Tulipa tarda has been described only since 1933 but it quickly earned a place in spring gardens. It is a short, multi-branching little tulip that is adaptable in most settings. It goes dormant after bloom but often produces lovely, woody seed pods which are used in dried arrangements.
	*Pulsatilla Patens* Pasque. Of all the native spring flowers this is the one most eagerly awaited. It is the state flower of South Dakota. It is now possible to purchase the native as cultivated plant stock from area greenhouses and we recommend doing that. Although they grow in some demanding sites in the wild, ours are very happy in highly organic, well-draining soils. The plant will remain green almost all year. After the flowers bloom out, the seeds heads are produced with long silky filaments which are also attractive. Pasque, if undisturbed, will slowly create a patch of several plants.
	*Amelanchier alnifolia* Serviceberry. Fortunately this lovely shrub/small tree is finding a place for itself in our landscapes. In the wild it forms thickets by root sprouting. Its habit of producing tip branches makes it appropriate for many domestic settings. It flowers in early spring and produces berries that are much favored by birds as well as other animals and humans. The Native Americans made wide use of the berries as a food. One of the primary uses of serviceberries was as an ingredient in pemmican.
	*Oenothera* Comanche Campfire. Evening Primrose. Sundrops. The original plant was cultivated from seeds collected in western Oklahoma by the GreatPlants for the Great Plains group in Nebraska and introduced to the public in 2001. The large shiny silver leaves are complimented by ruby stems and large yellow flowers in the late summer. It is drought resistant and has proven hardy in our gardens. The plants are available in local greenhouses.
	*Calamagrostis x acutiflora* 'Karl Foerster' Stiff upright flowers are pink in July, turn beige in August. It has a wheat-like appearance. This compact and upright grass is valued in the garden for its hardiness, winter interest and adaptability. It will tolerate most soils. It does not demand great water but it is advisable to water it in the heat. Grows to 4 1/2 ft. It is found throughout the gardens at The Journey Museum. Available as a potted plant at most greenhouses/nurseries.
	*Achillea millefolium,* common white yarrow. This plant is very badly behaved in a flower bed and needs to be deadheaded and watched closely because it will spread mindlessly. The advantage to having some is that it is a host plant for a number of beneficial insects. It forms a dense, feathery mat which is almost evergreen. It is hardy. The flowers dry well. It is a fine plant for a truly wild area; otherwise it should be ruthlessly disciplined. It is found throughout The Journey Museum gardens. It is easy to get a "start" from a friend's garden. Greenhouses tend to carry colored achillea which often behaves a little better.
	*Blue Lupine* The Black Hills has at least two varieties of native lupine, according to Johnson and Larson in Plants of the Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains. The example we have growing in our front north garden, back by the rocks, is a domestic cultivar raised from seed. It probably is doing well because the rocks protect it from the strong north-west winds and they also retain heat. Lupine is a lovely late spring plant. We find that it is very sensitive to its location - doing well here in a fairly protected site. Lupine is almost always available in the spring as started plants in greenhouses.
	*The Lily* The lily native to the Black Hills, the incredibly beautiful wood lily, lilium philadelphicum, grows from a scaly bulb but seems to have a root as long as a bad joke. Because they are difficult to transplant and because, ethically, this is not the right thing to do, we raise a variety of domestic lilies in the Journey Museum gardens. This is a L.A. Hybrid, a new cultivar that has lovely, large flowers, strong color, vigorous growth and is hardy for this area. They make beautiful cut flowers. Left alone in the garden they produce healthy clumps in a short time. The L.A. Hybrid is available in most greenhouses in the spring.
	*Nearly Wild Roses* Our true Black Hills native rose is the rosa arkansana. It is a bit smaller than its cultivated cousin which we have in the gardens, 'Nearly Wild', which is featured in the front gardens, is a magnificent rugosa shrub rose selection that was hybridized over 60 years ago. This rose blooms steadily, is virtually problem free and stays small. We trim ours as they finish blooming until late August when the last bloom is retained to make rose hips for winter interest. In the spring we clean them a bit. Ours thrive on animal manures and organic mulch. These roses are available as potted specimens in greenhouses in the spring.
	*Walker's Low(blue mint)* The mint family is large and unfortunately it has received a bad reputation due to its habit of spreading and generally trying to conquer the world. 'Walker's Low' pictured here is a solution to the presumed mint problem because it is a sterile plant, won't spread, keeps its form, blooms steadily, takes heavy pruning and provides almost constant color in the garden as well as a cloud of butterflies and bees. Because it is growing in popularity, it is usually easy to find as a started plant in the greenhouses. It is a perennial.
	*Callirhoe* Although we don't have callirhoe growing as a native in the Black Hills, the callirhoe or poppy mallow is a Great Plains native. This one, the callirhoe involucrata, 'Wine Cups' forms a mat with bright purple cup-shaped flowers all summer. Another variety we have in the gardens is a new release from the University of Nebraska Statewide Arboretum GreatPlants project. It is 'Logan Calhoun' and has white flowers. These perennials are available as started plants in the greenhouses in the spring.
	*Cerastium Tomentosum* This plant, cerastium tomentosum, is the domesticated cousin of the lovely spring native, cerastium arvense, prairie chickweed. Cerastium tomentosum is known best by its common name, 'Snow in Summer.' When it blooms it truly looks like a snowbank. This long-lived perennial is hardy if placed in well-draining soil. After it blooms, shear it back and it will regrow a lovely mat of silver-gray leaves. It looks best when several (a dozen or more) of the plants are planted in a drift. They are available in the spring from greenhouses.
	*Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum(ox-eye daisy)* It is ironic that the most common daisy seen in the hills in the spring is really part of the chrysanthemum family. This plant, the ox-eye daisy, is chrysanthemum leucanthemum, which is fun to try to say quickly with a mouth full of crackers. It is hardy, colorful, spreads madly unless dead-headed after bloom, is easy to divide and share and almost impossible to kill. It is a perennial (as well as a re-seeder) and is usually available at the greenhouses.
	*Hen and Chicks* It is sometimes still possible to find clumps of sedum, succulents and sempervivens growing around deserted claim sites and deserted farm and ranch houses. These plants "traveled well" as early settlers moved across the prairies and hills. These little ground cover plants are generally hardy, always colorful and remarkably easy to move about and share. They will grow in almost any kind of soil and tolerate a wide variety of conditions - a fact that should endear them to any gardener. These are almost always available form greenhouses. Most people who have them in their gardens are willing to share. There are several specialty growers. Check the internet for appropriate web sites.
	*Monarda* Monarda, bee balm, horsemint, Oswego tea. This is a plant that has been hybridized endlessly so there are numerous cultivars to select from. These are our true natives that carpet the meadows in the late summer and perfume the air. Monarda, at least the native, is well suited to slightly moist areas, semi-bogs and water-collecting swales. It is not a particularly successful cut flower. The leaves are used as a tea by Native Americans and some herbalists. Our native monarda was removed from private property with permission in the early fall. There are many named cultivars available from most greenhouses.
	*Helianthus* Who doesn't love a sunflower? Ours are being planted primarily by birds, squirrels and the occasional mouse and we usually leave the sunflowers where they want to be. They are well suited to this climate and our soils; they are fine cut flowers, and left in the garden, return the favor to the birds by providing them food. Many varieties and cultivars of sunflowers are usually available as started plants in greenhouses in the spring. They are also very easy to grow from seed. If the seed head is left on the plant in the fall the wind and the birds will plant more.
	*Asclepius incarnata* Swamp Milkweed. This wonderful plant, host to butterflies and bees, lover of slightly wet places, produces lovely dusty pink flowers in summer. It is a native perennial. One of the late season joys of the milkweed is the beautiful pods that can be harvested and used in dry arrangements. Left to reseed, it willingly obliges and it is possible to have a lovely community of milkweed in a couple of seasons. (If you don't want the babies, weed them out.) This can be found as a started plant in some greenhouses and catalogs. Once in place it will spread nicely if the spent blooms are allowed to set seed.
	*Nigella* Love-in-a-Mist. This is not a native plant to this area. Rather it is a gift of the wind. Nigella, also called Persian Jewels, is a lovely little annual that reseeds with recklessness. It is treasured in most gardens for the lacy, open elegant flowers and the beautiful seed pods that do well in dried arrangements. It tends to germinate, mature, bloom and set seed at least twice in a season. The small plants - from fall seeds - can stay green all winter. There is no real reason to remove it from the garden as it wanders about, willfully during the season. It makes a good cut flower. Start from seed. They will multiply rapidly by seed after that.
	*Coreopsis* Tickseed. This is one of the colorful plants that dot our native meadows. This is wild seed, which produces rich mahogany and mahogany and yellow flowers. We planted a limited amount of seed in the spring of 2002 and were delighted to find that the wind has scattered the seeds from those plants nicely about the gardens. Tickseed is a fine cut flower. Because of its tendency to wander, it might be difficult to maintain in a formal bed. The seed for the Plains Coreopsis, an annual, was obtained from Wildseed Farms, Fredricksburg, Texas (www.wildseedfarms.com). We let it reseed.
	*Solidago* Goldenrod. Here is a plant whose reputation has suffered unfairly. There are those who label it the hayfever culprit and that is wrong. Plants whose pollen is spread by the wind cause hayfever; goldrenrod is pollinated by insects. Goldenrod is native to our area and adds bands of color to late season meadows. In the garden it is a wonderful plant, good cut flower, gives great color and is heat hardy. There are a number of fine cultivars available in the greenhouses. There is a choice of height, texture, and to a lesser degree - bloom time.
	*Heliopsis helianthoides* False Sunflower. This is a very tidy first cousin to the native sunflower. It is a robust plant producing beautiful double flowers. It does well in heat, is a hardy perennial and is a good cut flower. It blooms mid-summer until frost. This is available as a started plant in most greenhouses.
	*Phlox paniculata* Tall garden phlox. This, along with daylilies, lilac and perhaps some old roses was sure to be found around a settler's home. Tall garden phlox are hardy perennials, spread slowly, are good butterfly magnets, fine cut flowers and survivors of heat and wind. There are numerous varieties of this fine perennial. They will spread slowly and are easy to transplant. Look in the greenhouses in the spring.
	*Hemerocallis fulva* The common daylily, also known as the orange lily, tawny lily or ditch lily has a hard time competing with some of its highly hybridized cousins. However, as one of the flowers that settled the Great Plains it ranks right at the top. They can still be found growing happily and vigorously around the crumbling foundations of long-deserted farm and ranch building. Ours came from plants grown for several generations in and around Rapid City. They are our living pioneers. This fine old perennial is still available in many catalogs. It is also easy to get a shovel-full from a friend. The greenhouses tend to carry the newer cultivars (which are also very nice!) but may also have this wonderful old plant.
	*Sedum* The gardens at The Journey contain many specimens of sedum - some we purchased and some came in pots and boxes from the gardens of museum volunteers. When the sedums, succulents and sempervivens bloom. it is quite a show, usually encouraging visitors to stop and admire the plants. We have varieties that bloom white, pink, red and yellow at varying times of the spring and summer. Because we don't trim them until they have set seed, we find ours is spreading, both vegetatively and by seed. Sedums, succulents and sempervivens are very popular now. Check the greenhouses in the spring for a good selection. Some spread very quickly, several are very slow growing. Almost all are good candidates for the front of borders and rock gardens.

The Journey Museum IN OUR GARDEN

Plant Photo

Plant Description

If you have any questions, comments, or helpful hints please Send Us An Email This page revised by Gary Hargens, June 20, 2003.

The Journey Museum
IN OUR GARDEN

If you have any questions, comments, or helpful hints please Send Us An Email
This page revised by Gary Hargens, June 20, 2003.