Culver's root

Culver's root, Veronicastrum virginicum, is a kind of wild snapdragon. Nurseries will usually say it needs "part sun" but I planted a test specimen a couple years ago in a spot that gets nothing before noon, and then only mottled light, and it did pretty well despite all that shade, so I put in a few more. These get real tall, easily shooting up to 3' by late spring and over 4' by late summer; you may ned to tie them up unless they are bunched, because they will bend to seek out more sun.

The totally native variety may only have white flowers, but greenhouses tend to have purple varieties. They can have anywhere from 4 to 7 leaves, bearing a vague resemblance to plants seen on the cover of Sgt. Pepper.