Often gardeners and landscape architects seem to have a fixation for few, very famous and usually non-native species for public green spaces. Some of these species are alien and potentially invasive, others may be allergenic. Some require narrow environmental conditions and sometimes tend to give b…

We like how these natives (to us) look: Penstemon grandiflorus: lane pink flowers https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/153351-Penstemon-grandiflorus Blazing stars (genus Liatris): like fireworks https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48690-Liatris Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium): unique shape h…

[image] vreinkymov: I think a landscaping deal-breaker for many natives in my region is that they die back / dry up over the hot summer months. I get the impression that landscaping plants are chosen for being able to grow quickly and stay green so that landscapers always have some work to do. …

We have similar tastes in native plants. I plant multiple types of Penstemon (including P. palmeri), as well as Blanket Flower, Rudbeckia, and Columbine. I also don’t limit the Aquilegia to blue, I put in as many colors as I can manage.

The unfortunate bit with Columbine in the east is our native eastern species, Aguilegia canadensis, is definitely a spring ephemeral and dies back after flowering. So phenomenal for like, rain garden that has a mix of ephemerals and other perennials, but less good for more persistent landscaping bed…

Yeah, much as I love A. canadensis (I’m a transplanted Southeasterner, after all), it’s not the most abiding of flowers. The native species out here don’t die back until they get hit with a frost, and they respond to deadheading amazingly well.

Seriously I’m jealous of the more persistant native Columbines out west

Context: Midwest USA Silphiums are my absolute favs. Nothing says summer like 4-12 foot tall stalks with bright yellow flowers. Compass plants (Silphium laciniatum) in particular are great garden plants. They don’t need tons of horizontal room, just vertical room and sun. Most people shy away when …

I mean, personally, I’m trying to cultivate a bunch of native ephemerals in my shade garden - I’ve got Claytonia virginica, Aguilegia canadensis, Mertensia virginica, Arisaema triphyllum, and a few Trillium and Dicentra species… but I think the reason bulb ephemerals like Tulips are so popular is be…

[image] pfau_tarleton: Public space landscapers won’t have this knowledge. Indeed. Twice now have I witnessed the cycle of a piece of lawn being removed to install a native plant garden only to have a clueless grounds maintenance crew spray it all with herbicide and mulch it to death and/or s…

My philosophy for spring ephemerals is to plant something nearby that grows like mad in midsummer. Currently, my Dutchman’s Breeches and trilliums are completely covered by three billowing plants of Pycnanthemum muticum. Not that I actually planned it that way, mind you - I don’t think that hard - b…

Overlooked native plants with ornamental potential

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Overlooked native plants with ornamental potential

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