Aruncus

Goat's beard make an excellent garden plant, pretty in their own right, but also as a foil for other plants. Typically grown for the fluffy white flowers and divided foliage, with more cultivars available now providing a great range of hues on the foliage, like Aruncus 'Horatio'. Smaller forms can be used towards the front of the border like Aruncus aethusifolius. Enjoying a good soil, retaining some moisture, where it will take a sunny location. Similar to Astilbe, but generally bigger and more muted in colour.

The flowers attract pollinators, especially smaller bees and flies, although in one species, A. dioicus, there are separate male and female plants and it is only the males that exert a strong attraction. There is a suggestion that it may be being found more frequently as a garden escape in natural wetlands, where its dense patches can exclude native plants, so care should be taken to avoid it leaving the confines of a garden. The plants may be completely defoliated by the larvae of a sawfly: this will not kill that plant, and control of the 'pests' is best left to natural predators such as birds and ground-beetles.