While I diligently use the botanical names for the flowers in my gardens I do have to admit that the name for the lovely little blossom pictured here is quite a mouthful . LYSIMACHIA clethroides, however, has one of THE most appropriate 'common' names of any flower I grow. Known as 'Gooseneck Loosestrife' or simply 'Gooseneck', this perennial gets its name from the delicate white blooms whose graceful arches bring to mind the curve of a goose's head.

The 1" star-shaped, white flowers are densely packed into slender, tapered, terminal racemes (12-18" long) which arch above the foliage. The flower heads have a bend or curve in them, creating that whimsical 'gooseneck' appearance. Interestingly, all plants grow and point in the same direction, giving the single bed in my gardens the effect that a gaggle of geese has landed.

At 2-3' tall LYSIMACHIA is a superb ground cover. Although ancient Greeks believed that branches of LYSIMACHIA could calm quarreling it is one of the more 'quarrelsome' and invasive flowers I grow. To deal w/ it's invasive tendencies I plant it in front of taller perennials that help restrain its 'enthusiasm' The image of a single specimen seen here was taken mid-afternoon on a fairly overcast day.