Sagina PEARLWORT A low moss-like ground cover that spreads indefinitly, forming large mats. Good filler for inbetween stepping stones and pavers of a patio or walkway. Prefers loamy acidic to neutral soils, well drained, and moderate fertility. Needs consistant moisture. Will not thrive in the damp shade that true mosses prefer.

Salvia nemorosa MEADOW SAGE Longest-lived in moderately fertile, sandy soil. Must have soil with average moisture that drains well. Bears an abundance of flowers on many spikes with rough, gray green leaves on many stems. Aromatic foliage is bushy with an excellent flower show, making it a fine border plant.

Sambucus 'Black Beauty' ELDERBERRY Massive pink flowers in June are broad and somewhat flat topped. They are composed of many tiny florets similar to Myosotis and exude a fragrance of citrus.  Foliage is a rich purple-black color providing a nice contrast to the clusters of flowers.  Plants can be grown as a small tree or cut back hard in fall and used as a woody perennial.  For best overall appearance site plants in full sun with adequate moisture..

Sanguinaria Canadensis A charming early spring eastern woodlander.  Clean white flowers appear in early spring, often before the first leaves.  Foliage is deep green and remains an attractive groundcover throughout the season.  Plants are slow to multiply and spread, deciduous shade with morning light and rich humus soil will maximize their potential.

Sanguisorba tenuifolia purpurea BURNET Abundant foliage clumps of finely cut narrow leaves give a feathery appearance. Purplish red catkins on multi-branched stems rise up in late summer. Prefers moist conditions.

Santolina chamaecyparissus (incana) LAVANDER COTTON Prefers light well drained soil and a dry site rather than a wet one. Usually trimmed in March to maintain a compact habit, which will prevent flowering, or pruned hard after flowering to tidy up. This woody pseudo-evergreen is primarily grown for the gray foiliage that associates well with other flowers and foliage. The leaves have a wooly, dense, filigree character with a gentle spicey or piney fragrance noticeable especially after rain. In sandy soil and full sun it has a white sheen. No serious disease or insect problems bother it. Does not like excess moisture in winter.

Saponaria ocymoides ROCK SOAPWORT Quite cold hardy but not tolerant of high summer humidity or wet conditions in winter. Excellent carpeting plant for hanging over rocky slopes and retaining walls.

Sarcococca SWEET BOX Instantly likeable evergreen shrub. The plants form dense upright clumps of shiny lance shaped leaves. The foliage is very durable and the plants look good all year. In early spring, fragrant flowers in small clusters are partially hidden by the foliage, but fill the air with a lingering sweetness. Although rhizomatous, it is extremely slow growing, and this must be the only reason for its relative scarcity. Patience required. Grows well with sufficient organic matter added to retain moisture, and a semi-protected site, but seems to tolerate drier, shaddier conditions once established.

Saxifraga stolonifera Saxifraga’s are most often thought of as alpines best suited to the adventurous rock gardener.  S. stolonifera is hardy to zone 7 and does perform well amongst rocks but is also robust enough of a grower to be used as a ground cover.  Plants are low to the ground with small quarter sized leaves, which can be slightly cupped under, and mottled with silver veination above and are purple red in coloration on the underside of the leaf. Flowers are white and form on airy spikes above the foliage. Plants spread by way of stolons, which weave their way through the substrate forming large colonies over time.  Plants prefer part shade conditions.  I’ve seen them hold on for a couple of seasons with our zone 6 winters, but plants don’t reach their full potential and eventually peter out completely.

Scabiosa columbaria 'Butterfly Blue' PINCUSHION FLOWER An extravagant performer that attracts butterflies! A good cut flower that blooms from May through frost. Useful toward the front of your sunny garden in moist well drained, fertile soil, preferably alkaline. Dead-head to encourage profuse blooming. The foliage provides special interest, with lance shaped lower leaves, and linear stem leaves deeply incised and arranged in an opposite manner. Delightful, old fashion, and the most popular of the perennial species.

Schizophragma hydrangeoides ‘Moonlight’ JAPANESE HYDRANGEA VINE  A Hydrangea like vine with silver gray mottled foliage.  Flowers resemble lacecap Hydrangeas being creamy pink with pale yellow bracts.  Although tolerant of part shade conditions, foliage mottling and floral display is more prominent on plants sited with a touch of sun.  Plants need tying to support until established and can be pruned in spring.  Native to Japan and Korea, found growing in humus- rich, well-drained soils.

Scutellaria ovata The Skullcaps belong to the Lamiaceae or mint family and S. ovata has the characteristics familiar to its family.  The leaves are arranged alternately around square stems and have a metallic purple coloration.  The flowers resemble Salvias and other mints in form and are violet-blue.  Plants are stoloniferous and do spread so some discretion should be used when planting.  A drought and light shade tolerant native.

Sedum STONE CROP. Butterflies love them! Thrive in moderately fertile, well drained but moist soil. All have thick, fleshy leaves that are handsome throughout the growing season. Ranges of color, texture and size incorporate different personalities to your garden. S. spurium must have excellent drainage, disliking wet feet.

Sempervivum tectorum HENS AND CHICKS These plants have low evergreen foliage that grows thickly in rosettes of succulent leaves. They are often used and are easily grown in free draining infertile soil with average moisture. The Latin "semper" means "always" and "vivo" means "live." The mother plants ("hens") usually die after flowering, and the remaining "chicks" are left to grow next year. Small star shaped flowers may be pink, white, green, yellow or purple. Does well in full sun. Frequently planted in the spaces between the stones in rock walls, or near walks and in planters.

Senecio aureus  GOLDEN RAGWORT blooms in May with an abundance of golden daisies.  Although, once the floral display is over, you are kind of left with just the ragwort minus the golden part and some weeding to do if you forgot to dead head.  Its tenacity from seed does make it a good choice for naturalizing an area and it is a native.

Sidalcea PRAIRIE MALLOW OR CHECKER-MALLOW Moist, well drained. Native to North America will rebloom if cut back after flowering. Full sun or light shade, deep loamy, fertle soil. Happiest in climates with cool dry summers, disliking heat and humidity.

Silene caroliniana  WILD PINKS  A species native to the southeast United States and hardy to zone 5.  S. caroliniana is a short clump forming perennial growing to 8 inches in height.  In their native range they are found on well-drained soils with an alkaline ph, in full sun to part shade.  Rose to deep pink 5 petaled flowers resembling a Dianthus flower form in spring.  Silenes are in the family Caryophyllacea too which Arenaria, Cerastium, Dianthus, Gypsophila, Minuartia, Saponaria, Sagina and other alpine type plants belong.  So the siting trend here is well-drained and preferably gritty soils.

Silphium perfoliatum CUP PLANT This tall growing native sunflower relative is one of our best wildlife plants. Large opposite leaves clasp the stem forming cups that catch and store rain water and these reservoirs are visited by birds and butterflies. A group planting will result in a five to ten foot tall bird haven and in the fall they will come to devour the seeds. Occurs naturally in moist areas but grows well in fertile soils with average moisture. Needs room to move and will self-sow on open soils. Silphium trifoliatum WHORLED ROSIN WEED Growing to 4 ft. this species is shorter and less stately then S. perfoliatum, although still warrants placement in the native, wildlife friendly garden.  The flower stems form heavy spikes of yellow radiated flowers, sometimes causing the plant to bend under its own weight.  Naturalist William Bartram talks of Silphium as “Possessing a resin of agreeable fragrance and bitterish taste, somewhat like frankincense.”  He also notes the resin being used by Native Americans to cleanse the teeth.

Sisyrinchium BLUE-EYED GRASS Bright blue star shaped flowers with gold centers atop grassy tufts of green iris-like foliage. Very long blooming, it makes an excellent container plant or foreground element in the garden.

Solidago sphacelata 'Golden Fleece' GOLDENROD The gradual formation of the flowerheads is interesting to watch. Quite hardy, they do well in moderate, humusy soil with a moisture range from wet to dry. Some solidagos grace the formal garden while others accent the wild garden beautifully. Goldenrod is not to be mistaken for the allergy causing ragweed, an undying misconception in America. In Europe they have always been valued in gardens and bouquets.

Smilacina racemosa  FALSE SOLOMONS SEAL Similar in foliage arrangement and stem structure to Polygonatum, often found inhabiting the same soils.  The difference in flower and berries can help distinguish these allies of the woodland.  Smilacina flowers out from the top of each stem in dense, creamy white, fragrant clusters, followed by red berries in autumn. Where as Polygonatum has pendant flowers along the stem and  blue black berries in autumn.  Plants thrive in moist, humus rich, lime free soils.

Spigelia marilandica INDIAN PINK, PINKROOT This is one of our most treasured native wild flowers, that thankfully, has been easier to find in recent times. Bushy clumps of unbranched stems with medium green leaves produce upward facing bright red trumpet flowers with a contrasting yellow throat. It is happy at the woodland edge and in moist soils rich in humus.

Spiraea japonica 'Magic Carpet' SPIREA Recent cultivar with striking, gradually changing foliar colors, from young yellow orange shoots and tips that explode while blooming into shades of chartreuse. Does not revert to green, has a compact habit, tolerates heat, and has no foliage diseases. Breathtaking in shade as a ground cover, eye catching in any size group, and singly will brighten any small spot. Spiraea japonica 'Little Princess' is a dependable green-leafed dwarf.

Stachys byzantina LAMB'S EAR Semi-evergreen in our region. Adaptable to most soils with average moisture that drain well. Offers superb gray, wooly foliage for well-defined edging and for the front of the border. Flower spikes are sometimes removed. Foliage height is 4 to 6 in. S. b. 'Silver Carpet' is a non-blooming form and S. 'Helen Von Stein' (syn. 'Big Ears') also non-blooming, has broad leaves twice the size of other Lamb's Ears. Children as well as anyone will love to touch their silky soft felty leaves. Stachys grandiflora 'Rosea' (syn. Stachys macrantha 'Rosea') BETONY forms tight basal tufts of green heart shaped leaves with scaloped edges. Eye-catching whorls of flowers are held on stiff stems above the foliage. Plants spread to form dense clumps.

Stephanandra incisa 'Crispa' CUTLEAF STEPHANANDRA A deciduous shrub with low spreading arched branches.  The small leaves are deeply incised and Acer-like, giving the plant a graceful crisscrossed look.  Autumn color is orange-red giving way to showy rich brown bark in winter.  Greenish white paniculate flowers resembling Spiraea are borne along the branches in early summer.  Plants occur at woodland margins throughout East Asia.  The occasional trimming of older branches at the base will keep a tidy appearance.

Stokesia laevis 'Blue Danube' STOKES ASTER Plant in well drained soil; does not tolerate wet soil in winter. Long-lived in sandy or light loam that is moderately fertile with average moisture. Fine plant for the front of the border. Dark green rosette of strap-shaped leaves, and large cornflower blooms with wide outer petals.

Stylophorum diphyllum CELANDINE POPPY Emerging in the spring, the robust bluish green leaves are 10-15 in. long and deeply cut into 5-7 lobed sections. Effective for sunny spring color, the 1 1/2-2 in. bright yellow flowers have 4 petals and many stamens. Makes a good ground cover in a shaded consistantly moist site where it will spread (mostly by seed) indefinitly. Foliage may disappear in dryer gardens. Native Americans once used the yellow sap contained in the stems as a dye.

Syneilesis aconitifolia SHREDDED UMBRELLA PLANT An interesting collectors plant, grown more for foliage then flower.  The leaf emergence in spring is the most dramatic attribute.  The new foliage rises out of the soil covered in a white downy pubescence, shriveled, taking on the appearance of a morel mushroom.  As the long stalks extend the rich green leaves unfold and are circular with deep segments similar to a Hellebore or Aconitum, giving the plant a shredded umbrella look.  Being an asteraceae, flowers are true to the family being small, greenish white, forming about the inflorescence in late summer.  Plants are slow spreaders and in time can form a pleasantly sized colony.  Good for a sunny woodland garden with humus rich soil and good drainage.  Native to temperate areas in China, Japan and Korea.