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Comfrey is one of those ancient medicinal plants that is still used externally. It was introduced into North America by settlers, and now grows wild in the eastern part of the continent. It is also widely cultivated by herbalists.

It grows in wet places; it's usually about 3 feet high with oval dark green leaves on an erect hairy stem that branches at the top. The lower leaves are generally much longer than those at the top of the stem. It has purplish bell shaped flowers that bloom in clusters in summer.

It was used in ancient times for a number of problems, but contemporary usage by herbalists includes surface treatment for psoriasis and other skin problems by way of ointments made from the plant.

Comfrey leaves are in large part protein and are used often for fodder for livestock.

In ancient times mistletoe was magic, it was considered a life saver and a panacea for many ailments. Because it grew from a host plant and its roots were not inground, the ancients revered it. There are many legends associated with mistletoe.

Our present day custom of exchanging kisses under a sprig of mistletoe is from the ancient belief that mistletoe signified life and fertility, the opposite of death. The kiss was to welcome life.

Horehound is of the mint family and though introduced from Europe, it now grows wild in North America.

The plant is a source of flavoring for candies, teas, and syrups used in folk medicine as cough and cold remedies. Pharmacologists agree that it is likely an expectorant. It is also sometimes used by herbalists as an appetite stimulant.

A decoction of horehound mixed with honey produces a syrup used to inhibit coughing, but my personal favorite is the candy that is made from it in much the same way and is used as a cough drop.

This plant is most commonly associated with beer. It gives the beverage it's slightly bitter taste but it also preserves it. The bitters are found only in the ripe conelike fruits of the female plant.

Native Americans made a sedative from the blooms of hops and they also applied dried heated flowers to relieve toothaches. Herbalists value the plant for its sedative properties and pharmacologists agree that the plant most likely has a sedative effect.

It's native to both North America and Europe and grows mostly in waste areas.

Goldenrod is native to the US. It's a perennial herb growing 20 - 40 inches tall with narrow dark green leaves that can be up to 5 inches long. The flowerhead clusters bloom in my area (Kentucky) in September.

The yellow flowerheads are a good source of yellow dye.

It was once badly maligned as a cause of hay fever, but its pollen is not airborne. Its pollen is carried by bees and other insects. It blooms at the same time as ragweed, though the flowers of ragweed are not noticeable. Ragweed pollen is airborne, and is the cause of hay fever.

Goldenrod is the state flower of Kentucky.

Native to Europe, the dog rose is naturalized in much of eastern North America. It grows along sunny roadsides, along the edge of woods and as hedges. It's a perennial shrub, growing as bushes about 6 - 10 feet tall. The stems have hooked thorns; the leaves are smoother and greener than garden roses. The flowers appear from May to July and are usually pale pink on long stalks.

The hips are usually 1/2 to 1 inch long. They are a rich source of vitamin C. They can be eaten right from the plant, but are most commonly used to make rose hip jelly.

Dill is used primarily in the kitchen, but there was a time when it was used medicinally. Dill water made from the oil of dill is a folk remedy for infant colic as well as for digestive problems in older children. In the kitchen, dill is used as a pickling spice and to flavor sauces, salads and fish.

Do not confuse this plant with water hemlock or poison hemlock, both of which are poisonous.

This common and often aggravating weed has greens that are edible either as a salad or cooked. They furnish a rich source of vitamins A and C. Our ancestors dried the roots, ground them then brewed them as a coffeelike beverage. They also made a tonic from the roots to be used for a diuretic effect.

The roots can be boiled to make a magenta dye and the flowers can be boiled to make yellow dye.
Dandelion wine can be made from the blooms as well.

The plant's use as a tonic is fairly well substantiated.

Heal-all is a low-growing plant; most consider it a common lawn weed. It thrives in moist wasteland and grass, and spreads easily and quickly. It's a member of the mint family and has a square stem, common to mints. Some species are used to treat a range of minor disorders, giving it its common name. It was used by Native Americans for a variety of traditional medicinal treatments which haven't been scientifically proven, but Prunella vulgaris has been shown to be an antioxidant, immune stimulant, viral replication inhibitor and an anti-inflammatory agent. It is still being clinically tested for these uses.

Prunella species are also used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species.

Some also use the leaves as a food source in salads. (Slightly bitter tasting)

The seeds of the persimmon are large, brown and flat.

The fruit is delicious and is edible when its outer covering turns a slightly brownish orange. There is nothing worse than biting into an unripe fruit, it turns your mouth inside out with its bitterness. The ripe fruit is great as a pie filling or as a custard. It can also be made into flavorful bread.

The seeds of the pawpaw are large, as much as an inch long, with a brown leathery appearance.

The fruit is not ripe until its outer covering is very dark colored, much like an overripe banana. Inside it's a golden yellow fleshy fruit and delicious with its near tropical flavor. It can also be made into sweet custards and eaten as a flavorful dessert.

Carefree Beauty is the most reliable rose in my garden. It's November and nothing is blooming in Kentucky in November, except this rose. It's the first rose to bloom and the last one to lose its last petal. This rose is full and lush and in the four years I've had it, it has never had a pest or disease problem.

The Peggy Martin rose has an interesting history. It is one of two plants that survived being under 20 feet of salt water during the flooding following Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana in August, 2005.
Since then, it has been introduced into commerce in the United States and has become a symbol among gardeners and rose lovers of a tenacious plant associated with a spirit of renewal and regrowth in the aftermath of a devastating blow of Nature against those living and gardening in the Gulf Coast area. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu...
This rose was a gift to me and it grows up the trunk of a huge old redbud, with little care and no disease to date.

My rhododendron was planted in 1971 and has been growing well since that time. As it ages, it is beginning to sprawl, but it is still a beautiful plant that doesn't require a lot of attention. It receives morning sun in its location, and dappled sunlight throughout the day. It has been known to rebloom in late fall, but with fewer blooms than in spring. It's about 5 feet tall and probably as wide as 4 feet.

Edit: After many many years through all kinds of weather, my rhododendron slowly died and though I tried, I could never revive it. It had recently survived a major ice storm in '09 and the summer of 2012 was spent in extreme drought. Those two factors destroyed a lot of plant life, but I think another factor might be the real culprit. The plant was here when we bought this house, though very very small. It was planted beside a corner brick column which is also a support structure for the house. The bricks and concrete went deep. As the rhody began to grow and increase in all directions, my guess is that it used up soil nutrients more quickly than if it had been planted away from the underground masonry. I failed to even think of that when I noticed its demise had already begun. At that point no amount of watering or feeding was going to help. I should have been amending the soil with good compost during all those years when I simply took it for granted.

A wide variety of wild growing Echinacea was used medicinally by Native Americans. Today herbalists most commonly suggest its use to relieve symptoms of the common cold.

Pokeweed is native to North America and was used medicinally by Native Americans. It is considered toxic when raw. Herbalists continue to use this plant. The root is used in the treatment of diseases related to a compromised immune system; it has potential as an anti-AIDS drug. In the scientific field, new research has revealed that a possible cure for Childhood Leukemia called (B43-PAP) is found in the common Pokeweed.

This is in no way a plant to be used as a home remedy, but in the same way that foxglove provides digitalis, perhaps in time pokeweed could provide a much needed cure for what now is considered to be a fatal disease.

This is a young tree, started from seed in '06. It's a bit of a slow grower here in zone 7, but this year it reached a height of about 10 feet, bloomed and also produced the golden seed pods that give it its name. It's a gorgeous little tree, and though the pods stayed lime green until mid September, they are now a rich coppery red color and still clinging to the tree this first weekend of October.

I love this coleus. I overwinter its cuttings in water on my windowsill in the kitchen. This is the third year. I've noticed it has not bloomed and it's already October. I see no sign of buds. It will be interesting if it survives another winter in my kitchen, but even more interesting to see if it ever blooms again. It's very full, very lush, and the hot dry summer has not bothered it. It's lovely when planted with mint green foliage beside it.

This is the third summer for this plant, I overwintered cuttings in water on my kitchen counter. It's a hardy lush summer container plant, and in spite of the hot dry weather, it does very well with minimal watering here in zone 6/7. I'm going to try for a fourth summer, I think it will be just fine.

This plant is an old one and was started from seed from a plant that grew in the mountains of southeast Kentucky. Here in western Kentucky, zone 6b/7a, I find it to be quite the spreader. It is not native to the US, so when combined with its invasive tendencies, it might not be very popular. But in its defense, it grows and blooms in areas and at times when nothing else will grow or bloom. We have hot dry summers and quite often by September our blooms have ended. This Rose of Sharon is just getting started by then. It will continue to bloom until November.

It will also grow with little to no care in soil that is rocky and sparse. Bumble bees love it.