Wildflower Wednesday: Shrubs in a Wildflower Garden

I am crazy about the shrubs I've added to my garden. They're all lovely, some more than others, but, each brings something more to the table than good looks...they have good wildlife value.

Lindera benzoin host plant for Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly

In fact, nearly every plant has been chosen with birds, insects and other critters in mind. My native shrubs  provide food, nesting and shelter for mammals and birds, as well as being a host plant to butterflies, moths and other insects that keep my wildflower garden thriving. 

Euonymus americanus

When we bought our house 28 years ago the yard had a canopy of Shagbark Hickories, elms (American and Slippery Bark) and a variety of oak trees, all growing in a weedy lawn with absolutely no understory. Seriously, there was none.

Itea virginica

It's taken me a very long time, but, I finally feel as if I have found the right combination and balance of small trees and shrubs that can thrive in the shallow clay soil that is too dry during the summer and too wet during the winter.

Croton Alabamensis

 The ones that thrive are exceptional and honorary members of the Rough and Tumble Wildflower Club.

Photinia pyrifolia (Aronia arbutifolia)

They meet my criteria to a T~They're native, they provide for pollinators and other critters, they shade and protect my spring ephemerals, provide structure to the garden, they are lovely to look at and they help create a healthy and diverse ecosystem.

Hydrangea arborescens

When I add a shrub to the garden it's with a great deal of research and thought and that's the story behind my most recent addition.

Please welcome Diervilla sessilifolia "Butterfly' to the garden!

Photo credit: Mark A. Garland @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

I can honestly say that I've wanted a Southern Bush Honeysuckle since forever. Who wouldn't want a shrub that's been described as happy in dry shade.  Holy Moly, I had to have it in the garden.

SBH is a low growing mounding native shrub with yellow flowers that blooms in the summer  and periodically until late summer. The fall color has been described as good! Since it's a colonizing plant it would be perfect on a embankment to help with erosion. The cultivar 'Butterfly' is said to have copper flushed green leaves, be of smaller stature than the species and have good fall color. It's attractive to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds....and it tolerates almost any soil except one with standing water.

Sounds like an ideal candidate for Clay and Limestone.

xoxogail

 The particulars:
Plant        Colonizing shrub
Light:      Partial Shade to Full Sun
Height:    2 feet to 5 feet
Width:     4 feet to 6 feet
Zones:     4a to 8b
Bloom:    Yellow flowers age to a nice coral color, blooms early summer
Pollinators:   Bees, hummingbirds and butterflies.
Soil:         Not particular, can take dry shade, but, no standing water

It is listed as a threatened species in Tennessee...Middle Tennesseans, you can find this shrub at GroWild, others can find it available online. Please this shrub is not be be confused with invasive Lonicera mackii (here for a post)

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not, and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. Please leave a comment when you add your url to Mr Linky. 



Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.