Growing Zone 3

Pull thick crimson stalks in spring for the sharpest, most electric pie filling in the garden, tart in a way no other crop delivers.Be honest with yourself about zone 8a: rhubarb needs real winter chill and it genuinely sulks in Deep South summers, so...

Strings of jewel-bright berries in early summer, tart enough to make the best jelly you have ever had and impossible to buy fresh locally.IMPORTANT: Ribes species are restricted or require a permit in some states because they are an alternate host for white pine...

Dig crisp, nutty sunchoke tubers after the first fall frost, harvesting from a tall sunflower relative that returns every single year.Sunchokes are supplied as dormant tubers rather than seedlings, and they are a true perennial that comes back reliably and spreads vigorously, so give...

Plant a dormant crown once and cut tender spring spears for twenty years, though the first real harvest waits two to three seasons.Asparagus is supplied as a one-year dormant crown, not a leafy seedling, and it needs a permanent bed you will not till...

Nodding white teardrops on gray-green leaves push straight through cold January ground, the first flower of the year in most Alabama gardens.Wade Greens supplies Galanthus elwesii, the Giant Snowdrop, because it is the only snowdrop with a real chance in zone 8a - it...

Autumn Blaze maple grows a broad shade canopy in just a few years and turns brilliant orange-red every fall, right on schedule.Autumn Blaze is a hybrid of red and silver maple that combines fast growth with the dependable scarlet fall color and stronger branching...

Yarrow blooms in flat colorful clusters through the worst of summer, thriving on drought and poor soil where fussier perennials give up.Ferny aromatic foliage and long-lasting flower heads in white, gold, red, and terracotta make yarrow a workhorse for hot, dry, unirrigated beds, and...

Peonies produce enormous fragrant late-spring blooms on a plant that can outlive the gardener, returning larger every year with almost no care.Zone 8a is the warm edge of peony country: they need real winter chill to set buds, so in Clay County choose early-blooming...

Milkweed is the only plant monarch caterpillars can eat, so a few clumps turn a sunny bed into a working monarch nursery.Plant the right natives: butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) for dry, sunny, well-drained spots, and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) for beds that stay moist...

Catmint blooms lavender-blue for months, thrives on neglect and drought, and bees work it constantly while deer and rabbits leave it alone.Catmint forms a soft gray-green mound that edges beds and walkways beautifully and reblooms strongly if you shear it back by about a...

Blazing star sends up vertical purple wands that bloom top-down in midsummer heat, pulling in monarchs and swallowtails from across the yard.This tough native prairie perennial grows from a corm, handles Alabama drought and clay once established, and returns reliably every year. The stiff...

Elderberry gives you creamy summer flower plates, dark berry clusters for syrup and jelly, and a native shrub pollinators and songbirds work all season.American elderberry is a fast, suckering native shrub that tolerates the damp, heavy spots most fruit refuses - ditch edges, creek...

Witch hazel opens spidery yellow flowers in late fall and winter when nothing else is blooming, then turns clear gold each autumn.Witch hazel is a large native shrub or small multi-stemmed tree that flowers on bare or nearly bare branches in the cold months,...

Ninebark gives you burgundy, gold, or lime foliage from spring to fall, white flower clusters in May, and peeling winter bark.Ninebark is a native, four-season shrub grown mainly for its colored foliage, with clusters of white or pink flowers in late spring and shredding,...

Sheets of upfacing sky-blue stars with white eyes light up bare late-winter ground while the rest of the garden is still asleep.Plant these small bulbs three inches deep in generous drifts, since their charm comes entirely from mass, not from individual flowers. Glory of...

Native golden plumes that light up the fall garden and feed late-season pollinators.Goldenrod (Solidago) blazes with arching gold flower sprays in late summer and fall - a tough, native perennial and a magnet for bees and butterflies. Offered in 4" Pot and 1-Gallon Pot,...

The New England Aster closes the season with a burst of purple, daisy-like blooms that pollinators mob before winter.New England Aster is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and ready to thrive. Offered in 4" and...

Helenium blazes with warm daisy blooms in red, orange, and gold from late summer into fall - a pollinator magnet.Helenium is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and ready to thrive. Offered in 4" and 6"...

Gaillardia blankets the garden in fiery red-and-gold daisies all summer, thriving in heat, poor soil, and drought.Gaillardia is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and ready to thrive. Offered in 4" and 6" pots, shipped well-rooted...

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is an easy-growing mint-family herb that cats adore.Fresh catnip live herb plant is an aromatic culinary herb, far more flavorful picked fresh than dried from a jar. It's easy to grow on a sunny sill and snips as you need it...