Euphorbia marginata

From the eastern half of North America, this is an annual species that deserves to be far more widely used in our gardens. Growing 24-30” tall, this is a slender plant has grey-green leaves prominently margined in white, particularly around the blossoms. It is extremely showy and sometimes called snow on the mountain, though it should not be confused with goutweed (Aegopodium), which is also known as snow on the mountain.

Easily raised from seed and flowering from July to October, this is a gorgeous plant that is highly attractive to butterflies and also good for use as a cutflower. Mourning doves are known to eat the seeds. It will self sow in the garden if it is happy but it does not become a nuisance. It likes a sunny site with average, well drained soil.

Very poisonous to humans if ingested, this is a great plant to choose if jackrabbits or deer are a problem in your garden (they won’t touch it) and an excellent plant to use if you need an annual that’s going to be low maintenance.

‘Kiliamanjaro’ is a more compact and more vigorous selection of the species with more intense variegation. It is highly recommended.

‘Icicle’ was developed for the florist trade and has particularly large and intensely colored bracts. Likely the reason we don’t use this species more often is because it is extremely resentful of disturbance and does not transplant easily. Great care must be taken if you start the seeds indoors and move young plants to the garden.