ReportWire

Tag: Natives

  • The Garden Decoder: What Are ‘Seed Banks’? (And Why Are They Important?) – Gardenista

    Native Plant Trust

    Above: Inside Native Plant Trust’s rare plant seed cooler, one of several repositories that make up the rare plant seed bank. Photograph by Alexis Doshas © Native Plant Trust.

    With two facilities in Massachusetts—Garden in the Woods and Nasami Farm—Native Plant Trust focuses on species endemic to the Northeast, with priority given to rare species. The bank currently stores more than 10 million seeds. “Our native plants often have complex dormancy mechanisms. We may not know how to germinate all of them, so the first step is to collect seeds,” says Johnson. “The second step is to figure out how to germinate them. Lastly, and perhaps the most important, is to make sure these populations are secure in the wild so we don’t need the seed banks down the road.” Last year, Native Plant Trust worked with a sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis) population in Vermont. This native lupine is a host plant for the endangered Karner blue butterfly. After noticing that the population in this area in Vermont was in decline, they were able to repopulate it from seed stored at Native Plant Trust decades earlier. They’ll return next year to see what the success rate is. “The genetics should just knit back together as if it was just a banner year for the plants to be producing babies,” says Johnson. 

    What can gardeners do? 

    Above: Jesup’s milk-vetch (Astragalusrobbinsiivar. jesupii), a globally rare species, grows in only three places in the world: all along a 16-mile stretch of the Connecticut River in Vermont and New Hampshire. Here, this seedling, grown in Native Plant Trust’s native plant nursery at Nasami Farm in western Massachusetts, was transplanted on site. Photograph by Lea Johnson © Native Plant Trust.

    Grow native plants. “Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation is the number one threat to native plants,” says Johnson. “When you grow native plants in your yard, you’re providing habitat and that habitat can become suitable for rare plants.” Furthermore, “native landscapes sequester more carbon and benefit insects, birds, and other wildlife,” says Havens. “Plus, they avoid contributing to the problem of invasive species, which is one of the largest threats to native plant ecosystems in our region.” And please be sure to avoid all pesticides, even organic ones, which the kill bees, butterflies, and other insects that most native plants depend upon to survive. 

    Enjoy nature responsibly and use iNaturalist. Botanists benefit from community science apps like iNaturalist. Birker notes that she and her colleagues might notice someone posting photos on the app of plants they are targeting for seed collection in bloom. They’ll know that they’ll have to get out there soon to collect. That said, while you’re out in nature, it’s crucial to stay on paths to avoid trampling on plants to snap a photo and never, ever collect from the wild. Leave that to the professionals.    

    Give back to your local native seed bank. It’s a race against the clock. Help these important institutions financially, sign up to volunteer where you can get trained to help out on projects like seed cleaning, and make your support for native plants known. It’s especially important today, when the current administration is reducing funding and protections for national parks and preserves and conservation. “Talk to your local politicians and voice your concern,” recommends Birker. “And support local nonprofits and organizations doing this work.”   

    See also:

    (Visited 28 times, 27 visits today)

    Source link

  • Vernonia lettermannii ‘Iron Butterfly’: Plant of the Year for 2026

    The Garden Club of America (GCA) has named Vernonia lettermannii ‘Iron Butterfly’ Plant of the Year—which, according to its website, “is awarded annually to acknowledge the cultivation and use of native plants, trees, shrubs, ground covers, vines, and perennials that are little known but deemed worthy to be preserved, propagated, promoted, and planted.”

    “We engage with a small group of horticulture professionals from various botanical gardens and arboreta in the US. They receive all nominations and rank the plants based on growth factors, ecological services, adaptability, etc.,” explains horticulturalist and Freeman Medal vice chair Cynthia Druckenbrod, of the selection process. “They chose Vernonia lettermanni ‘Iron Butterfly’ because of its late season color, compact growth habit making it successful in backyard gardens, and drought and disease tolerance.”

    Above: Photograph by Krzysztof Ziarnek via Wikimedia.

    While ironweed itself is not unknown, this cultivar is a recent addition. “More nurseries are growing and selling this cultivar now. It was a relatively recent introduction in 2014, and Mt. Cuba Center’s trial of Vernonia cultivars was conducted between 2020 and 2023. During that time, their botanists ranked V. lettermannii ‘Iron Butterfly’ very high,” she shares.

    The cultivar has a lot going for it—and landscape designers have taken notice (Piet Oudolf has been known to incorporate the plant into his landscapes). With beautiful, almost fern-like narrow leaves, it adds soft mounds of texture in the garden. Its clumping habit makes it well behaved. It can tolerate drought as well as the occasional deluge, making itself happy in just about any part of the garden that has full sun. It can grow in poor soil and doesn’t require much attention, but can benefit with a Chelsea chop in May. Its purple-ish flowers bloom as early as July and can continue to frost, providing food for migrating hummingbirds and butterflies.

    A 5-inch deep pot of Iron Butterfly Ironweed is $17.99 at High Country Gardens.
    Above: A 5-inch deep pot of Iron Butterfly Ironweed is $17.99 at High Country Gardens.

    “Gardens should provide nectar sources for pollinators equally during spring, summer, and fall if possible. I think most tend to focus on mid-summer blooming perennials. Fall-blooming perennials are a real delight providing color until frost and important food resources for insects that overwinter or are laying eggs in the fall.”

    One last thing, if you are wondering if the plant was named after rock band Iron Butterfly, the answer is, yes! Steve Castorani, from North Creek Nurseries, gave it its name as a nod to the band and to the plant’s toughness and ability to thrive in poor conditions.

    Cheat Sheet

    Above: Joe-Pye weed and Vernonia lettermannii in a Pennsylvania garden. Photograph by Larry Weaner, from Garden Visit: Out with the Lawn, In with the Native Plants.
    • Native to Arkansas and Oklahoma, the hardy perennial does best in zones 4 to 9.
    • Tolerates a wide range of soils.
    • Grows to 24- to 36-inches high and 18- to 36-inches wide. Clump forming.
    • Drought tolerant once established.
    • Low maintenance. Happy in a prairie as well as a rock garden.

    Keep It Alive

    A 1-pint pot of Vernonia lettermannii �216;Iron Butterly�217; is $19 at White Flower Farm.
    Above: A 1-pint pot of Vernonia lettermannii ‘Iron Butterly’ is $19 at White Flower Farm.
    • Prefers full sun but will tolerate light shade. Too little sun will make the plant floppy.
    • Quite happy in poor soil, since over-rich soil will do the same as too little sun.
    • Very disease- and pest-resistant.

    See also:

    (Visited 99 times, 98 visits today)

    Source link

  • Winterberry 101: Native Berries to Brighten Winter – Gardenista

    Despite being natively at home in bogs and on the edges of kettle ponds and other wetlands, winterberry, a native holly species, does not require wet feet in order to thrive. Ilex verticillata is a deciduous shrub that escapes notice until late in the season when its rounder-than-round fruit turn scarlet. When its leaves drop, and the fruit blazes on bare branches, it is suddenly the star of any landscape and garden.

    Here’s how to grow it.

    Above: Winterberry’s fruit ripens to red in early autumn.

    Native to the damp and boggy bits of eastern North America, winterberry has been cultivated since at least the late 18th century for its dramatically attractive fruit. It is surprisingly adaptable in terms of its water requirements, though, flourishing in sites that are not moist as long as the soil is acidic. High pH soils will cause chlorosis in the leaves and shrubs may die, while periods of real drought may cause the fruit to drop.

    While winterberry will grow well in high and semi shade, full sun produces more fruit on female plants. Yes, you need a male, too. But one boy shrub is sufficient to provide pollen for several female plants.

    Above: This yellow cultivar is ‘Winter Gold.’

    Winterberry fruit are an important food for resident bird populations as well as small animals who tend to eat them after they have softened, well into winter and often through early spring

    Above: Placing winterberry against an evergreen backdrop makes its branches pop.
    Above: The fruit persists, even during an ice storm.

    Cheat Sheet

    • Winterberry’s native range is from Alabama to Newfoundland.
    • It grows naturally near streams, and in swamps and bogs.
    • The leaves of winter berry are larval food for the pawpaw sphinx, a native butterfly that also feeds on pawpaw (Asimina triloba) leaves.
    • The tiny summer flowers are a food source for small pollinators.
    • The shrubs are dioecious, and you need a male in order for the females to set fruit.
    Above: Living holiday decorations.

    Keep It Alive

    • Winterberry is hardy from USDA zones 3 to 9.
    • It requires acidic soil (low pH) and tolerates wet soil, clay, and very urban conditions.
    • The shrubs will not thrive—and may die—in alkaline soils.

    See also:

    (Visited 38 times, 38 visits today)

    Source link

  • Resolutions Roundup: Garden Pros Share the 10 Ways They’re Changing Their Landscapes in 2026 – Gardenista

    With the start of the new year, our minds are a-swirl with ideas for what we’ll do in our gardens come spring. For inspiration, we asked garden and landscape professionals to tell us the changes they’re planning for their own gardens this year. Their answers run the gamut from ecological resolutions to fixes for eye sores, but one common thread runs through them: landscapes are always changing—and these garden pros aren’t bothered by that. They simply have to keep up and change alongside them.

    Rethinking lawn removal.

    Above: One of Evans’ students, Rosa, hosted a spring planting party; she and her friends planted plugs directly into her lawn. By the following summer, native wildflowers had filled in the entire area (seen from the opposite side, right). Photograph by Heather Evans.

    Heather Evans, co-founder of Design Your Wild, a newsletter and online community, says she’s not removing gras—even though she’ll be decreasing the amount of lawn in her new yard by more than 50 percent. “Instead, I’ll be planting hundreds of native trees, shrubs, and perennials into the existing lawn. The turf will act like mulch while the natives grow in and will eventually be crowded out by them. After trying every method of killing lawn before planting, I realize it’s often not necessary and even harmful, inviting invasives, disturbing the soil microbiome, and causing compaction.”

    Trying a new palette.

    Above: These native flowers are all on Evans’s moodboard for her new garden. Clockwise from top left: Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (photograph via Texas Master Gardeners); Oenothera speciosa (photograph via Wildseed Farms); Lonicera sempervirens (photograph via Native Plant Trust); Salvia coccinea ‘Coral Nymph’ (photograph via Gardenia.net).

    Evans is also making an aesthetic change in her new Florida garden: She’s thinking in pink. “I’ll be planting species—and even cultivars!—from beyond my native range to execute my white-pink-coral floral palette,” says Evans. “I’m loving Texas natives like showy primrose, Drummond’s phlox, and pink Turk’s cap, in addition to Florida native trumpet honeysuckle, pink scarlet sage, and Pinxter azalea.” While maintaining her palette, Evans is planning to plant “two thirds for the birds” (at least 70 percent locally native species to support birds and butterflies). “I’m relying heavily on locally native shrubs and trees. I’m especially excited about white-flowering fringe tree, flatwoods plum, and Walter’s viburnum.”

    Dealing with an eyesore.

    Above: This photo shows the section of garden before Norris installed the heat pump. He says, “This project feels manageable, if not also challenging. How will we disguise this equipment without drawing more attention to it in the first place?” He plans to relocate some Joe Pye weed deeper into the border for a starter.

    The biggest change author, horticulturist, and garden designer Kelly Norris will embrace in 2026 is disguising an ugly addition to his yard: A newly-installed heat pump and exhaust vents. “It’s a reminder that home improvements, however necessary, can significantly change the experience of a home garden,” says Norris. “After lots of hand-wringing and probably much eye-rolling from our plumbers, we located it in a spot we deemed least visually consequential. It’s still a bit of an eyesore that will require reworking our prairie border, but the upside is that the old A/C condenser unit is no longer in our outdoor entertaining area.”

    Learning a new skill.

    Source link

  • The Best Garden Nonprofits to Donate to in 2025

    As the year comes to a close, mailboxes (both real and digital) are flooded with donation requests from nonprofit organizations. This is a critical time for charities because how much they raise in the final weeks of December influences what they can spend in the year ahead. 

    Here at Gardenista we are firm believers in the transformative power of gardens, so we’re happy to direct some donor dollars to organizations that promote gardens and, more generally, plants and wildlife. Today, we’re highlighting a dozen of these deserving nonprofits.

    The Garden Conservancy

    Above: The Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum is one of the organizations The Garden Conservancy supports through its Garden Futures grants. Photograph courtesy of the Garden Conservancy.

    The Garden Conservancy’s mission is “to preserve, share, and celebrate America’s gardens and diverse gardening traditions for the education and inspiration of the public.” The organization’s work includes direct support to preserve public gardens and as well as funding smaller garden-related nonprofits, but what we love most is the sharing part of their mission: The Garden Conservancy makes it possible to experience gardens in person through its Open Days program.

    The Native Plant Trust

    Originally founded in 1900, the Native Plant Trust was U.S.’s first plant conservation organization; its mission is to “conserve and promote New England’s native plants to ensure healthy, biologically-diverse landscapes.” In addition to running a public botanic garden and a native plant nursery, the Native Plant Trust offers a wealth of online and in-person courses.

    Homegrown National Park

    Planted with native species, this garden transforms a residential space into functioning wildlife habitat. It reflects Homegrown National Park’s mission to help people take simple, meaningful actions that restore the natural systems supporting all life. Photograph by Lynn O�217;Shaughnessy.
    Above: Planted with native species, this garden transforms a residential space into functioning wildlife habitat. It reflects Homegrown National Park’s mission to help people take simple, meaningful actions that restore the natural systems supporting all life. Photograph by Lynn O’Shaughnessy.

    Founded by entomologist and author Doug Tallamy, Homegrown National Park’s name stems from Tallamy’s assertion that our National Parks are too small and separated from one another to preserve native species to the levels needed, so we need to extend “national parks” to our yards and communities. The organization’s mission is to raise awareness about the biodiversity crisis, and more importantly to inspire action, “adding native plants and removing invasive ones where we live, work, learn, pray, and play.” 

    Wild Seed Project

    Based in Maine, the Wild Seed Project is one of the U.S.’s only nonprofits focussed on native seeds. The organization collects and distributes wild seeds and encourages gardeners to grow hyper-local plants from wild seed. Members receive the organization’s excellent annual publication as a perk. (Through the end of 2025, all donations to Wild Seed Project will be matched, up to $20,000.)

    Wild Ones

    Participants in a butterfly class hosted by Wild Ones’ Fox Valley Area Chapter at the UW–Madison Arboretum. Photograph by Catherine McKenzie, courtesy of Wild Ones.
    Above: Participants in a butterfly class hosted by Wild Ones’ Fox Valley Area Chapter at the UW–Madison Arboretum. Photograph by Catherine McKenzie, courtesy of Wild Ones.

    Based in Wisconsin, Wild Ones promotes environmentally sound gardening practices and aims to “preserve biodiversity by educating the public about the preservation, restoration, and establishment of native plant communities.” We love that Wild Ones has expanded their free Native Garden Design Program, which provides region-specific, professionally designed templates to help people transform conventional yards into native-dominated landscapes. There are currently more more than 100 local chapters.

    Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

    While not technically a garden-related organization, the Xerces Society’ is dedicated to the “conservation of invertebrates and their habitats,” which often dovetails with how individuals manage their home and public landscapes. The Xerces Society produces high-quality, research-backed publications that help guide effective conservation efforts; they’re Gardenista’s go-to source when it comes to garden practices that are most supportive of insects and invertebrates.

    Source link

  • The All-Star List: 5 Plants I Want More of In My Garden – Gardenista

    December is the month for year-end reviews. There’s already a deluge of best-of lists for books and movies, but what about plants? I think they deserve accolades, too.

    Below, I’ve come up with my personal list of plants that I want more of in my garden. These are five perennial plants that have have proven their mettle and fared well on my property. And because of their stellar performance, I’d like to welcome more of their kind into my garden. They have a few things in common. They are all flowers. They are all in the aster family (the largest plant family). They all do well in zone 7a. They tolerate the local clay soil conditions and while they love sun, they’re also content in part shade. They also support pollinators and put on a good show! What more can a gardener ask for?

    Without further ado…

    Sneezeweed

    Above: Photograph by Andrey Zharkikh via Flickr.

    Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) has yellow single-petaled flowers that bloom from August to October. A native with a wide North American range in zones 3 to 8, it supports pollinators, is deer-resistant, and can be happy in a rain garden. Mine got a bit too happy, since I forgot the planting adage “sleep, creep, leap.” The first year in the ground, the plant builds roots (sleeps), the second year it switches between roots to top growth (creeps), and the third year, it’s mainly top growth (leaps)! This was the plant’s third year in my yard, and it grew to over five feet—taller than me! Its common name comes from the dried flowers being used as snuff, which is odd, since the plant is toxic to humans. I will divide it in the spring and move it from the front to the back of the bed. (This plant is so self-reliant and fuss-free that it made my list of favorite Low-Maintenance Flowers that Thrive on Benign Neglect.)

    Monkshood

    Photograph by Joy Yagid.
    Photograph by Joy Yagid.

    Aconitum carmichaelii ‘Arendsii’ gets its common name from the flower’s unusually draping. It blooms from June through September (although mine lasted well into November this year) and can reach a height of four feet. There are native and nonnative varieties. The native variety, A. noveboracense, is on the federal threatened plant list. All the rest are non-native. (I have a non-native variety. Should native seeds be made available to the public, I would try to grow them.) They like full sun to part shade and damp but well-drained areas in zones 3 to 7. Things you need to know before considering this plant: all parts are highly toxic, and it should be grown where children and pets cannot access it. I have a fenced-in yard and no small children or pets. When I had kids, I removed the plant from my garden, but now that there are only adults in the house, I have brought it back. I will divide it and place it along the fence near my rain garden.

    New England and New York Asters

    Photograph by Joy Yagid.

    I have a hard time telling apart New England and New York asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae and Symphyotrichum novi-belgii). New England asters have thicker stems and purple-pink flowers that can grow to six feet tall; New York has thinner stems and purple flowers that grow to about four feet tall. Both are native to North America in zones 4 through 8, flower late summer into late fall, and last a long time, supporting migrating monarchs and many native bees. These are just fabulous plants—beautiful, pest- and disease-resistant, low-maintenance, and unfussy in a vast range of conditions. I plan to add these along the back fence in my backyard.

    Blue Stem Goldenrod

    Photograph by Joy Yagid.
    Photograph by Joy Yagid.

    Solidago caesia is such a happy plant, with sprays of golden yellow flowers on bluish stems. Unlike the other tall growers on my list, this one grows to just three feet tall and is perfect as a mid-bed plant. It’s a low-maintenance native plant that tolerates poor soil, shade, and benign neglect. It is also far more well behaved than its goldenrod cousins (looking at you Solidago canadensis) and pretty much stays where you plant it. Blue stem goldenrod blooms in fall and supports many pollinators. I’ll plant more of these near my New York and New England asters. Purple and yellow go great together.

    White Snakeroot

    Photograph by Joy Yagid.
    Photograph by Joy Yagid.

    Most people consider white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) a weed. I don’t. Like blue stem goldenrod, it thrives on neglect. It begs you to ignore it; however, you do need to keep an eye on it. It loves to spread. Another aster family plant, this one has small clusters of white flowers in corymbs and can grow two to feet feet high. It blooms from July through November, giving overwintering insects one last chance to fill up before diapause. I currently have a few in my front yard, and they are striking against my blue house. I will divide them in the spring and add them to my rain garden and in the partial shade in the front beds.

    See also:

    (Visited 106 times, 101 visits today)

    Source link

  • Quick Takes With: Richard Hayden – Gardenista

    Piet Oudolf designed a set of long-handled hand tools, a spade and a fork. They’re perfect for when you’re working on your knees, but need more leverage than the normal hand spade can provide. They’re especially good for digging and dividing grasses and more stout perennials. https://sneeboer.com/en-us/hand-forged-garden-tools/piet-oudolf-hand-spade

    Go-to gardening outfit:

    I usually wore cargo shorts and a long sleeved camp shirt, but that was in California. Wearing that on this coast, where I keep running into mosquitos and poison ivy, I’ve had to really reduce the skin exposure. And of course a holster for my left-handed Felco pruners and my soil knife.

    Favorite nursery, plant shop, or seed company:

    I love Hudson Valley Seeds. They’re currently growing a variety of eco-type native pollinator perennials sourced to the Hudson Valley. I think it’s important to plant those local natives when you can.

    On your wishlist:

    Above: Jasper enjoys my roof terrace on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Potted plants include: Karl Foerster grass, calibrachoa, sedums, and geraniums. Photograph by Richard Hayden.

    A garden of my own! I have a little roof space with my New York City rental apartment, where I grow some herbs and a couple of really resilient grasses and pollinator plants. It’s a brutal environment to be gardening on an asphalt roof on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Plus it’s six flights up, so I’ve really resisted my urge to add pots and plants. But it’s fascinating to see all the pollinators that show up even on a random roof in the middle of the city!

    Not-to-be-missed public garden/park/botanical garden:

    On the East Coast, I love Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware. It’s a former estate garden, but planted with all natives in a very thoughtfully designed way. They also do amazing research on various perennials in their extensive trial gardens. On the West Coast it’s Lotusland, another former estate garden in Montecito near Santa Barbara, CA. Just a crazy, fantastical mix of palms, succulents, cycads, and cactus arranged in the most impressive way.

    The REAL reason you garden:

    Above: Photograph by Liz Ligon.

    Because plants are the basis of all life on Earth, and I believe that creating and caring for gardens are, therefore, the highest form of art and interpretation that you can achieve. To create opportunities for human emotion and connection while supporting our endangered wildlife is the noblest of callings.

    Anything else you’d like us to know? Future projects?

    We’re renovating a garden on the High Line between 17th and 18th Streets that was impacted by nearby construction. Piet Oudolf designed a brand new planting scheme that will add 18 new plants to the High Line. We planted this in mid-November.

    Thanks so much, Richard! (You can follow him on Instagram @naturegardener.)

    For our full archive of Quick Takes, head here.

    (Visited 913 times, 51 visits today)

    Source link

  • American Persimmon Tree: How to Grow the Native Tree

    Growing American persimmon trees checks several horticultural and culinary boxes. American persimmon—Diospsyros virginiana and hybrids of this species—are very cold hardy fruit trees, with deliciously sweet fruit, and they can be grown in regions where larger fruited Asian persimmons will succumb to very cold winters. The native fruit differs from the East Asian D. kaki in that it is small, around ping-pong ball-sized. The deep orange little persimmons remain on the tree like glowing ornaments well into cold weather, dropping when very ripe or shaken loose by wind.

    Above: Wild American persimmon fruit is about ping-pong ball-sized.

    Stately American persimmon trees belong to the ebony family (Ebenaceae) and are native to the central and eastern United States. The blocky bark of mature trees distinguishes them quickly from other woodland trees, and in late fall their vivid fruit on bare branches makes them easy to spot.

    The word persimmon is derived from putchamin, an Algonquin name for the native fruit.

    Above: American persimmons will ripen off the tree, like their East Asian Hachiya persimmon cousins.
    Above: A baby American persimmon, still attached to its flower in early summer.

    Cheat Sheet

    • American persimmons are very cold hardy, down to -25°F.
    • The fruit is sweetly ripe when very soft.
    • Generally, only wild persimmons taste better after a frost; breeders have developed cultivars that ripen before frost.
    • Wild native persimmons contain a few flattened seeds, as do some cultivars.
    • For a seedless American persimmon, try the ‘Ennis’ cultivar.
    • Persimmons can be grown from seed but it may take up to nine years for them to fruit.
    • Planting saplings gives you a head start on fruit production.
    Above: Hoshigaki are peeled, air-dried persimmons; traditionally made from Asian fruit; if you try this with American persimmons, know that they dry more quickly.

    Fascinating Fact and Caution

    • Diospyrobezoar is a rare but serious gastric malady caused by the ingestion of the specific tannins in persimmon skin and in all unripe persimmons; it is a mass that can require surgery to remove. It’s all about dose: Eat only ripe persimmons, and in moderation.

    (Some) Cultivars of American Persimmon

    ‘Prok’: reputed to be the best tasting American persimmon.
    ‘C-100’: known for having attractive red fall foliage.
    ‘Killen’ Diospyros virginiana ‘Killen’: bears medium-sized fruit.
    ‘Meader’ Diospyros virginiana ‘Meader’: bears apricot-sized fruit and leaves turn a deep orange in fall.
    ‘Morris Burton’ Diospyros virginiana ‘Morris Burton’: considered one of the best native persimmons.

    Above: Thanksgiving-ripe persimmons on bare branches.

    Keep It Alive

    • Cold hardy American persimmons can be grown from USDA growing zones 4 to 9 (plant Asian cultivars if you live in a higher zone).
    • While some cultivars are self-pollinating, others require a male tree nearby.
    • Diospyros virginiana is a very tall tree (think 80 feet); but several varieties are bred to be smaller.
    • American persimmon will grow in semi shade but produces more fruit in full sun.

    See also:

    (Visited 30 times, 29 visits today)

    Source link

  • Cues to Care: How to Design Ecological Gardens that Look Neat and Tidy

    This is part of a series with Perfect Earth Project, a nonprofit dedicated to toxic-free, ecological gardening, on how you can be more sustainable in your landscapes at home.  

    “What does aesthetics have to do with ecology?” asks Joan Nassauer. Turns out a lot. A professor of landscape architecture at the University of Michigan, Nassauer has been studying how to make ecological gardens more acceptable and accessible. Several decades ago, she coined the phrase “cues to care,” which has now become a catch phrase among ecological gardeners. (Read her paper “Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames” and a recent review paper “Cues to Care: A Systematic Analytical Review”.)

    Cues to care are the key indicators that a landscape is intentional and being looked after. Think: mown turf; visible, unimpeded windows; and prominent, recognizable flowers. Most people find these things comforting. “We want to affect human-dominated landscapes to protect and increase biodiversity, increase their capacity to store carbon, and ensure human comfort with rising temperatures,” says Nassauer. But the key to acceptance and success lies with our ability to “create landscapes people are happy to inhabit.”

    The size of your property does not matter. Every bit of land can make a difference. “The 1/4 acre or even 1/8 acre is in some ways the most important, because from the standpoint of a seed, or a pollinator passing by, or a migrating bird being able to stop and rest, these small pieces all contribute to a larger matrix that is the functioning landscape,” says Nassauer.

    As more people learn about the dangers of conventional landscaping with its toxic lawns and “ultra-processed plantings,” as Perfect Earth founder Edwina von Gal calls them, they’re discovering the benefits of a healthier, looser, chemical-free approach, where lawns are diminished, native plants replace unsustainable ones and are allowed to grow freely, and dead trees or snags are celebrated as sculpture. Cues to care become an important bridge linking the wildness of nature with the intentional. Nassuer notes that cues to care are “not universal, but culturally contingent.” Experiment on your own property, talk about them with your neighbors, and take some cues from these ecological designers who share with us how they show they care.    

    Incorporate straight lines and right angles. 

    Above: In her garden on Eastern Long Island, von Gal created geometric beds and filled them with an array of native plants that she lets grow freely with wild abundance. Photograph courtesy of Perfect Earth Project.
    Above: In her garden on Eastern Long Island, von Gal created geometric beds and filled them with an array of native plants that she lets grow freely with wild abundance. Photograph courtesy of Perfect Earth Project.

    Source link

  • Blue Cardinal Flower: How to Grow Lobelia, a Native Perennial

    Lobelia siphilitica, Blue Cardinal Flower

    Blue cardinal flower, also known as great blue lobelia,  is a tall native perennial that blooms for long weeks at the end of summer. Like its striking cousin, the red cardinal flower, this lobelia relishes plenty of water and is happy growing in full-sun rain gardens, bogs, and damp meadows. But it will also grow successfully without supplemental water in semi-shaded flower borders if its roots remain cool and mulched. Blue cardinal flower brings vertical interest to the garden and is a vividly blue counterpoint to the colors of late summer and early autumn.

    Above: The spires of blue cardinal flower can grow up to four feet tall.
    Above: An illustration of blue cardinal flower from William Barton’s Vegetable Materia Medica of the United States (circa 1825).

    Lobelia siphilitica’s species name is derived from one of its many Native American uses as a treatment for syphilis (in conjunction with other toxic-slash-medicinal ingredients like cherry and May apple—don’t try this at home).

    Above: Blue cardinal flower with a late summer tangle of obedient plant, ageratum, and rudbeckia.
    Above: In the middle of a border, the tall spikes of blue cardinal flower hold their own with grasses and asters.
    Above: Blue cardinal flowers support a wide range of native bees and butterflies.

    Cheat Sheet

    • Blue cardinal flower is native to eastern North America.
    • It is a member of the bell flower (Campanulaceae) family.
    • The species name of siphilitica is derived from an historical use of the plant in the treatment of venereal diseases.
    • Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds feed on the flowers’ nectar.
    • Lobelias produce a toxic compound called lobeline, which makes them less palatable to deer.
    Above: Blue cardinal flower appreciates afternoon shade where summers are hot.

    Keep It Alive

    • Blue cardinal flower is hardy from USDA growing zones 4 to 9.
    • Plant its seeds or seedlings in rich soil with plenty of organic matter.
    • It thrives in damp soil and wet edges of ponds, rain gardens, or streams.
    • Plant in full sun only in cooler climates.
    • Where summers are hotter, plant blue cardinal flowers where it will grow in afternoon shade.

    See also:

    (Visited 59 times, 59 visits today)

    Source link

  • Sumac Essence: A Native Alternative to Pomegranate Molasses

    If you like tart flavors, then sumac essence might be the ingredient you didn’t know your kitchen was missing. Sumac essence is one of my pantry’s most prized seasonal ingredients, to be eked out or traded when times are tough. It is a surprisingly nuanced condiment that I developed from sumac-ade (or sumac water)—a traditional Native American beverage made by soaking the fruit in water. Reducing that tart infusion results in an intense, pomegranate molasses-adjacent condiment whose flavor and versatility will blow your culinary socks off. Sumac has a long fruiting season, and any edible sumac can be used to make sumac essence. But in early fall, the last of the native American species to ripen beckons: winged sumac might be my favorite of these native sour flavors.

    Here’s how to make sumac water, sumac essence, and a quick recipe that highlights how to deploy this bright, liquid gold.

    Above: Sumac water (in the red bottles) is made by covering ripe sumac in water, then straining.
    Above: Ripe fruit heads of winged sumac.

    Late summer and fall-ripening Rhus copallinum, known as winged or shining sumac, has compound leaves whose midribs are flanked by distinctive and narrow winged adornments. Its clusters of fruit (a collection of tightly packed drupes) are browner than the torch-oranges and reds of staghorn and smooth sumacs (which ripen earlier in summer).

    When sumac looks frosted you know it’s as good as it gets.

    Above: You know it will be sour if sumac is frosted with crystalline acids.
    Above: Winged sumac, ready to be soaked.
    Above: Even dry, early-winter sumac can used for sumac essence, but taste before collecting, since rain and snow may have washed the sourness away.
    Above: Making sumac water or sumac-ade with smooth sumac.

    Sumac Water (or Sumac–Ade)

    Makes 5 cups

    This is the first step in making Sumac Essence. While I give quantities below, sumac water is really just a method: Sweeten it, or not, as you like. Quantities and concentrations will vary according to what you have gathered. The ratio below yields a very sour drink and is the perfect starting-point for the essence. You must taste your sumac before collecting, since the tartness washes off after rain (it builds up again).

    • 12 ounces ripe sumac, broken from the main green stalk
    • 5 cups water

    Combine the fruit and water in a large clean jug, bowl, or jar. Leave at room temperature for 24 hours if you mean to drink it right away. Leave for 48 hours if you are going on to make Sumac Essence.

    Source link

  • The Low-Impact Garden: Fiona Brockhoff’s Nature-Based Garden on the Mornington Peninsula

    In just two weeks, Gardenista: The Low-Impact Garden lands in bookstores! We are so appreciative of all the interest the book has already generated. As a thank-you, our publisher is offering a 20-percent discount when you pre-order our book from their site (use code: GARDENISTA20) before October 14. 

    And if you need further enticement, here’s another sneak peek from the book: a tour of an inspired residential garden in Australia that takes its cues from the coastal national park right next door.

    Fiona Brockhoff grew to love the Mornington Peninsula’s wild ocean landscape as a child on vacation. When the renowned landscape designer built her family home here, the style was a nod to 1950s beach shacks—powered by solar panels and rainwater. Her garden is rooted in ecological resilience.

    Fiona’s love of native plants stems from long acquaintance, aided by her love of bush walking (or hiking) and camping. The house, named Karkalla after an indigenous coastal plant, and which she shares with her partner and extended family, sits on a strip of land that has the ocean on one side and Port Phillip Bay on the other. “It’s quite a harsh environment—it’s very windy and the soil is sandy,” explains Fiona. “The decisions we made were not just about the layout of the garden and the hard landscape elements. A lot of the plants that I chose were those I’d seen when I’d been walking in the Mornington Peninsula National Park, adjacent to our property.”

    The provenance of materials is as local as the plants: “The gravel comes from a nearby quarry, and a lot of the timbers are from a jetty that was renovated when we were building the garden.” Walls of regional limestone anchor the house and garden and are the continuing work of stonemason David Swann, Fiona’s partner, whom she met on the build.

    Fiona focuses on “appropriate planting” rather than lecturing people on the rights and wrongs of natives versus non-natives. When a client asks for bamboo and miniature maples to go in a Japanese-style garden, she asks them to go back a step and think about what it is about a Japanese garden that attracts them. Is it the simplicity and the restricted number of plants and elements in that kind of garden? If so, she suggests creating that feeling using local, indigenous plants.

    City people on the Mornington Peninsula can bring with them a Melbourne mentality, thinking that constant vigilance is required in watering and general fussing over plants. Fiona tells clients that unless they are growing vegetables, this is not necessary. “It’s more about allowing those plants to be themselves. They don’t require a lot of maintenance because they’re mainly indigenous, or they’re a good ecological fit. Yes, there’s some pruning, and the gravel needs a bit of raking, but on the whole, it’s about working with nature.”

    Photography by Caitlin Atkinson.

    Above: Sea box (Alyxia buxifolia, foreground) is found in native coastal scrub, but Fiona shapes it like ordinary boxwood. Behind the table is a clipped Melaleuca lanceolata, which in the wild would grow into a large tree. Says Fiona: “We’ve pruned boxwood, roses, and lavender. Why weren’t we pruning Australian plants?” The main barrier is perception, she suggests. “People say to me, ‘Is that really a native garden? But—it’s so beautiful.’”

    Source link

  • Downy Skullcap: How to Grow Scutellaria Incana, a Native North American Wildflower

    Downy Skullcap, Scutellaria incana

    The longer I garden, the more I want to grow perennials that bloom for as long as possible, and that ask for as little as possible in return. Within reason. While Agastache has long been at the top of my list of summer-to-fall-flowering, pollinator-supporting native perennials, a Scutellaria species is beginning to nip at its heels: Again and again I have seen the showy, blue, distinctively hooded flowers of downy skullcap—Scutellaria incana—standing tall in perennial borders and in wild planting that enjoy little regular maintenance. The plant is compelling.

    Here’s why.

    Photography by Marie Viljoen.

    Above: Downy skullcap flowering in a dry July in part shade in an unirrigated border.

    Also known commonly as hoary skullcap, Scutellaria incana is a native North American plant that checks the following boxes: It blooms for many weeks—even months—in late summer; it flowers in full sun as well as in shade; it attracts and supports pollinators and hummingbirds; it withstands periods of drought; and it is genuinely attractive, with myriad cerulean flowers.

    Above: Deadheading downy skullcap’s spent racemes of flowers encourages new growth and a new flush of blooms.

    Downy skullcap is a  tall perennial, averaging around three feet. It begins to flower in late summer, and continues to bloom for many weeks. If it is deadheaded, those weeks extend to months. It is very effective in meadows or wild-at-heart borders combined with bee balms and milkweed, rudbeckias, helianthus and helenium, echinacea, obedient plant, agastache, and goldenrod.

    Above: Downy skullcap is native to central and eastern US.

    Cheat Sheet

    • There are hundreds of species of Scutellaria, worldwide.
    • Downy skullcap is a wildflower native to the central and eastern United States.
    • Scutellaria belong to the Lamiaceae (mint) family.
    • The square stems of downy skullcap (Scutellaria incana) are finely hairy.
    • Several species of Scutellaria are valued for their use in Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as Native American and other folk medicines.
    • While the flowers of downy skullcap are attractive to pollinators and hummingbirds, the bitter foliage is (usually!) deer-resistant.
    Above: The plant grows to about 3 feet tall.

    Keep It Alive

    • Downy skullcap is hardy from USDA zones 5 to 8.
    • Plant it in full sun, semi-shade, or high shade.
    • It is tolerant of a wide range of soils, except those that remain waterlogged.
    • Deadhead after its first flush of blooms to encourage fresh growth and second flush.

    See also:

    (Visited 65 times, 63 visits today)

    Source link

  • Pawpaw Streusel Cake: A Recipe for the Native American Fruit

    When the evenings begin to nip and the light becomes clearer than it has been for months, you know it’s pawpaw time. The fruit of Asimina triloba begins to ripen in early autumn. My pawpaw streusel cake is a fall treat that uses aromatic pawpaw pulp, freed of its glossy seeds, and spiced with native spicebush—a forest companion of pawpaw trees—whose warm orange inflections seem created for this pawpaw pairing.

    Read on for this pawpaw cake recipe, a source for the spicebush, and where to buy pawpaws in (and out) of season.

    Above: Pawpaw streusel cake is a coffee cake with a native-flavored twist.
    Above: Pawpaws heading towards ripeness, in Brooklyn, NY.
    Above: The color of ripe pawpaws can vary from the palest of yellows to rich apricot.

    A quick recap in case of confusion: What pawpaw are we talking about? Our pawpaw is cold-hardy and native to Eastern  North America. The tree is in the genus Asimina, and most commonly seen species is A. triloba. It is related to soursop and custard apples, and shares their distinctively big, glossy seeds. But pawpaw is also the name in some (previously or currently Commonwealth) countries for papaya—subtropical and tropical Papaya carica—filled with myriad tiny, peppery seeds.

    Above: Tiny pawpaws gathered on Staten Island, NY.

    When I first began developing a recipe for pawpaw streusel cake, I relied on the very good pawpaw purée as well as fresh fruit shipped by Integration Acres, a diversified farm and foraging outfit in Southeast Ohio (and also the founders of the annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival). These pioneering pawpaw advocates also sell dried spicebush berries (they’re actually drupes, botanically—the fruit of Lindera benzoin; picture allspice, but more oval than round). Now, I have a more local network of trees, wild and tame, to provide fruit when I am vigilant with the timing and lucky with weather.

    Above: Garden-grown pawpaws from Park Slope, Brooklyn.

    Pawpaws need to be within a few of days of ripeness when harvested. Left in a bag, like avocados, they will ripen. But too green, and they’ll just sit there, untransformed, all their months of maturing wasted. A light touch or gentle shaking of a branch should dislodge the ready fruit.

    Pawpaw Purée

    This is an effective way to preserve pawpaw pulp—its flavor stays magically intact after freezing and thawing. Use it for this cake, as well as for life-changing ice cream.

    Slice ripe, soft pawpaws in half, remove the fat seeds, and scrape the pulp into a bowl. Transfer the pulp to a food processor and spin until smooth (or press it through a strainer). Make sure not to include any seeds by accident. Like other fruit seeds, they are toxic, and in this case, highly laxative. Freeze the pulp in small containers, or use straight away.

    Above: The pulp of three varieties of pawpaw scooped from the skins and separated from the seeds.

    Source link

  • Native perennials for late summer create a naturalistic landscape

    When August melts into September, nights are suddenly noticeably longer, while flowering perennials seem to grow wilder, to compensate. One of the greatest gardening pleasures of this cusp-season is the effusion of a tousled collection of native plants whose flowers are the languid counterpoint to spring’s cheerful bursts of blossoms. If we must have winter, then these sultry blooms are a fitting way to celebrate the dying of the light. Here are 11 native perennials for late summer and fall.

    Photography by Marie Viljoen.

    Agastache, anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)

    Above: Anise hyssop (with foreground of skullcap), blooms for months, into fall.

    Of all the native perennials that bloom late into the year, if  I had to choose just one to provide summer-to-fall flowers, it would be Agastache foeniculum and its various cultivars. Tall in stature, with licorice or mint-scented leaves, and profuse little blue flowers, these sun-loving hyssops provide height and bulk and filler, all at the same time. They are also elegantly lanky, and are a day-long buffet for bees, other pollinators, and even hummingbirds. If you can bear it, grit your teeth and cut the waning flowers back in late summer for a late fall resurgence; and leave those flowers to set seed for seed-eating birds like goldfinches.

    Asters (Symphyotrichum pilosum, S. ericoides, and others)

    Above: Airy white asters sparkle in early fall landscapes.

    No late summer garden seems complete without asters—low-maintenance and long-blooming. Heath aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides, above) likes full sun and is hardy from zones 3 to 10. Hairy aster (S. pilosum) can handle more shade and likes moist soil. It is hardy from zones 4 to 8. For woodland gardens, choose wood aster (Eurybia divaricata).

    Flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata)

    Above: Flowering spurge is a native Euphorbia.

    Clump-forming flowering spurge is one of the native perennials that seems to fly under the horticultural radar. Also known as the baby’s breath of the prairie, it has a loose, breezy habit with wiry stems tipped by flower-like bracts and distinctive, three-celled seed capsules. Flowering spurge pairs well with grasses and golden rods, asters, helianthus, and partridge pea. It flourishes in full sun and is hardy from USDA zones 4 to 9.

    Great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis)

    Above: The wine-colored flower spikes of great burnet against a backdrop of Rudbeckia.

    Great burnet is potentially statuesque, but it never dominates, visually. Instead, its threadlike stems hold burgundy flowerheads effortlessly aloft, adding tousled lightness to late summer and autumn gardens. Grow great burnet in full sun, and enjoy its cucumber-flavored leaves in salad. It is hardy from zones 4 to 8.

    Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata and other species)

    Above: Ironweed beginning to bloom on Manhattan’s High Line.

    The vivid amethyst tufts of ironweed are welcome relief from the cheery but often dominant yellow palette of the late summer native garden. Smooth ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata) is hardy from zones 4 to 9 and flowers best in full sun. Giant ironweed (V. angustifolia) grows better in partial shade, and is hardy from zones 5 to 8. Both species require ample moisture.

    Source link

  • Hyper-Local Native Plant Nurseries: The Rise of the Backyard Nursery

    This is part of a series with Perfect Earth Project, a nonprofit dedicated to toxic-free, ecological gardening, on how you can be more sustainable in your landscapes at home.   

    Time for a bit of good news. More people are growing native plants. According to the National Gardening Association, the number of people buying them has nearly doubled since 2019. And while it can still be challenging to find native plants at garden centers around the country, small, hyper-local native plant nurseries are popping up to meet demand.

    Below, we highlight six such nurseries (including three that opened just last year)—Earth Tones in Woodbury, CT; Flosagri in Cold Spring, NY; All Tomorrow’s Prairie in Tulsa, OK; Dropseed in Prince Edward County in Ontario; Redbud Native Plant Nursery in Media, PA; and Long Island Native Plant Initiative in Brentwood, NY—and asked them what lessons they’ve learned growing native plants.

    Earth Tones Native Plant Nursery, Woodbury, CT  

    Above: At Earth Tones, seedlings (plugs) grow in trays and next to it demonstration gardens. “We take inspiration from nature and think about all the different ecosystems and the plants and how that would all work together and look right in the space,” says Turoczi.

    When landscape architect Lisa Turoczi was starting out as a designer, she had to travel hours to wholesale nurseries to buy plants for projects. At one nursery she had an epiphany: “I was standing among all these flowers and there was no sound, no buzzing, no birds,” she recalled. The eerie silence was a sign that they were spraying pesticides to keep insects away from the plants. No insects, no birds. That experience provided an impetus to start Earth Tones Native Plants in Woodbury, CT, with her husband Kyle, a wetlands ecologist, in 2004. What began as a small native plant nursery with 20 different species has grown today to offer 400 different species—all geared to their region in the Northeast. They grow everything from seed, including trees and shrubs, and are also propagating ferns by spore to allow for greater genetic diversity. “Plants grown from seed grow faster and are hardier and stronger,” says Turoczi. “They’re basically grown the way nature intended them, rather than forcing a plant to make roots out of its stem.” As for sound? There’s no eerie silence at Earth Tones. You can hear nature’s full chorus.   

    Redbud Nursery, Media, PA 

    Landscape architects Snell and McDonald Hanes met at Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and took over Redbud Native Plant Nursery in 2020.
    Above: Landscape architects Snell and McDonald Hanes met at Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and took over Redbud Native Plant Nursery in 2020.

    “We are landscape architects who really love plants,” says Julie Snell, who, together with Lisa McDonald Hanes, founded the landscape architecture firm Tend in Media, PA, in 2013. They hadn’t set out to buy a nursery, but when Redbud Native Plant Nursery owner Catherine Smith was ready to retire five years ago, they jumped at the opportunity to take up the mantle and reconnect with the plants they love while still keeping their landscape architecture business. “When you’re working as a landscape architect, you can spend a lot of time at the computer,” says Snell. Having a nursery brings the duo back into the garden. They offer design and coaching services at Redbud, host workshops, and have display gardens so people can see, smell, and touch the plants. “We’re educators at heart,” Snell says. “We’re building community through horticulture.” 

    Long Island Native Plant Initiative, Brentwood, NY 

    Part of the mission of the nonprofit Long Island Native Plant Initiative is to preserve Long Island’s biodiversity. They have several seed increase plots to increase the seed bank.
    Above: Part of the mission of the nonprofit Long Island Native Plant Initiative is to preserve Long Island’s biodiversity. They have several seed increase plots to increase the seed bank.

    “All of our plants originated on Long Island,” says Maggie Muzante, lead nursery manager at Long Island Native Plant Initiative (LINPI). The nonprofit grows more than 40 different ecotypic species, ethically collected from seed found in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Its mission is to preserve the area’s biodiversity and to restore habitat. “We grow multiple sessions of the same species from multiple locations in the plot to boost genetic hardiness,” Muzante says. In addition to selling resilient, nursery-grown plants, they also add to the native seed bank and work mostly with a mighty group of passionate volunteers. 

    Source link

  • Shrubs for Shade: Our Favorite Flowering Shrubs for the Shade Garden

    For the many gardeners whose growing-spaces are either entirely or partly shaded, shade-loving shrubs offer an important, permanent layer of interest alongside perennials and beneath trees. In small gardens, shrubs can create a structural framework for the space, seasonal focal points, a living wall or partition, or even a harvestable crop for a less-than-sunny kitchen garden. While any list of shrubs for shade can include worthwhile and non-invasive introduced species, planting natives (in this case, to North America) contributes towards resilience and supports sustainable growing practices.

    Our 13 favorite shrubs for shade span the year in terms of seasonal interest, from spring flowers to fall fruit.

    American hazel (Corylus americana)

    Above: A cluster of American hazelnuts in late summer.

    Hazelnut, filbert, cobnut—whatever you call the fruit of this large shrub, it will be yours to harvest if you plant your Corylus in semi-shade. (While hazel will grow beautifully leafy in full shade, it will bear fewer nuts.) One of the earliest shrubs to bloom in pre-spring, American hazel has slender flower structures with a tiny, burgundy male flower poised above the pendant female catkins. American hazel is hardy from USDA growing zones 4 to 9.

    Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium and V. corymbosum)

    Above: Blueberries on a container-grown shrub.

    Highbush and lowbush blueberries have three seasons of serious interest: early spring flowers (an important food source for native bees), their famous summer fruit, and very vivid fall foliage. Blueberries require acidic soil—it’s non-negotiable—so if your garden’s in-ground soil tests near-neutral, they are better grown in containers, where you can adjust the pH more easily (personally, I use fresh—not spent—coffee grounds, mixed into the potting soil when planting.) Blueberries are hardy from USDA zones 3 (possibly 2, with protection) to 8.

    Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)

    Above: The striking summer spires of bottlebrush buckeye.

    Bottlebrush buckeye’s elegantly upright racemes of white flowers are like summer fireworks. Blooming in mid to late summer, this large shrub fills the flowering gap between spring’s profusion and fall’s fruit and foliage. Hardy from USDA zones 4 to 8, bottlebrush buckeye will thrive in part to full shade.

    Canada rosebay, rhodora (Rhododendron canadense)

    Above: Canada rosebay blooms in late spring and early summer.

    In the wild, Canada rosebay, or rhodora (which is also the family name for all rhododendrons), flourishes in moist woodlands and at the edges of swamps and bogs. Its scented blooms appear in late spring to early summer. This is a shrub that needs plenty of water, and it also requires acidic soil. Canada rosebay grows in semi-shade or under the seasonal shade of deciduous trees. It is is very cold hardy, from USDA zones 2 to 6.

    A digression for botanical poetry:

    The Rhodora

    – 1834, by Ralph Waldo Emerson

    In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes,

    I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods,

    Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook,

    To please the desert and the sluggish brook.

    The purple petals fallen in the pool

    Made the black water with their beauty gay;

    Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool,

    And court the flower that cheapens his array.

    Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why

    This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,

    Tell them, dear, that, if eyes were made for seeing,

    Then beauty is its own excuse for Being;

    Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!

    I never thought to ask; I never knew;

    But in my simple ignorance suppose

    The self-same power that brought me there, brought you.

    Carolina allspice, strawberry bush, sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus and C. occidentalis)

    Above: Calycanthus blooms from late spring through early summer.

    Source link

  • The New York City Biodiversity Task Force on How We Can Help Better Support Our Ecosystem

    The New York City Biodiversity Task Force on How We Can Help Better Support Our Ecosystem

    This is part of a series with Perfect Earth Project, a nonprofit dedicated to toxic-free, nature-based gardening, on how you can be more sustainable in your landscapes at home.

    “New York City has a secret,” says urban ecologist and founder of NYC Wildflower Week Marielle Anzelone. “The Big Apple boasts more open space than any major city in the United States; more than Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia combined. Even Manhattan, known for its taxi cabs and towering skyscrapers, has rare beetles and 150-year-old tulip trees. The five boroughs collectively host over 40 percent of the state’s rare and endangered plant species.”

    And yet New York City, along with most of the developed world, is in the midst of a biodiversity emergency. In response, a number of major international metropolises—San Francisco, Paris, Singapore, Freetown, Sydney, São Paulo, to name just a few—have adopted biodiversity plans to devote resources to address the problem, but New York City has not. “It’s the only major global city without a comprehensive biodiversity plan,” says urban forester and founder of Local Nature Lab Georgia Silvera Seamans, PhD., who along with Anzelone, is on a mission to get the city’s government to change that. With the goal of “increasing access to nature and protecting and restoring biodiversity and natural habitats,” they launched the New York City Biodiversity Task Force earlier this year. This coalition includes field biologists, environmental justice organizations, civic institutions, and nonprofits, including Perfect Earth Project, representing all five boroughs. “To be truly resilient, New York City needs a clear ecological mandate,” says Anzelone. 

    Silvera Seamans and Anzelone believe that ecology is an underutilized urban resource. They want to see “biodiversity elevated to match the scale and urgency of climate concerns in the city,” arguing that investments in biodiversity can “beautify and cool neighborhoods, support pollinators, boost mental health, advance environmental justice, and deliver nature-based solutions for climate action.” Healthy, functioning ecosystems are essential to the air we breathe and the food we eat. I spoke with them to learn five simple things we can all do in our communities to help protect biodiversity. 

    1. Take a walk in nature.

    A Rusty Blackbird takes a splash in Central Park. Sadly, this bird
    Above: A Rusty Blackbird takes a splash in Central Park. Sadly, this bird’s population has declined by 75 percent from 1966 to 2019, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, due in part to mercury contamination and habitat loss. To address the global extinction crisis, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, a multinational treaty, has been ratified by nearly all UN members, except the United States. Later this month, countries around the world will meet for CBD’s COP16 in Colombia. Photograph by Eric Ozawa.

    Source link

  • Native Irises: The Best Low-Maintenance Irises Indigenous to the U.S.

    Native Irises: The Best Low-Maintenance Irises Indigenous to the U.S.

    “Irises were my first love,” says horticulturalist Kelly D. Norris, the garden author and designer known for his “new naturalism” garden style. He started out managing his family’s iris farm and eventually became a noted iris expert, writing A Guide to Bearded Irises. However, it’s not just the dizzying array of bearded irises that Norris fell hard for: He loved the beardless native irises, too. “The farm I grew up on was not far removed from native prairie remnants, including some that bordered the river. All of the little swales where they’d dug for the railroad tracks and disturbed the floodplain were home to large colonies of Iris virginica,” he remembers. On one occasion, teenage Norris took a potato fork to dig up a patch of irises in the path of development.

    Indigenous irises often get less attention than their cultivated counterparts, but as gardeners aspire to plant more natives and design landscapes that better manage rainwater, American irises deserve a second look. Unlike imported irises, native irises are low-maintenance: They don’t require fertilization, and once established they will spread and come back bigger year after year. Even when not in bloom, many native irises have foliage that offers substantial architectural quality. And while we do not yet know about specific host plant relationships, they are beloved by bees, moths, and butterflies. 

    Native irises, and blue flag irises in particular, are often well-suited to rain gardens and bioswales, which mimic their natural habitats near ponds and streams. Writing for the Ecological Landscape Alliance, Dr. Catherine Neal, a horticulture professor at the University of New Hampshire, noted, “Blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) is a plant that seems to be highly adapted to the lowest area of the rain garden—we have seen it survive where many other species have failed.” Norris has personally been experimenting with breeding native irises, hoping to tease out selections from wild populations that could have a little more horticultural interest in bioswales and green infrastructure. “We need a plant palette for that,” he says.

    There are only 28 native iris species in the U.S. (although that number may vary slightly depending on who you talk to), but because they hybridize easily both in nature and with human assistance, there are hundreds of garden forms in cultivation. Plantsman Bob Pries, an iris hybridizer and longtime member and spokesperson for the American Iris Society, encourages gardeners interested in native irises to join Species Iris Group of North America (SIGNA). “They have a seed exchange, which is one of the easiest ways for people to get seeds of a lot of these plants,” says Pries. (Iris lovers might also explore the Society’s Iris Encyclopedia, which lists about 80,000(!) different cultivars of irises, mostly non-native, that have been registered.)

    Here’s a primer on the irises native to the United States:

    Blue Flag Irises

    Above: In the “valley” of Norris’s own Three Oaks garden, an homage to wet ditch flora features ‘Purple Flame’, a selection of I. versicolor from Mt. Cuba Center.
    Above: In the “valley” of Norris’s own Three Oaks garden, an homage to wet ditch flora features ‘Purple Flame’, a selection of I. versicolor from Mt. Cuba Center.

    Source link

  • Tama Matsuoka Wong: An Interview with the Forager Extraordinaire

    Tama Matsuoka Wong: An Interview with the Forager Extraordinaire

    We’ve been writing about Tama Matsuoka Wong for more than a decade—first in 2013 when we joined her for a foraging (and eating) adventure on her 28-acre property in Hunterdon County, NJ, then again in 2017 when she co-authored the cookbook Scraps, Wilt + Weeds with Danish chef Mads Refslund (of Noma fame). And more recently, earlier this year, we were swept up by her new book, Into the Weeds, which lays out her “wild and visionary way of gardening.”

    All of which is to say, we are unabashed fans—of her forage-focused recipes, of her let-nature-take-the-wheel gardening philosophy, of her passion for plants that are often misunderstood and loathed. “Some are ecologically invasive plants, some are just ordinary garden weeds, and some are native plants that aren’t on the list of showy ornamentals but are part of a vibrant natural plant community,” she says.

    Below, the self-described “garden contrarian” shares why she thinks planting doesn’t have to be a part of gardening, which tool she uses to maintain her meadow, and why she always has crates in her garden.

    Photography courtesy of Tama Matsuoka Wong.

    Above: The “ecologically minded forager, meadow doctor, and lecturer” has written three books. Her first, Foraged Flavor, was nominated for a James Beard award; her second, Scraps, Wilt + Weeds, received the IACP “Food Matters” award. Read about her latest, Into the Weeds, here. Photograph by Colin Clark.

    Your first garden memory:

    In New Jersey, mucking about in the garden dirt with my mother, and picking wild berries. My mother grew up in Hawaii, climbing coconut trees and she always told me she loved the feel of the earth in her hands.

    Garden-related book you return to time and again:

    It’s an oldie but goodie: Bill Cullina’s Native Trees, Shrubs & Vines: A Guide to Using, Growing, and Propagating American Woody Plants. I still have my dog-eared version of Weeds of the Northeast by Richard Uva. I’ve also read multiple times H is for Hawk by British author Helen Macdonald and My Wild Garden: Notes from a Writer’s Eden by Israeli writer Meir Shalev. They inspire me. And, of course, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

    Instagram account that inspires you:

    @andrew_the_arborist. @minh_ngoc.

    Describe in three words your garden aesthetic.

    Above: Outdoor dining on her property, surrounded by “weeds.” Photograph by Ngoc Minh Ngo.

    Wild, wonder-filled, wabi-sabi.

    Plant that makes you swoon:

    A survivor plant in its natural habitat and community: whether desert, chaparrel, bog, pine barrens, highlands, low country.

    Plant that makes you want to run the other way:

    Callery pear tree (bradford pear tree).

    Favorite go-to plant:

    Tama likes to forage staghorn sumac fruit to cook with. See her recipe for Sparkling Sumac Lemonade Recipe. Photograph by Tama Matsuoka Wong.
    Above: Tama likes to forage staghorn sumac fruit to cook with. See her recipe for Sparkling Sumac Lemonade Recipe. Photograph by Tama Matsuoka Wong.

    Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac).

    Hardest gardening lesson you’ve learned:

    Nothing is forever. Plants thrive when and where the conditions are uniquely suited. We can’t over-think, over-design, and over-control these conditions, especially now with changing and unexpected weather conditions. Just be grateful when a plant has an amazing year.

    Unpopular gardening opinion:

    My mission is not popular: Weeds, by definition are not popular.

    Gardening or design trend that needs to go:

    The idea that everything in a garden needs to be planted, that we need to “install” a landscape.

    Favorite gardening hack:

    Above: “These crates are covering newly planted turkey tangle frogfruit, an unnoticed, weedy native plant that likes to grow ‘in wet ditches.’ ” Photograph by Tama Matsuoka Wong.

    Source link