Name:   Erigeron pulchellus ‘Meadow Muffin’ aka meadow muffin Robin’s plantain

Type of Plant:  This is a perennial plant that has low, grounding hugging foliage and flower stems that are about a foot tall in May.

Why I Love This Plant:  I love that this perennial has attractive, groundcover foliage all year long. I love the daisy-like flowers in mid to late May. And I love that it grows well in part sun to part shade.

The foliage in the later summer is a gray-green in color, and a bit fuzzy. Since it’s fairly dense, it out competes most weeds. And it makes a good carpet around taller perennials or shrubs.

A Word to the Wise:  Normally I feature plants that are widely available to the public, be it by mail order or at local garden centers. But the only place I’ve seen this plant for sale is at Plant Delight Nursery. So buy it there! (Note to Cape Cod plant geeks…maybe someone might propagate this for future sales locally?)

This plant spreads fairly rapidly, but isn’t too aggressive in that it doesn’t out-compete others that are robust or established in their growth.

I have found that Meadow Muffin Erigeron spreads fairly quickly but isn’t a thug. The flowers are white with a faint tinge of pink.

This photo, taken in late August, shows what the foliage looks like in the summer and fall. Red arrow points to the Erigeron.  

Commonly called fleabane, Erigeron has fine, daisy-like flowers in spring. This variety does well in part-shade, and the flowers are on foot-long stems above the ground-hugging foliage.