Wildflower Wednesday: American Tall Bellflower

 My garden always surprises me.

I am just as surprised by what lives and thrives as I am by what barely hangs on or dies. And I am always surprised when seeds germinate and I get wonderful flowers, especially since, I have failed so often with seeds. So when I saw the blue flowers of a Tall Bellflower waving at me across the driveway I was delighted, you might even say shocked. I've been trying to get American bellflower established here for dozens of years. I've tried seeds and plants, but, nothing has taken. I didn't know I had a tall bellflower in my garden until this beauty waved to get my attention. 

 

I have no idea where this lone flower came from. It sprouted, grew and thrived in a container amongst plants I've been saving for my son's garden. Is it possible that I have created my own seed bank after years of broadcasting seeds? Or  could it have been transpooped by a visiting bird? I don't care how it got here, I just hope it will seed itself about.

However this seed got here, it germinated and bloomed. And for that I am grateful.

Campanulastrum americanum or tall bellflower prefers rich, moist, well-drained soil in part shade. I don't really have constantly moist soil unless I water often. The pot where it was found growing gets regular watering.

Tall bellflower is either a biennial or annual and it has a fairly long blooming period. To top that off, it's very attractive to bees and butterflies. A long bloom period is pretty wonderful in a native plant. 

Are wondering how it can be either an annual or biennial? If it germinates in the spring it will be an annual. If it germinates in the fall after planting seeds in late spring and overwinters as a basal rosette, it's a biennial and won't bloom until the next year. There are of course other factor like moisture, timing and sun, but I am keeping it simple!

I don't know if my lone bellflower is in its first or second year but, I am thoroughly enjoying the bright blue/lilac starry blooms scattered all along the spiky stem.

Unlike other plants in the genus Campanula that usually have bell-shaped flowers (from Latin campana meaning little bell), tall bellflower produces flowers that are, oddly, quite flat. "The star-shaped, five-lobed, light blue flowers (to 1" across), each with a distinctively curved and recurved style and a pale white ring at the throat, bloom solitary or in clusters at the leaf axils in summer (June-August). source 

American bellflower is native to moist open woods, moist meadows, streambanks, and ditches in shady areas of the Eastern United States and Canada. Plant it in rich, moist, well-drained soils in partial shade. Those of you north of middle Tennessee with cooler summers can have good luck growing it in sunny moist conditions. Here it will need more shade. 

It should readily reseed itself so plant it with plants that like similar conditions like Elymus viginicus, Carex blanda, Geranium maculatum, Geum canadense, Carex pensylvanica, Lobelia cardinalis and other shade loving native plants. I like it massed and that was my wish when I first tried growing it from seed.

Wish me luck in collecting seed and having success getting it to germinate at Clay and Limestone. 

xoxogail 

 

The Particulars

Botanical name: Campanulastrum americanum formerly known as Campanula americana 

Common names: American Bellflower, American Tall Bellflower, Tall Bellflower 

Family: Campanulaceae

Type: Annual or biennial. The life cycle is quite unique and is dictated entirely by when the seeds germinate: Fall/Winter Germination (Biennial): Seeds that drop in the late summer or fall and sprout before winter will form a tight basal rosette. They will go dormant in the cold, and then shoot up their tall, blooming stalk in their second year. Spring Germination (Annual): Seeds that wait to germinate until the following spring will usually grow, flower, and set seed all in that same single season. 

 Distribution: Native: United States--AL , AR , FL , GA , IA , IL , IN, IA, KS , KY , LA , MD , MI , MN , MS, MO , NE, NJ, NY, NC, OH , OK , PA , SC , SD , TN , VT, VA , WV, and WI ; Canada--Ontario and Quebec 

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b 

Bloom Time: June to August 

Flower Color: Blue and/or Purple/Lavender 

Flower Inflorescence:  Star shaped flowers

Dimensions:     Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.     Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in. 

 

Source

 

Light:  Full sun if you have cooler summers (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)  Partial Shade for the rest of us (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)

Maintenance: They need regular and even moisture 

Fruits: the fruit is a capsule that changes from green to brown or gray-brown and splits open to expose the seeds. Seeds drop when ripe.

 Wildlife Value: Long-tongued bees are the primary pollinators, including bumblebees and leaf-cutting bees (Megachilidae), including the specialized bees Megachile campanulae and Colletes brevicornis. Other pollinators are Halictid bees, butterflies, and skippers. These insects seek nectar, and some of the bees collect pollen from the anthers. It also attracts hummingbirds.

Propogation: Seeds need light to germinate. Surface sow in seed starting mix or similar medium. Moist cold stratify 30-60 days then bring to 70°F. Plants self sew around plant (what I hope happens here)

Comments: Beautiful massed in a meadow or natural area. Perfect for Riparian (along streams, lakes, rivers),woodland, native, rain, shade gardens. 

 Tolerances: Deer Tolerant, Clay Soil Tolerant, Wet Soil Tolerant, and Black Walnut Tolerant 

 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. So please share your wildflowers on your favorite social media site. Share to help educate others!

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer 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.

Wildflower Wednesday: Downy Wood MInt

Downy Wood Mint and I have been gardening friends for over 40 years. The first time I saw it growing in the shady freedom lawn behind the carport shed I thought it was Monarda.  

Although, it wasn't, it was definitely a mint with its square stems, opposite leaves and whorled lavender flowers at the top of the stalk! 

It's been described as little towers of flowers that wrap around the stems 

Blephilia ciliata is a charming flowering plant with upright unbranched stems. The foliage is lance shaped or oblong and opposite along the stems. Leaves and stems are pubescent/hairy and faintly aromatic when crushed. I am so glad to have fond it because it's happier in my garden than Monarda has ever been. It never fails to bloom and it is tolerant of my dry shade. The other wonderful characteristic: it transplants easily.

unbranched stems on display

 Hillwood in west Nashville where I live was once rolling farmland and wooded forests before it was sold to developers in the 1940s and 1950s. Today you can still find remnants of the woodland in the hills and in the remaining freedom lawns.  I suspect that Downy woodmint can still be found in the woodlands that survived that early development and I wonder how many of my neighbors are even aware that this lovely wildflower and others might be growing along the edges of their yards. I don't know how much longer most of these remnant woodlands will survive the development that's now happening in the neighborhood....Perhaps in the hills, but certainly not on the flatter yards. One thing I am sure of is that the developers who are responsible for the present progmess don't seem to care that they are destroying habitats when they bulldoze the trees and yards to plant their sterile mono-culture lawns.

But, I digress!  

watch out little bees there are crab spiders waiting to capture you

Blephilia ciliata's range is throughout most of Eastern North America and parts of the Central United States. It's been found growing in fields, steep slopes, disturbed sites and roadsides. Plants often occur in thin soils over limestone. Long time readers probably totally understand why it's a perfect plant for Clay and Limestone!

In late spring and summer, dense whorls of clustered flowers encircle the stems. The tiny individual flowers are two lipped and pink, lavender or white with purple spots. 

It makes a charming ground cover. I call it a gentle colonizer! It's not a rough and tumble wildflower blazing a trail through my garden, instead it, gently and slowly spreads. It is well behaved  and supports the surrounding ecology of other plants in the garden. 

I love this visiting critter photo

This carefree flower does a good job of attracting pollinators. Scads of native pollinators visit the flowers. According to Illinois Wildflower the flowers attract long-tongued and short-tongued bees, bee flies, Syrphid flies, butterflies, and skippers. The numerous bee visitors include honeybees, bumblebees, Anthophorine bees, little carpenter bees, leaf-cutting bees, Halictine bees, masked bees, and others. That's a lot of critters.

Source

Attractive seed heads form after bloom and pollination. The seed clusters remain on the plant all winter along with the green basal leaves. Downy woodmint is not long lived so you might want to leave seedheads on the plant to self sow. You can also collect seeds to sow around your garden. I suggest you check out Brian's Native Plants for instructions on seed collection. 

Unfortunately, like many beautiful and unique wildflowers, you might have trouble finding this plant at local garden centers unless they specialize in native plants. Check with your local native plant nursery for plants and online for seeds (Prairie Moon Nursery sells the seeds). 

I hope you know or get to know Blephilia ciliata...It's a delightful little charmer that will brighten a shady or sunny spot in your garden. 

xoxogail

The particulars:
 

Botanical name:  Blephilia ciliata

Family: Lamiaceae

Common names:  downy wood mint, downy pagoda plant, sunny woodmint and Ohio horsemint.
 

Type: herbacious perennial
 

Range: Native to eastern North America and parts of Canada

Hardiness zones 4-8
 

Height: 1.00 to 2.50 feet 

Spread: 0.75 to 1.50 feet

 

Flower: Showy

 

Bloom Time: May to August

 

Bloom Description: Blue, purple, pale, almost white with dark dots

 

Sun: Full sun to part shade

 

Water: Dry to medium

 

Maintenance: Medium

 

Tolerates: Drought, Dry Soil, Deer resistant

 

Wildlife value: A magnet for a variety of pollinators including butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, beetles.

 

Companion plants:  You can pair it with other plants that enjoy similar cultural requirements, like Aster laevis, Phlox pilosa, Coreopsis tripteris, Solidago nemoralis, Bouteloua curtipendula, Sorghastrum nutans or Schizachyrium scoparium. It's still growing in the way back freedom lawn.
 

Comments: Occurs in rich open woods, glades, valleys and ravines, borders of woods, old fields, and along roadsides. It naturally occurs in thin soils over limestone. Needs a few hours of bright sun to flower best. Flowers in mid May in my garden. The seed heads are attractive all winter. Basal leaves remain green all winter. The leaves can be used to make a mild mint tea. NOT browsed by dear or other mammals.

 

Landscape: This is a good choice for a pollinator garden, wildlife garden, prairie garden, rock gardens, Butterfly garden, water wise gardens, or, in a meadow. If you're patient it will eventually make a lovely ground cover. 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. So please share your wildflowers on your favorite social media site. Share to help educate others!

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer 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.

Wildflower Wednesday: Zizia aurea

Our April Wildflower Wednesday star is Golden Alexander with its delicate clusters of bright yellow flowers. When I saw them massed in a meadow garden at the Chicago Botanical Garden a few decades ago I knew I had to try them at Clay and Limestone. I look forward to their lovely yellow presence and their pollinator magnetism in early spring. 

Blooming begins in late spring and continues for about a month. 

I planted a few and they reseeded quite nicely into a small colony. They do look beautiful when massed but, I like them best up close where I can see the pollinator action. And there's always pollinator action to observe! 

 I see little carpenter bees, tiny beetles and other fast flying critters when the sun finally makes its way over the trees and the garden warms up. They never hold still for photos, so you'll have to trust me about their pollinator activity! And don't be afraid of their reseeding skill. They are spectacular massed.

What can I say about their wildlife value? A lot. They provide essential nectar and pollen for short-tongued bees, wasps, and flies, and are a primary larval host for Black Swallowtail butterflies. They also attract beneficial insects that will predate on garden pests. 

   Zizia aurea is a classic carrot family member and knowing its characteristics would make identifying it and other Apiaceae easy peasy in a woodland. Look for clustered small white or yellow flowers that make you think of an umbrella spokes! The clusters are called umbels and are actually individual flowers on stalks arranged like the spokes of an umbrella. You can practice identifying in a herb/vegetable garden where you likely to find many carrot family member.

Why plant Golden Alexander:

•  It offers a vital food source for beneficial insects early in the season when few other flowers are available. 
• the lady beetles and parasitic wasps that it attracts helps maintain a balanced ecosystem
• deer, rabbit and vole resistant
• adapts to various soil conditions although it prefers moist soil    
• the flowers are attractive to many kinds of insects seeking pollen or nectar, especially short- tongued bees. It attract a variety of butterflies, native bees, bumble bees, and honeybees to the garden.      
• host plant for Black swallowtail butterfly      
• thrives in full sun to part shade, damp meadows but can survive dry conditions 
• it's so perfect there are no cultivars!  

 

 Golden Alexanders bloom in April in my Zone7, Middle Tennessee garden. Native to Tennessee and Davidson county where I live, they are usually found in wooded bottomlands, stream banks, moist meadows, and floodplains. They're native from Canada to Florida and east of the Rockies. They're a good choice for heavy clay soils in semi-shade to full sun. They're happy in moist soil but, once established they have some drought tolerance. They've been happy at Clay and Limestone and I never worry that our wet winters will kill them. I do give them an extra drink of water during the droughty summers, especially these last few years when we've had severe droughts.

 

Orange present in county

 

The Particulars 

Genus: Zizia
Species: aurea
Common Name: Golden Alexander
Family: Apiaceae

Flowering: flowers in April-May in my middle Tennessee Zone 7 garden

Native Range: Eastern Canada to southern United States

Zone: 3 to 8

Size:  Height: 1.50 to 3.00 feet Spread: 1.50 to 2.00 feet

Bloom: yellow, umbel

Sun: Full sun to part shade

Water: Medium
Soil: Heavy clay

Maintenance: Water in droughty times if newly established. Unwanted seedlings might be an issue, but are easily shared and moved to other parts of your garden.

Foliage: Attractive

Pollinators: Zizia is a food source for short-tongued insects that are able to easily reach the nectar in the small yellow flowers. Black Swallowtail butterflies feed on the nectar and lay eggs on the foliage and when the eggs hatch the caterpillars will feed on its leaves.
Propagation: Plant seedlings in the spring for good success. Seed will germinate after 90 days moist, cold stratification. Germinates at high percentages. Expect it to reseed.
Wildlife: Has never been predated by deer or voles.
Comments: A delightful plant to allow to seed itself about in a damp sunny meadow. Use in a rain garden or in natural garden. Plant with Carex, Aquilegias, Packera aurea and other plants that like moist soil. Golden Alexander also attracts and hosts a number of beneficial insects that are predatory or parasitoid on many common garden pest insects.(Illinois Wildflowers)

If you garden for pollinators, especially butterfly, you won't be disappointed with Golden Alexander. So give it a try. If it's happy you can enjoy a massed golden show. 

 xoxogail

PS Please remember to never, never, never, never, ever use pesticides in your garden. Also, be sure the plants you plant are free of neonicotinoids. Believe me when I say you want to welcome insects to your garden!

 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. 

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer 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.

January Wildflower Wednesday: Anemone virginiana

I love this photo of its winter curls...before it goes all fluffy.

I have had a love-hate relationship with a few plants over the years and Tall Thimbleweed was once one of them. It's been so long since I felt that way that I am having trouble remembering exactly why. Perhaps it was its tendency to spread too easily like other Ranunculous/Buttercup family members. But, these days I appreciate all its fine qualities, including its self sowing.

If you want a native that offers a long season of bloom and more than a season of interest, Anemone virginiana will be worth a second look. It was for me. It's a charming native that has year round interest, starting with that good leaf shape that many Buttercup family members bring to a garden. I love the lobed leaves and so appreciate them during the "green time" in my habitat. It's an added bonus that they're evergreen in my Zone 6b/7a garden during a "normal winter". 

Anemone virginiana aka Tall Thimbleweed has a long flowering period from early to mid-summer. In summer the buds are displayed on slender stems above clusters of attractive lobed leaves that are clustered in a whorl halfway up the stem. The small white spring blooming flowers  have five petal-like sepals and greenish-yellow central stamens around a central dome. Mining bees, small carpenter bees, sweat bees, green sweat bees and yellow faced bee will be found visiting the unique flower. (source)

Anemone virginiana is another one of those excellent native plants that happily grows in sun or shade. It pops up all over my garden, and that's fine, but it looks best in a larger planting where the cool flowers and great looking seed heads really pop. Fully grown the plant is about 3 foot tall in bloom with a 20 inch spread.

source

Not long after flowering, green, thimble-like fruit replaces the flowers.

The prickly thimbles last a long time and eventually change to cottony tufts. The seeds are wind born and you can expect to see plants growing near and far from the mother plant. Plants are easily transplanted if you don't like where they've planted themselves.

January 25, 2016  cottony seedheads still have seed for winter interest

Tall Thimbleweed seems to be happy in  both sun and semi shade in my habitat garden. Wildflower experts recommend that you plant it in a loamy soil that retains moisture, but, it is drought tolerant here at Clay and Limestone. You can collect seeds and direct sow them in the fall (they need moist, cold stratification) or let the wind carry them around your garden.

To sum up its charms:

• This charming native Anemone can be found in dry rocky areas, on wooded slopes and in open woodlands across Canada and the eastern US (Zone 3 to 8). 
• It blooms late spring to early summer and has small green-white flowers atop tall stems. 
• It will tolerate full sun to light shade. 
• While it is drought tolerant that does not mean xeric. 
• To be happiest it needs well drained and moist soil. 
• Although, it's not a super high wildlife value plant, it attracts small bees, hoverflies and it has been said that birds eat the seeds. Not a deer or mammal food.
• Expect to be charmed by the flowers, but, astonished by the thimble-shaped seed heads that remain intact from fall through late winter and sometimes into the spring. Now that's talking about year round interest.
     

Are you charmed by Tall Thimbleweed or unimpressed? What's your experience with this unique wildflowering native?  

xoxogail

The Particulars

Botanical name: Anemone virginiana

Common Name: Tall thimbleweed

Type: Herbaceous perennial

Family: Ranunculaceae

Native Range: Range extends throughout Central and Eastern portions of the United States and into Canada. Scattered populations exist further south in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Habitat: This native is found in moist meadows and prairies, savannas, moist open woodlands an along the edges of woods and thickets. 

 Zone: 2 to 8 

Height: 1.00 to 2.00 feet 

Spread: 1.00 to 1.50 feet 

Bloom Time: April to May Bloom 

Description: White, greenish white flower. Thimble shaped seedhead

Sun: Full sun to part shade 

Water: Dry to medium 

Maintenance: Medium, prefers moist but can take dry times

Flower: Showy 

Tolerate: Deer, resistant; Drought, Heavy Shade, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil

Wildlife value: attracting pollinators, providing food for birds, and supporting biodiversity. The leaves are a host plant for the larvae of veiled ear moth and one-lined sparganothis

Comments: Poisonous to humans and may cause dermatitis.

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 or not; and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer 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.

January 2025: First Wednesday Taking Care of Nature Challenge

Dear Clay and Limestone readers, I've been assessing whether to keep posting the monthly nature challenge. The overarching theme of this blog for a very long time has been about taking care of nature. It's what I do as a gardener, it's what I write about and it's what I encourage all of you to do. January 2025 will be the start of the fourth year of the taking care of nature challenges and it's still relevant in the midst of the many challenges facing wildlife today, so I've decided to keep on keeping on.

As a reader, I want your feedback and input.  I'll be asking questions in each post. I want to know if enjoyed the post? Was it helpful? What did you find most insightful about it? What questions do you still have about this topic? What topics would you like me to cover? Any other input/feedback you have will be appreciated. I hope you comment and share your thoughts, your frustrations, your successes in your garden or within your community.

I hope you know you are important to this blogger. You are after all a big reason why I continue to blog.

May this be the start of a hope filled year for all of us. Happy New Year.

xoxogail

The First Wednesday Nature Challenge:

The first part of this challenge is to do something or even lots of things each month that supports nature. Be it for the critters living or visiting our gardens, volunteering at a nature center or joining an advocacy group. Adding native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that make sense for our ecoregion is a good place to start or continue (as the case may be). Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do. In fact, there's an incomplete list in this very post!

The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Share your activities with everyone. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature!  

Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners/citizens can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals, including humans, that live all around us. 

Why now? Our neighborhoods are changing. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar, hackberry and other trees are cut down. Insects, birds, even mammals lose their home site and food supplies when trees are lost. During construction soil is compacted by bulldozers, trucks and piles of debris causing runoff; surface runoff that can carry pollution to streams and rivers. It's extremely important that information about the role trees play in our ecosystem is shared. Trees contribute to their environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife.

The "bee lawns" in my neighborhood that are composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, native grasses  and sedges are disappearing. Instead, they're sodded with non-native grasses. These monoculture turf lawns contribute nothing environmentally.  Here's what we lose when our diverse lawns are replaced with pristine turf grass:

• Gone are the lightening bugs.
• Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
• Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters. 
• Gone is plant diversity. 
• Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
• Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds. 
• Gone is a healthy foodweb.
  

 It breaks my heart. 

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help all our neighbors, new and old, see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

A gardener can hope! 

xoxoGail

 

Here's an incomplete list of things you might consider doing or changing in your garden, and things you can do for and/or in your community. But don't limit yourself to my list, make your own list or check out the internet for ideas.

 

Looking for ways to get involved go here for a list of environmental advocacy groups.

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Get in the garden with your children and grandchildren. 

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Plant your favorite native perennials and shrubs. Leave them standing after they've gone to seed to continue to provide for wildlife. What you plant in your yard makes a difference to wildlife. I garden for wildlife so every tree, shrub and plant is chosen with wildlife in mind.

 

Plant more natives and then consider planting even more. "A typical suburban landscape contains only 20-30% native plant species. Try reversing that trend in your own landscape by using 70-80% native species." (source) 

Plant for bloom from late spring to early winter. Bees are most active from February to November (longer in mild climates) late winter blooming Hamamelis vernalis and the earliest spring ephemerals (like the toothworts, hepaticas, spring beauties, and False rue-anemeone) are perfect plants for a variety of pollinators.

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Stay away from native plant hybrids and cultivars that are double flowered. They are sterile and have no pollen or nectar for insects and no seeds for the birds. If possible plant “true open-pollinated native wildflowers”

If you want to garden for wildlife and pollinators, don't let lack of space stop you! Plant your favorite wildflowers in large containers. You just might have the prairie or woodland garden you've always wanted...in a pot!
 
Create a water feature. Provide water year round that is accessible to birds, bees and other critters.

Make a rain garden in low spots to collect and mitigate runoff.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden. 

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

 

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Don't be in a rush to clean up the fall garden. Leave plant stalks and seed heads standing all winter. Leave those fallen leaves or as many as you can tolerate! Insects over winter in the fallen and decaying leaves. Leave a layer of leaves as a soft landing material under trees for moths and butterflies to over winter. Many caterpillars drop to the ground from the trees in the fall and need a soft landing site and a place to live over the winter.

Allow a fallen tree to remain in the garden. Limbs on the ground are a perfect shelter for small animals such as rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels and a habitat for beetles, termites and other insects.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs". Bugs are also good bird, toad and small critter food. 

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and they're great bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds. 

Turn off your yard up-lighting, eave lights and porch lights after 11pm. This is important for nocturnal critters including mammals, snakes, insects, bats, birds (especially during migration). (Birdcast suggestions)

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: You can observe visitors to your water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces. 

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group you can join the national organization.  (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee,  Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program. Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id. 

Take an online course on designing with native plants.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Join the Xerces Society.

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info. 

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

Support trees by joining the effort to make sure developers don't remove more trees than are necessary for their project. Work to make sure there are tree removal permits and that they are actually enforced in your community.

 

 

 

 

 

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.

Wildflower Wednesday: Dicliptera brachiate

Some of my favorite wildflowers are those I've chanced upon while I was out walking in my neighborhood, the greenway or a local park. Unknown plants in flower are magnets for me! I need to get close and try to id them. That's how I met our Wildflower Wednesday star. A  tiny pink/lavender flower tempted me to stop and check out the massed greenery were it was growing in a weedy ditch. I had never seen it before, but there was something familiar about the plant that made me think of Ruellia strepens/smooth wild petunia. Although the flowers are very different, the almost square stems, opposite leaves and position of the flowers were a great help in starting my search in the Acanthaceae family.

So, I took a cutting home to study.

I was able to id our star as Dicliptera brachiate, aka, branched foldwing, false mint, or wild mudwort. And yes, it is a member of the Acanthaceae family.

As an aside, each plant, tree or shrub belongs in a plant family. Learning the characteristics of a plant family can go a long way in helping one id a wildflower. If you want to learn more, start with a few plant families. I suggest Asteraceas (Daisy family), Fabaceae (Bean family) and Lamiaceae (mint) they have easier to identify characteristics. (quote from earlier post)

Unless you are like me, a ditch watching naturalist looking for plant treasures, you might have assumed that the mass of plants were just weeds. When I say mass, I really mean it. There was a dense stand along the bank of the ditch/small creek with Phytolacca americana/pokeweed, non native Asian dayflower, smartweed and other moisture loving plants. What a treasure trove of plants!

Most of the mystery plant were in full sun and sun scorched, but those tiny pink flowers  beckoned to me. My fingers were crossed in the hope that they were a native and not an invasive.

Sun scorched from too much sun and too little water

Dicliptera brachiate is a native in more than a dozen counties in Tennessee, including Davidson county, which is where I live. Not only is it native to Tennessee, but it's also  native to Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas,  Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.  

How is it that I've never come across it?  

I suspect that biologists that spend a great deal of time on river floodplains are very familiar with it. Not so much the rest of us. It is a rather robust herb, about 1.5 feet tall, with several branches (most of which are ascending and stiff/straight). The scattered leaves are opposite, with very long petioles, often 2 inches long or more. The leaves are oval shaped and opposite, with pointed tips. The flowers are in axillary clusters, some sessile but others on pedicels. The flowers are unique with two "lips" (technically the flowers are in 5 parts), bright rose to rose-pink in color and a spread about 3/4-inch from top to bottom. One of the lips folds under, thus the sweet name, foldwing. The stamens and pistil extend beyond the flower throat. (source)

Foldwing prefers a rich, moist soil in partial shade and in the wild it occurs on the banks of streams and rivers, and in hardwood floodplain forests or in this case, a wet weather ditch. It has been described as both an annual and a perennial, either way, it can reseed prolifically. It would make a nice plant for a rain garden, if you don't mind it en masse, but, this is not a plant for a small garden with rich, moist soil....unless you want a ground cover.

Of note: Our star's fruit is a capsule that releases the seed by flinging it far away from the parent plant. It doesn't need wind or animals for spreading the seed. This seed dispersal is technically called explosive dehiscence. Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. (source) Consequently, plants can show up all over a garden. Which explains why one blogger wrote that she would never plant it again.

According to one website it's a host plant for both Eastern Tailed Blue Butterfly and the Texan Crescent Butterfly. It also attracts small bees and hummingbirds. There were no butterfly or bees on the plants, but there was this one little out of focus critter that I only noticed when I downloaded the photo.

Ditches and creek banks are a treasure trove for those who notice wildflower where ever they happen to be walking. But, it's just a weedy patch to others, especially those whose job it is to keep the grounds/yards cleaned and mowed. 

This ditch watching naturalist on the lookout for native plant treasures hopes that posts like this, my First Wednesday Wildlife Challenge and a host of other fabulous nature writers like Jo Brichetto/Sidewalk Nature will encourage more people to check out the edges of their yards and along the ditches and creeks in their neighborhoods to see if they can find and identify wildflowers. I know they're in Hillwood where I live.

Photo by Richard and Teresa Ware

 I was thrilled to find it thriving earlier this summer. I changed my walking routine to pass it every morning to see it in bloom. But, I wasn't sure how long it would be standing before the mow and blow brigade that takes care of the property along that creek would see it as weedy and mow it down. That happened last week, but they didn't mow it all down. Whew! Let's see how the rest of the summer proceeds. I would like to try to collect seeds.

My Gardener Says Blog

I love this plant and wish I had the garden conditions to keep it happy. In the meantime I'll enjoy it by the ditch/creek... As long as it's there. xoxo, gail

The Particulars  

Botanical name: Dicliptera brachiate

Common Name:  branched foldwing, false mint, or wild mudwort

Type: Herbacious perennial or annual

Family: Acanthaceae

Native Range: source

Hardiness Zone: 4 to 8

Height: 12 inches to 30 inches depending upon the site

Bloom Time: August to October

Flower: Diminutive pink, white or light purple 2 cm long

Leaf: Ovate and opposite leaves

Fruit: Capsule,  2–valved, to 4–seeded in 2 chambers, explosively dehiscent*

Description: It's reseeds prolifically and can be somewhat pesky, so consider the most appropriate location for it.

Sun: Semi shade

Water: Medium water use, keep the soil moist

Maintenance: Keep moist and remove seedlings.

Comments: A cutie patootie native plant that would look delightful as a groundcovering plant in a moist space in your woodland garden or along the banks of a wetland area. Be aware that it can reseed vigorously.

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.

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.