Gardners are the worst kind of people. Self righteous, opinionated, eccentric, and worst of all woefully ignorant..... Okay maybe not all gardners.... okay maybe its just a small minority of gard-e... myself. I'm talking about myself.
I suppose I should elaborate a bit.
For the record this ignorant gardener actually does do his homework. I have a zero fuss policy and refuse to plant anything that won't do well in the sad excuse for soil I have to work with. Recently, after doing a thorough vetting, it was definitively decided that my garden was in desperate need of some Sanguisorba canadensis. As with most of my "natives" I have an idealistic vision of the plant growing abundantly in some pristine habitat with a bubbling brook, maybe a grassy bank or 2, but mainly far far away from any vestige of civilization or, to put it another way, far, far away from me. In my own defense I think most people think that way. "Wild" is where people aren't, right?
So after shoveling out some 50 odd bucks to a reputable native nursery I happily planted my S. canadensis and they, of course, performed exactly as I predicted, growing vigorously in their new home. Around the time they were flowering this year (August-October for the uninitiated) I was driving along the road to the property where I do the majority of my gardening and was just about there when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye growing in an old field (again this was maybe a minute down the road, in a spot that I have passed by probably hundreds of times before). The spot was the opposite of pristine, there was no bubbling brook, no grassy banks, and very much not far away from any vestige of civilzation. Yet, despite this there was a very content looking little colony (see above) of the very plant I had just shoveled out over half a century in bills for.
This drove home a few things for me.
1. Even when we think we're in tune with our surroundings there's still a lot were blind to, even when these "invisible" things all but smack us up the side of the head.
2. Evolving as a gardner means evolving how you perceive your surroundings, but more importantly finding beauty in the common and under appreciated.
3. "Wild" is a not an other, or pristine, it exists where ever things are able to grow. A back alley in Boston is no more wild than a mountaintop in the Appalachians. And just beacause a plant might not grow in the most virgin far away reaches of the globe does not make it any less worthy of our admiration, protection, or respect.
And so, to make ammends for my past sins, I thought I'd focus in on a few of these species in my own backyard that I've either underappreciated, overlooked, or both. And to do proper pennance for either intentionally removing or accidentally trampling these guys in the not so distant past, if you live in the northeast and would like a seedling (or 2 or 3 or 4) of any of the starred(*) species below just let me know. I've already collected seed from most, and will have a flat or 2 come spring of at least a few of the plants I've highlighted (I already have a few spots picked out for the majority, so they'll have a home regardless of whether or not I get any requests :)
*Amelanchier canadensis - Canada Serviceberry
Zones 4-8
Purchase from: Accents for Home and Garden, Cold Stream Farm, Greenwood Nursery, New England Wetland PLants, Prairie Moon Nursery, Shooting Star Nursery
*Carex pennsylvanica - Pennsylvania Sedge, Oak Sedge
Zone: 4-7, although I've seen plenty of 3-8
After covering over, mowing, pulling up, and overall ignoring the little stand of pennsylvania sedge in my garden, it has refused to give up. It's a little surprising actually, given that the soils are clayey which is the opposite of what pennsylvania sedge prefers. This little population may have some unique genetics that allow it to grow in heavier soils.
Purchase from: Classy Groundcovers, Everwilde Farms, Greenwood Nursery, Morning Sky Greenery, Prairie Nursery, Prairie Moon Nursery, Santa Rosa Gardens, Shooting Star Nursery, Yellow Springs Farm
*Cornus alternifolia - Pagoda Dogwood
Zones 3-8
Purchase from: American Beauties, A Nearly Native Nursery, Cold Stream Farm, Forestfarm, Lazy S'S Farm & Nursery, New England Wetland Plants, Prairie Moon Nursery, Tree Seeds, White Oak Nursery
*Doellingeria umbellata (syn. Aster umbellatus) - Flat-topped White Aster
Zones 3-8
I accidentally collected the seed of this species while attempting to collect both Symphyotrichum laeve and Symphyotrichum prenanthoides. Deer resistant. The fluffy white seed heads look good right up to the first heavy snow.
Purchase from: American Meadows, Everwilde Farms, Morning Sky Greenery, Prairie Moon
Geranium maculatum - Wild Geranium
Zones 3-8
One of our toughest wildflowers. Sun or shade, wet(ish) or dry, I've seen this guy growing in almost every situation you could think of.
Purchase from: Amanda's Garden, American Meadows, Everwilde Farms, Morning Sky Greenery, New Moon Nursery, Outback Nursery, Prairie Moon, Van Berkum Nursery
Hypoxis hirsuta - Yellow Star Grass
Zones 3-9
One of the cutest, longest blooming, and perhaps happiest wildflowers we have.
Purchase from: Earth Tone Natives, Garden Delights, Everwilde Farms, Izel Native Plants, Lazys Farm, Morning Sky Greenery, Mulberry Woods Nursery, Prairie Moon, Sunshine Farms and Gardens
*Rosa carolina - Pasture Rose
Zones 4-9
Purchase from: American Beauties, Carolina Native Nursery, Catskill Native Nursery, Dropseed Native Nursery Everwilde Farms, Forest Keeling, Ion Exchange, Izel Native Plants, Long Island Natives, Outback Nursery, Pleasant Run Nursery, Possibility Place Nursery, Prairie Moon, Prairie Nursery, Wasco Nursery, Wild Ridge Plants
*Sanguisorba canadensis - Canadian Burnet
Zones 3-7
Purchase from: Earth Tone Natives, Klehm's Song Sparrow, Prairie Moon, Project Native, Sunnyborder, Van Berkum Nursery
*Solidago nemoralis - Gray Goldenrod
Zones 3-9
Purchase from: Dropseed Native Nursery, Everwilde Farms, Forrest Keeling Nursery, Hidden Savanna Nursery, Pinelands Nursery, Missouri Wildflowers Nursery, Morning Sky Greenery, New Moon Nursery, Prairie Moon, Spence Nursery
*Solidago speciosa - Showy Goldenrod
Zones 3-9
This plant is perhaps my biggest regret. Granted this picture above doesn't show the buckthorn that was taking over, or the steadily advancing colony of poison ivy, I should have made more of an effort to integrate the existing colony into the garden. I'll be growing a flat or 2 up from seed I collected this season so if your on the market for some S. speciosa just give me a holler.
Purchase from: Almost Eden Plants, Everwilde Farms, Morning Sky Greenery, Niche Gardens, Prairie Moon, Prairie Nursery
*Teucrium canadense - American Germander
Zones Zones 3-9 (also seen 4-8)
Agressively rhizomatous in wet soils and fulls sun, not the showiest of plants, but a good filler for rain gardens among taller, more robust species that it won't overwhelm. Its cotton candy colored flowers aren't too showy, but in mass it makes an impact. Good native alternative to Gooseneck Loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides).
Purchase from: Dropseed Native Plant Nursery, Earthtone Natives, Everwilde Farms, Ion Exchange, Morning Sky Greenery, Prairie Moon, Sand Mountain Herbs, Toadshade Wildflower Farm
Vaccinium corymbosum - Highbush Blueberry
Zones 3-8
One of our most adaptable and hardy native shrubs and one of the few (or only) ericaceous plants that seems to thrive in heavy clay. I always wondered why anyone ever felt the need to plant Euonymus when we had this native. Beautiful fall foliage, often holding on to its leaves long after most trees and shrubs have dropped theirs.
Purchase from: American Beauties, Burnt Ridge Nursery, Clear Ridge Nursery Fall Creek, Long Island Natives, New England Wetland Plants, Pinelands Nursery, Rare Exotic Seeds, Rare Find Nursery
IMAGE SOURCE FOR TEUCRIUM CANADENSE: LEFT, RIGHT
