Author: Amanda Carrigan
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) has spikes of creamy flowers out in the maple bed. Across the way, in the sun bed, are the nodding pink heads of prairie smoke (Geum trifolium). The pink is actually the calyx of the flower, and the white petals stay almost completely hidden inside. Some of the flowers have been pollinated – you can tell which ones, as they change from nodding to upright, and the stamens start to elongate. These will become the fuzzy seedheads which give the plant its common name.
Prairie smoke in bloom at the Alcove garden.
Photo: Amanda Carrigan