Category Archives: native plants

Corner Garden Creation

During a recent extended family fishing trip, Mom and Dad L chatted with me about wanting to revive bits of their backyard landscape. Being globetrotters and full-time grandparents, these two had handed over the management of the area to nature. Now they wanted to introduce a bit more order and color, but still provide pollinators and birds with food.

The Site

The little, sunny area they had their eye on sits at the southeast edge of their urban, corner lot. Viewers would see the flower bed from the sidewalk, the backyard, and from within the house at the kitchen window. That section of the backyard had been overrun by bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) for several years, so the plants had built up quite the dense colony. The soil was also heavily compacted, so it was tilled and a lot of compost was worked into the bed to begin restoring structure to the soil. Good soil structure allows water to drain down through the soil and gives plants the ability to stretch out those roots without hinderance.

The Plants

When making suggestions for the new bed, I wanted to make sure the plants:

  1. were magnets for birds, bees, and butterflies
  2. were tough and didn’t require much maintenance beyond their first year
  3. were colorful through different parts of the season
  4. were sizes from very tall (seen from the house) to shorter (seen from the edges of the bed)

Final Plant Selection for a Sunny Bed

Here is the final roundup to begin with for this bed, in the order of bloom time. The blooming period of the plants overlap each other so there is always more than one plant in bloom at once. Some of these plants were volunteers from The Lot (it’s a great way to thin out overcrowded beds in your own garden) and some were already in Mom and Dad L.’s backyard.

  • Existing Random Tulips
  • 3 Bee Balm (Monarda)
  • 2 Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
  • 3 Asiatic Lilies
  • 3 Hybrid Tea Roses
  • 5 Daylilies
  • 2 Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
  • 5 Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea)
  • 3 Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
  • 3 Sedum

The Placement

Stepping stones and plants were placed in the bed. We didn’t plant right away to allow for an adequate amount of shuffling, changing our minds, and reorganizing yet again. The stones allow Mom and Dad L. a way to access the plants without stepping directly onto the bed and compacting the soil again. Here is the preliminary layout for the flower bed as it is view directly from the backyard.

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Here is the same bed viewed from the sidewalk at the edge of the property. The roses were placed at the edges of the bed and not next to the path where a gardener would get scratched up. The coneflowers at the back will provide a tall backdrop for the bed.082315-layoutfence

And here is the bed once again, this time viewed across the backyard from the kitchen window. That same backdrop of purple coneflowers will create a large enough stand to be admired from this angle as well.

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Finally we planted and watered the plants into the bed.

Planted Sunny Flower Bed

Finishing Touches

To help keep moisture in the soil for the new plants and block sunlight from the thistles more than likely beneath surface, we mulched the bed. Cypress mulch was applied 3 inches thick throughout, even under the stepping stones. Here is the finished bed from the backyard.

082315-layoutmulchedfront

And here it is from the sidewalk. 082315-layoutmulchedfence

It was really, really, REALLY hard for me not to place the plants closer together. However, I had learned it is better to allow the plants room to grow toward each other over the years rather than on top of each other during the second season.

Hopefully our winter is kind to the garden and all these transplants make it through to spring. In our Zone 6, if we plant by the end of summer, fall allows an adequate amount of time for the plants to settle in before the snow flies. I’m excited to see this bed next spring.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – August 2015

Today is Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for August. Bloom Day is a monthly garden meme hosted over at May Dreams Garden, allowing gardeners from around the world to share what is blooming in their gardens. I’ve noticed on the Lot a handful of the plants that began blooming in July are also blooming this month.

These include:

  • Blanket Flower (Gaillardea)
  • Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
  • Dwarf Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘Buttefly Kisses’)
  • Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
  • Multiple Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata)
  • Tall Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
  • Dwarf Sea Holly (Eryngium planum ‘Blue Hobbit’)
  • Jupiter’s Beard (Centranthus ruber)
  • Rose Champion (Lychnis coronaria
  • Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Joining the bloomin’ party this month is the butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) and the great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica). Right now the two are elbowing for space, so I’ll have to space them out more in the Spring.

081515-butterfly-bush

081515-blue-lobelia

Also new this month are the pretty, blue blooms of plumbago (Ceratostigma). Last Fall, I thinned clumps of plumbago from the large patch in the backyard bed. Those plants were then transferred to the front, south-facing bed. It seems the plant has successfully established itself. I’m excited to see how the red foliage will look in the south bed this Fall.

081515-plumbago-sbed

Finally, here is the cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) I planted on the Lot last season. It was purchased at a native plant sale. I am quite excited about this plant because it is supposed to be a rockstar in providing for insects and birds. It towers over other plants in the lot, standing at about 8′ tall right now. Check it out, yo.

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And here are just a couple of the many winged visitors to the plant today. I counted at least 5 different types of bees.

081515-cup-plant2 081515-cup-plant3

So, the second insect had me stumped. I searched about on The Interwebs today but had no luck. One last try as I was writing this post turned up the name Goldenrod Soldier Beetle (Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus). They feed primarily on nectar and pollen of plants in late summer. Occasionally they’ll treat themselves to an aphid or two. Here is a close-up.

081515-cup-plant-pollinator

A City Turning Wild

Tonight I attended a Native Plants 101 presentation by the River City Wild Ones, a local chapter (1 of 12 in the state) of the national Wild Ones organization. In the words of the Wild Ones website, the “Wild ones is a national not-for-profit organization with local chapters that teaches about the many benefits of growing native wildflowers in people’s yards.” Not only did I enjoy a presentation about native plants, but it was held at Brewery Vivant. As I told my Other Half, I could only have been happier if he was there with me and I was petting a kitten.

River City Wild Ones Preso

Amy Heilman, Education Coordinator for River City Wild Ones, did a great job in summarizing for the attendees why integrating native plants into the urban and suburban landscapes is important. These native plants create the foundation for a local ecosystem. Local pollinators whose numbers have been in decline depend on native plants for food. These pollinators, most being insects, are a food source for many bird species, and so on and so forth. As I learned at Bee Palooza last year, the act of supporting pollinators alone is really in our best interest.

Why Native Plants are Amazing

  • Native plants are as tough as nails. There is a bit of maintenance like any plant, but they often do not need to be pampered and can adapt to many site conditions.
  • Native plants provide a food source for many pollinators, you know, the little guys pollinating many of our agricultural crops so we have food.
  • Native plants often do not fall victim to diseases cultivated plants catch, eliminating the expensive (and harmful) need for pesticides.
  • Native plants prefer not to be fertilized and often do not need heavy watering while becoming established in the garden.

We Should Plant Weeds?!

The biggest challenge for native plants, I believe, is us. In the United States during the 1940s there was an increase in big lawns, shrubs and foreign plants. We have been raised to believe an orderly garden and huge expanse of well-manicured lawn is the ideal. This will secure in our mind and our neighbors’ we are indeed successful and responsible homeowners. Even roadsides are sprayed with herbicides and highway rest stops are landscaped with exotic plants. Business properties are limited to a few choice selections of shrubbery.

Many native plants are labeled weeds because they are not for sale at a garden center. Bees are dangerous! (nope) Bugs are terrible for our plants! (not really) Often we do not realize what sterile environments our “natural” gardens have become. So many natural and monetary resources are needed to maintain a style of landscaping that gives back nothing in return.

Know the Plants

Landscaping with Native Plants of MichiganSome native plants can become a bit unruly toward the end of a growing season. The sight of such could drive some gardeners to drink. However, learning more about native plants and their growing habits will reveal a large palette of options for even the most OCD gardener. A great book the River City Wild Ones recommends for our state is Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan by Lynn M. Steiner.

One of the Wild One’s members shared some knowledge he gleaned while gardening with natives. When planting a bed, take extra effort to make the edging look nice. This alone can visually tidy up the unkempt look of some native plantings. Also, some natives get quite tall. Be sure to keep those plants back away from driveways where they would impede someone’s view of oncoming traffic.

You Can Start Small

Even after attending this presentation, I am not inclined to return home and rip out all non-native plants from the Lot. Instead, we will continue to integrate natives throughout our landscaping. As I told Amy, I am fascinated with the idea of reintroducing the natural world into an urban garden, blending native plants with commercial cultivars. I’m really excited to see how the native plants introduced to the Lot last season will look this season.

Gardeners can start small by planting a little, sunny strip as a butterfly garden. If you’re already raising veggies, dress up the edges of the bed with native plants that attract predators and parasitoids to cut down on the need to spray. Love birds? Try a colorful stand of native coneflower to provide the birds with delicious seed heads before their migration.

The First Steps to Reintroducing Native Plants

Planting at Brewery VivantAfter the presentation, attendees were able to participate in planting a large bed outside of brewery. Though it was a chilly 58 degrees outside, we filled the bed with a large variety of native plants and grasses. I will be checking back on these little ones throughout the season to see how they fair in the urban landscape. How wonderful that Ward at Brewery Vivant organized the event and the brewery as a business in the neighborhood supports this! Even while we were planting, many pedestrians passing by stopped to ask what we were up to, allowing us to spread the knowledge.

Buying Native Plants

When purchasing native plants, be sure to ask the nursery how the plants were grown. Plants from seed are best as they are more genetically diverse. Also, be sure plants were not grown in a different region and then shipped to your growing zone.

For my fellow Michigan gardeners, here are some names to look up when seeking native plants:

  • Calvin College Ecosystem Preserve, Grand Rapids
  • Designs by Nature
  • Hidden Savannah Nursery
  • Kent Conservation District
  • Michigan Wildflower Farm
  • Native Landscapes
  • Sandhill Farm
  • She is Growing Wild
  • WILDTYPE Design

The Larger Picture

The truth is, there is a larger picture than what our neighbors think of our landscaping. By integrating native plants into the garden, we are creating the first building blocks of a diverse ecosystem. Native plants spread throughout a city can create a type of “Green Corridor” or “Pollinator Pathway” to reintroduce nature to our urban landscape.