Liatris spicata Bill Cawthon slender spires of scarlet

slender spires of scarlet

needle-like leaves that spiral tightly around the stems

yet takes with surprising ease to ordinary garden soil

a lovely departure from the usual fire-engine red of this tough native mallow

Liatris spicata Bill Cawthon slender spires of scarletLiatris spicata, the blazing star or gayfeather, sends up rockets of feathery purple in the heart of summer, one of the great vertical accents of the North American prairie. The species is native to the moist meadows, prairies, and wet savannas of eastern North America, where the flower spikes once rose in their thousands among the tall grasses. Set against those horizontal sweeps of grass, the erect, bottlebrush spikes give any planting a jolt of