Wildflower Wednesday: Plant More Natives

Salvia azurea

You won't regret it~Especially, if you choose carefully among the many plants offered  on the Internet and at local nurseries.

Rudbeckia fulgida var fulgida

More are available ~I saw rudbeckias, coreopsis cultivars, gaura, ex-asters, salvias,  agastaches and rhododendrons for sale this morning when I ran to the local big box store for  fence posts.

Keep in mind that even if they are native to where you garden~They might not grow in your garden.

A garden filled with former asters~symphyotrichum and eurybia, Goldenrods/solidagos and Mistflower/conoclinium

Or, they might grow too well.

Physostegia virgiana

Thus, getting erroneously named~invasive.   

a native ex-aster and Chasmanthium latifolium

 It's true,  many natives can be thuggish, aggressive or colonizing.  But,  please don't use invasive to describe their behavior. I like to save that powerful word for exotics that are on the state noxious and invasive species  list.   Instead,  I refer to them as colonizers, aggressive natives or just plain thugs. 

If you garden on a difficult spot like I do,  then aggressive native plants are not a problem.  They are welcome.  In fact, they are my fall garden workhorses.  They're essential to my garden and being  rough and tumble wildflowers means they're  unfazed by shallow clay soil.   They bloom until a killing frost and  they attract  bumbles,  butterflies and other critters to the garden. They also make me happy. What more could you ask for in a garden plant. 

So, plant more natives~They really do make sense.  In case,  I haven't convinced you consider this: native plants are adapted to our unique garden climate; they're less susceptible to pests and disease; we generally don't have to greatly modify the soil characteristics; and,   they provide  beauty for humans and food and shelter for  visiting  butterflies, bees and other pollinators.

Symphyotrichum paten

But, if you garden on rich, deep soil, colonizing native plants, like woodland asters,  False Dragonhead, Goldenrods, Mistflower and River Oats  might not be what you want to invite into the garden.  Remember, they spread by, seed,  roots and rhizomes to make a large and dramatic impact.   

Trust me there are many native plants that are not thugs~You might want to consider planting a sweet native like Salvia azurea.  It occasionally reseeds but isn't a thug by any stretch of the imagination.


So go ahead, plant more natives, just be sure to research what makes sense in your garden.

xxoogail

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. I am so glad you stopped by. 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 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.

Winter Asters

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 Asters*,  the stars of Autumn,  have a  have a second life at Clay and Limestone each winter. 

 Asters (as they were known then) and other endemic Central Basin natives grew with happy abandon in the forested woodland where C and L now stands.  Sixty years ago a neighborhood was carved from the woods and a house was built.  Homeowners came and went,  while  the asters grew quietly  on the woodland  edge.  Twenty five years ago this brand new  gardener fell head over heals in love with the blue clouds of flowers that were covered with bees and butterflies in the yard of her new home.  They  so captured my heart,  that I built a garden  around them.   I've allowed them to  root and seed  themselves with abandon.  Symphyotrichum shortii, Symphyotrichum cordifolium, Symphyotrichum dumosus, Eurybia divaricata, Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, Symphyotrichum priceae, and Symphyotrichum ericoides var. ericoides  have  spilled into the paths,  crept into the wildflower beds and  cozied  up to the benches all over Clay and Limestone.

Each fall they fade to  seedy gorgeousness.

They  spill over  into the paths, 

they creep into the wildflower beds and,

 they cozy up to the benches.
 

Where they have become the stars of my winter garden.

Isn't nature grand!

xxoogail

More on Clay and Limestone's asters
Little Asters Everywhere (here)
Natives For Fall Color (here)
This Is The Place To Bee (here)
Central Basin Wildflowers (here)

This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.

Please Join Me On The Porch For A Little Whine and Chocolate

I knew better... You would think by now that I wouldn't go down that road. I did anyway. Like a moth to the flame I had to look a the weather forecast. Another week of absolutely blue skies and 10 to 15 degree above normal weather. Another week without rain. Another week of dragging that hose from plant to plant.

Just add that to the six we've already had and you get a big dry garden. There's just the slightest chance of rain sometime in the future and a great big High Pressure System stuck over the middle states. Nashville is in the middle this time!

I don't suffer quietly.

A little whine time with a chaser of chocolate really helped take the edge off my grumpiness!

Okay, I admit, it's not all bad in the garden!

Some plants are getting along just fine~ the New England Asters* and the goldenrods can't be stopped.

They are putting on a great show.

They're my rough and tumble wildflowers and every fall they light up this garden. They make me smile, they make me laugh and they've been blooming in full sun with no supplemental watering for weeks.

Now that's a good reason to celebrate with a little chocolate and a beverage on the porch. So come join me!

xxooGail

* Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (Aster novae-angliae)