Boneset--Eupatorium perfoliatum

I would say the same - boneset.

:)

Dee

That's it! Thanks!

diggerdee - thanks! same situation, having a wet garden. There are 2 other plants in the noncultivated part which is even wetter. Have not yet moved the one in the asparagus since it's on the edge of the bed and it does add interest to the 1st year asparagus plants.

I would be VERY interested in what else you have planted there - i can see astilbe i think, but can't identify anything else

Linda I'll put a list below of what's in this garden. This person has a bit of an odd yard. Her front yard is higher than her back yard, but not really by a lot, but the difference in soil moisture is amazing - front yard very dry, back yard very wet. She has a creek running along the back, but oddly the wettest part is not directly next to the creek, but closer to the bottom of the slope from the front. Originally she had a typical garden - bleeding hearts, peonies, hostas - along the creek, but her lawn guys kept getting stuck in the lawn when they tried to mow - huge ruts of torn up grass. I suggested she make the whole area a garden. She didn't believe me and was astounded when I told her that, after posting here on the forums for ideas, many people were jealous because they'd love to be able to plant some of the things that grow well here. Lol, it's like when I moved in my house and my FIL said I'd never be able to put a garden in in the shade. Just have to find the right plant! BTW, I did not plant the boneset - it just appeared last year lol.

So, in this garden are:

marsh marigolds (caltha palustris)

ligularia

astilbes

lobelia (cardinalis, which I love and wish would do better, and siphilitica, which I kind of regret planting because it's very vigorous!)

bog rosemary

itea virginica

clethra alnifolia

cephalanthus (LOVE this - as do the butterflies!)

cornus alba

siberian, japanese, and louisiana irises

sambucus

another plant similar to sambucus whose name I just can't remember!

hydrangea (original to garden)

peonies (original to garden)

bleeding hearts (original to garden) (never EVER saw a dicentra reseed till her garden!)

hosta (original to garden)

ferns (original to garden)

filipendula (but can't remember what kind)

viburnum

deciduous holly

And two huge honkin' willows, Hakuro Nishikis, one of which is huge and gorgeous and actually needs to be cut back a bit, and the other which was hit by a falling tree but is recovering.

I think off the top of my head that is everything, or close to it. I suppose in the interest of honesty I should add the jewelweed, the weeds, the virginia creeper, and the poison ivy, which also seems to love the wetness. In just a week (after all the rain) the weeds have absolutely exploded - I was completely shocked when I saw it a few days ago - and I was pulling jewelweed that was 6 feet tall. I do let the jewelweed inhabit the far back of the property behind the garden. Doing that doesn't help me keep it out of the garden, but I can't maintain the whole world and it's a native and if I were to pull it something else would fill the void. And the bees love it so, yeah...!

:)

Dee