It’s native plant Monday and today’s featured native plant is Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica, once thought to be a cure for syphilis. It is in the same genus as last Thursday’s Cardinal Flower, but this one is blue instead of red, about a foot shorter at three feet, and while it is found in wet areas, it can tolerate some dryness that Cardinal Flower cannot. It has a relatively long bloom period somewhere between July and October, so it provides nice late season color in the perennial border, wild garden, or woodland garden. Excellent for butterfly or bird (hummingbird) gardens. Also effective near ponds or streams. It will tolerate sand, loam, and clay soils. Deer and salt resistant so it is a good choice for a streetside rain garden.