Duranta erecta George Forrest Native to the moist woods

Native to the moist woods and pond margins of the eastern United States

and native azaleas make fitting company

doing the real business of pollination while ants and small flies stay stuck at the door

The fragrant orange spikes are magnets for butterflies and hummingbirds

and cling to the branches through much of winter

Duranta erecta George Forrest Native to the moist woodsGolden dewdrop, Duranta erecta, is a member of the verbena family grown across the warm world for two ornaments the shrub carries at once: loose, drooping sprays of soft lilac blue flowers, each with a darker eye, and long chains of round, glossy amber berries that hang like strings of wet gold. The common name catches that second gift exactly, while older names, pigeon berry and skyflower, catch the first. Native from Mexico and the Caribbean through