The Plants

Shy Valley Plant Farm

Native Plants, Herbs, and Heirloom Vegetable Plants

Since 2001

Also Featuring Pottery by Philip Shivell

Carolina Moonlight Baptisia. One of the interesting hybrids available. A little slow at first, but really showy from about 3 years on. This plant is growing in somewhat poor soil, which baptisias seem to like. We grow an ever changing list of native plants, offering around 250 to 300 varieties at any given time. Simply click on any word highlighted in orange to go to the corresponding list of plants. We grow a variety of grasses, ferns, shrubs, and trees as well as lovely wildflowers for sun or shade. They are all nursery propagated or dug from cultivated (garden) populations.

We offer a great selection of herbs. In fact, at last count, we listed 120 different herbs, and I've been on a seed buying spree since then. Check out all the new herbs on the list! We also have some great books about herbs in the gift shop, as well as seeds, organic soil amendments, and herbal products for you.

Looking for heirloom tomatoes? You're in the right place. I haven't counted how many I'm growing this year; I was trying to cut the list down to 30, but I found so many that I haven't tried that sound so good, and there are so many that I just cannot drop from my list, for fear of being pummeled by disappointed customers. I just don't really want to quantify how desperately I have failed to reduce my tomato list, so I'm saying around 40. Yeah, 40...

The following catalog is an ongoing collection of wildflower photos and comments that I am assembling in fits and starts, and is NOT meant to be a complete list of the plants that we have in the nursery.

	Bottlebrush Buckeye, a fantastic native shrub. Wildlife love it, and you will too.
Aesculus parviflora

	Serviceberry, Amelanchier species. There are a number of species, all with early spring flowers similar to those pictured here. They bloom in full shade, which is nice, and they make fruit which you or the local wildlife can enjoy. Some are trees, some shrubs, depending on the species.
Amelanchier ssp.

	Bluestar, Amsonia ciliata. After blooming, the plant continues to look nice, as its foliage is lovely. Turns a nice yellow in fall, too. Only drawback with any of the amsonias is that they grow slowly at first. Amsonia tabernaemontana and A. hubrechtii are also great garden plants, with similar blooms, but differing leaves. A. tabernaemontana's are wider and a bit more lustrous, A.hubrechtii's are fine and needle-like. Both have outstanding fall color, the former clear, softly gleaming yellow, the latter burning shades of orange and apricot. The purple allium in the foreground is Allium christophii, Star of Persia. A great heirloom bulb, which we offer when we do our fall bulb sale. Below is A. tabernaemontana.

	Splitbeard Broomsedge. This is a really underutilized native grass. It is sooooo beautiful, forms neat clumps and has never attempted to spread in my experience. It is one to try, perhaps with Aromatic Aster and other grasses like the panicums.
Andropogon ternarius

	One of the native angelicas, which I think have a tremendous potential as ornamental plants. In fact, I like angelicas across the board, and will be growing a number of varieties, both native and non in the next couple of seasons. A close up of ripening seeds.
Angelica venenosa

Aristolochia durior	Dutchman's Pipe. A wonderful native vine. Traditionally used to shade porches, because it grows long and tall and has large, heart shaped leaves. The flowers look like an old-fashioned pipe. Host plant for butterflies. Takes a year or two to get established, but year three is worth the wait.

Asclepias tuberosa	Butterfly Weed. As its common name implies, this is a great plant for butterflies. They feed on the nectar, and also the leaves. Quite showy when planted in enriched garden soil; each plant will have several flowering stems. Closely related Asclepias incarnata , Red Milkweed, is also a great garden plant and butterfly magnet. Blooms are a rosy pink color.


Asters	Asters are sure fire winners for low maintenance gardens. To left is a New England, which comes in a range of colors. Doesn't this one look nice with the rudbeckia triloba seed heads?ALl the asters that I've grown are very drought and deer resistant. In all but the wildest gardens, New England Aster should be pruned back in May (cut about 1/3 of the height) to keep it bushy and manageable. Below is Aromatic Aster, Aster oblongifolius. Give it sun and watch it thrive. Forms an irregular mound approximately 3 feet wide and tall. Features clean, deer-resistant foliage that harmonizes well with other perennials all summer, then takes over the show in September and October with masses of blue-purple blooms. Good for butterflies, children’s gardens, and organic growers. Drought tolerant, too. This one is Raydon's Favorite, a variety that consistently blooms to the degree pictured.


Carolina Moonlight Baptisia. One of the interesting hybrids available. A little slow at first, but really showy from about 3 years on. This plant is growing in somewhat poor soil, which baptisias seem to like.	If you have clay soil, with low fertility, this plant is for you. It is called False Indigo or Wild Indigo, and it comes in a variety of colors and sizes. We grow several of them in the nursery, and just love them. Peak bloom here is in early to mid May, but an established plant should bloom a good month or more. Nice cut flower. Bumblebees like it. On the left is Blue False Indigo, and on the right is our very own Tennessee Dusky Rose, a chance seedling that was supposed to be Baptisia australis.

	American Beautyberry. Spectacular in late summer and fall when its fat magenta berries are lined up along every stem. The flowers in early summer are pretty, too, but rather small and not showy.
Callicarpa americana

	Blue quamash. Native to the Pacific Northwest, but does quite well here, even in clay and relatively dry soil. Blooms beautifully in sun, part sun, even deciduous shade. Extraordinarily beautiful flowers, and lustrous strappy foliage. Available as a fall bulb. Comes in a range of colors from deep blue to silvery pale blue and even white.
Camassia lechtinii
Chionanthus virginica	Fringe Tree, Grancy Grey Beard, white Ash. Gorgeous multi stemmed tree or shrub. Females make olive like fruits.
Deschampsia flexuosa	Pretty little native grass for sun to part shade. Blooms in June to July.


Dodecatheon	Shooting Star. A gorgeous, long-lived, multiplying native wildflower.


Dicentra eximia	Fern Leaved Bleeding Heart is a beautiful little native wildflower for shady spots. Will go dormant in drought, but if given adequate moisture will bloom all summer.


Euonymous atropurpureus	Eastern Wahoo. A relative of the popular Heart’s a Bustin plant, this plant features a very similar fruit capsule which pops open to reveal brightly colored, plump fruits. Grows to 10 feet tall, making a shrubby small tree. Not many left, and when they are gone, they are gone until I can grow seedlings to size. Very rare in commerce.


Euonymus americana	Hearts a Bustin’ or Strawberry Bush, Euonymus americana. This intriguing native makes a pretty little informal shrub. Place it close to walkways where people are likely to have a close encounter with its interesting fruit capsules. Deer LOVE this plant, so proximity to human activity has other, more practical, benefits, as well.


Fothergilla major	Witch Alder, Fothergilla major. Multi-season shrub for sun to part shade. Flowers in early spring, pretty leaves, and fantastic fall color make this shrub one of the most popular native shrubs on the market.


Geranium maculatum	Wild Geranium, Geranium maculatum. A staple for shade to part sun, This plant produces long-lasting, loose mounds of unique foliage. We also carry a variety that has leaves the color of chocolate.


Hamamelis virginiana	Beautiful fruit of the native witch hazel. This one has pale yellow blooms in October or so, while the leaves are still on the plant, usually. The other native species, H. vernalis, blooms in January-February, and its blooms are commonly a burnt orange. They are really pretty, and more showy because they are present when the plant is otherwise bare. Form of both is usually multi-stemmed, and quite charming, as with this specimen.
	Willow Leaved Sunflower, foliage is exquisite, and flowers a cheerful bonus.
Iris virginica	Blue Flag Iris is one of several beautiful native irises. This one is lovely in rain gardens, pond or creek edges, and in average garden soil.

Magnolia virginiana	Sweet Bay Magnolia, Magnolia virginiana. Really attractive plant which is best grown as a multi-stemmed tree. Leaves can be evergreen or semi-evergreen, dependent upon the sub-species. Flowers are exquisite, and are followed by the unusual fruits typical of magnolias.


Monarda bradburiana	Bradbury’s Bee Balm, Monarda bradburiana. A compact, early blooming monarda with large pink blossoms and lustrous, mildew-resistant foliage. The foliage is really outstanding. Much less widely known than its close relative, Bee Balm, Monarda didyma. The photo on right is a lovely stand in a garden near Cashiers, NC.


Muhlenbergia capillaris	Muhly Grass, Muhlenbergia capillaris. A great native grass, even for people who could care less whether it is native. This grass has wide appeal, due to the billowy purplish pink clouds it forms when in bloom. Spiky, grey-green leaves provide interesting texture in spring and summer, too.


Osmunda regalis	Royal Fern, Osmunda regalis. Truly deserving of its name, this is the king of ferns in my book. From an ancient genera, this fern is large, showy, long lived, extremely hardy, and tolerant of a range of soils and conditions. Ideal location is fairly sunny and moist, with acid soil. The fern pictured grew for over 10 years in soil with neutral ph in an average, not wet, garden bed, and was very happy, if a little shorter than normal.


Pachysandra procumbens	Allegheny Spurge, Pachysandra procumbens. An excellent, slowly spreading groundcover for the woodland garden. Forms a nice specimen plant, too, as it blooms in late February to March, at a time when its blooms are much appreciated. Not to be confused with the ubiquitous and much less interesting Asian pachysandra.

Switchgrass	Switchgrass Panicum virgatum An indispensable grass for the new low-maintenance garden. Switchgrass is one of my top three favorite grasses. It is native. Easy to grow in sun to part sun, wet areas, dry areas, clay soil, sandy soil, normalish soil (as if anyone has that...). It is available in a number of named varieties, which vary in size (from 4 feet tall and wide up to 8), color (shades of green tinged with varying degrees of red, and varying degrees of bluish green), and habit (from more lax to quite reliably columnar). Most that I have trialed are quite vigorous, hardy, and easy to love. Excellent for fall and winter interest, when they just light up the garden with their color, texture and movement. Great backdrops for a number of other excellent plants. As for maintenance, just get it established and forget about it is my motto. The pretty pairing in the photo is switchgrass and summer wine ninebark, at the nursery.
Polystichum acrostichoides	Christmas fern, Polystichum acrostichoides. A simply wonderful fern for the woodland garden. Tolerant of a wide range of conditions and evergreen, to boot.

Choke cherry	A small, shrubby tree, delightfully fragrant and easy to grow. Excellent wildlife plant. Spreads a bit by suckers, but not to be feared.
Pycnanthemum incanum or P. muticum	Hoary or Frosted Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum muticum or P. incanum. This is one of those plants that just has loads of appeal to my mind. It blooms in the summer, and its leaves take on the frosted look that makes them so eye-catching. Then, it stays that way, even drying in place, all winter. The aroma of the foliage is wonderful and unlike anything else. Would be great for planting in an area of contemplation or remembrance, because of that unique fragrance. It is lovely in bouquets, fresh or dried. Only one problem- the species pictured is quite aggressive in the garden. I am working with other species that have a similar appearance, trying to find one that can be trusted in a mixed border. This one is great naturalized, and in monocultures. I once planted some large brick planters with this, and they are gorgeous.


Pycnanthemum tenuifolium	Threadleaf Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium. A really great butterfly plant. Low-maintenance, tolerates about any situation with some sun, deer proof. Adds a wonderful texture to perennial beds, and well-behaved enough to plant among about anything. Makes a good herbal tea, too. Photo courtesy Marty Silver.


	Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis. Native shrub with edible fruit for you or feathered friends. Informal habit and tendency to grow multiple canes make this plant a good candidate for very natural gardens, or as a specimen at a fence or along the wall of an outbuilding. Easy, vigorous and well worth growing for its white flower clusters, pretty berries, and wildlife value,
Sambucus canadensis

Stylophorum	Celandine or Wood poppy. Sweet little native wildflower with bright golden flowers and spiny, pendulous seed pods.

Thermopsis villosa	Carolina Bush Pea. Beautiful addition to a native perennial border.
Verbena stricta	Hoary vervain. Gorgeous and unusual plant for sun.
Viola ssp.	Common violet. This violet has a bad reputation, but it made the most lovely little border in my favorite perennial bed at the old place. Yes, I had to occasionally pull them up for encroaching on the neighboring royal fern, but, if it wasn’t them, it would have been something else. Bare spots are just going to be filled by tenacious little plants given time. These are great butterfly plants, and the foliage and flowers are edible. I don’t sell them. Just go dig some out of your neighbor’s yard. (Most people will thank you.) I do grow birdsfoot violet, and I am working on having Viola hirsuta.


Wisteria fructescens	American Wisteria. Just a delightful plant. Provide it some support, a wooden fence does nicely, and watch it sprawl slowly over it. The progression from bud to bloom is beautiful to watch, each stage having its own unique charm. Mine always blooms in spring, then in mid summer. Much easier to control than the Chinese version, and much better suited to intimate spaces. This photo was taken of my "mother plant" in spring of the year after I first planted it (I think I started with a two gallon plant.) I just love it. Unfortunately, it is the first thing my goats go to if ever they escape. Doesn't have the perfume of its Chinese cousin, which can be, frankly, overwhelming if it is growing near outdoor seating areas. A gardener trying to plant for fragrance, would be better served by combining American Wisteria with fragrant perennials, than by planting Chinese Wisteria, in my opinion.