WINTER'S TRUTH

My garden (still under construction) in December sans snow and ice with our current subtropical winter.

There are very few things in life I am certain of, all of which I can count on my fingers.

1. Forced social situations make me wish I had the ability to blend into walls (and while I have tried, I have been largely unsuccessful).
2. Nothing is better than a good nap. NOTHING!!!
3. I will always be at least 5 minutes late for everything no matter how hard I try to be on time.
4. Sometimes people suck. Sometimes people are awesome.
5. My garden's days are numbered.

Sooooo I'm pretty well aware of all these things year round, but the last item becomes particularly evident during this time of year. Bare branches, flattened stems, and slowly disintegrating clumps somehow seem much less permanent then when they were actively growing. Not only does their dormancy invoke more of a transiency, but the subdued tones and textures have a way of revealing the natural forces that not only shape seasonal patterns, but the surrounding landscape itself.

Although, it's not just these larger forces of change that reveal themselves during the colder months. Smaller, more subtler details that are otherwise obscured during the growing season become apparent as well. In the case of the property where I garden (that has essentially gone from abandoned agricultural field to forest in the last 30 years) I can see the continual succession and regeneration of the forest itself.


Fagus grandifolia, American Beech. As the forest matures this species is slowly but surely reclaiming the land it lost perhaps centuries before.

My point being in all this blathering (and getting back to why all this is relevant to the fifth item on my list) is that the winter showcases change as the ruthless, incessant, and unstoppable force it always has been and always will be. Nothing, however seemingly stagnant or enduring, is forever. This obviously applies to all things, gardens included.

This fact is particularly relevant to me, given where my garden ended up. While undeniably beautiful, the landscape that provides the expansive scenic backdrop will inevitably be the source of its destruction. On a daily basis the neighboring salt marsh is at least semi-flooded by the tidal pulses of the Atlantic, even more so on spring tides, and again, even more so when we have astronomical tides. Couple this with a powerful storm, like, for example, a hurricane that we're way past due for in the Boston area, and it's all over. The best I can hope for is it happens latter in the season when at least some of the plants are partially dormant and the salt damage will be minimized a bit. I know it's only a matter of time before the worst case scenario becomes a reality, I'm just hoping its a little further down the pipeline than what I'm expecting.


Tidal Ebb. These two images were taken on the same day, a few hours apart.


SALT (SALINE SOIL) TOLERANT PERENNIALS:
In a feeble attempt to accept my briney fate, I figured I'd look at a few of the more salt tolerant species we have in our flora. While none of these plants (with perhaps the exception of L. carolinianum) are able to withstand the full salinity of ocean water, they would at least have a fighting chance of making it through a major (but temporary) storm event. Unfortunately, many of the diverse flowering species that favor brackish waters of the upper marsh are being displaced at an alarming pace by Common Reed (Phragmites australis) without any sign of slowing. The lists below does not include either rushes or grasses which are some of the most salt tolerant plants we have. For a more complete list of salt tolerant herbaceous species check out this excellent diagrammatic list put out by Norfolk's (VA) Bureau of Environmental Services.


Hibiscus moscheutos - Swamp Rose Mallow
Zones 4-9
I have a soft spot for the softer pink, eyeless forms usually associated with the subspecies Hibiscus moscheutos ssp. palustris.
Purchase from: Prairie Nursery, Rare Find Nursery, Glover Perennials, Possibility Place, Agrecol


Hymenocallis occidentalis var. occidentalis Synonym: H. caroliniana - Northern Spider Lily
Zones 5-?(the literature is all over the place with this one, have seen 8,9, and 10)
I'm still in the process of getting a handle on this southeastern genus, and while I can't speak to the salinity tolerance of H. occidentalis there are multiple subtropical and tropical species that are highly salt tolerant (H. latifolia is often found growing in the company of mangroves in the coasts of Florida, Mexico, and the West Indies). I'm wishfully hoping that this trait is still at least partially present in some of the more cold hardy members of the genus, like H. occidentalis.
Purchase from: Missouri Wildflower Nursery, Niche Gardens, Sunshine Farm and Gardens



Iris prismatica - Slender Blue Flag Iris
Zones 3-9
One of our few native irises tolerant of saline soils. On the smaller side (to 2') and perfectly suited to average garden conditions (can be a bit wide ranging though). There are 2 other species that are tolerant of salt spray (I. hookeri and I. setosa), but I couldn't find any literature supporting their tolerance to saline soils and neither can tolerate the hotter summers you find south of zone 7.
Purchase from: Plant Delights Nursery, Plant Delights Nursery, Nearly Native Nursery, Morning Sky Greenery, Toadshade Wildflower Farm, Gardens In the Wood of Grassy Greek, Edelweiss Perennials



Kosteletzkya virginica syn. K. pentacarpos - Seashore Mallow
Zones (6)7-9
A significantly less hardy, slightly less coarse version of Swamp Rose Mallow, perhaps a bit more salt tolerant. This guy was killed outright in my zone 6a garden, so if you're attempting to grow it north of zone 7, make sure the source plant material is coming from more northerly populations within its range.
Purchase from: Plant Delights Nursery, Environmental Concerns, Niche Gardens, Niche Gardens, Earth First Natives, Almost Eden, Mulberry Woods Nursery, Bryan and Sons



Limonium carolinianum syn. L. nashii - Sea Lavender
Zones 3-9
Perhaps the most salt tolerant flowering species in the northeast. While found growing in wet soils in the wild, in cultivation (sans salty water) it requires good drainage.
Purchase from: Rare Find Nursery, Earth Tones Natives



Sabatia kennedyana - Plymouth Gentian
Zones 4-9, although have seen multiple sources that list this hardy only to zone 7
There's is a closely related, very similar looking and adapted plant S. dodecandra that is equally worth growing. I have included sources for this plant as well below.
Purchase from: Plant Delights Nursery, Niche Gardens, Mellow Marsh Farm, Plant Delights Nursery, Niche Gardens



Symphyotrichum tenuifolium - Perennial Salt-marsh Aster
Zones ?4-9?
Purchase from: Southern Branch Nursery


SALT (SALINE SOIL) TOLERANT TREES:
In the northeast it might be pushing it a bit to call any tree "salt tolerant" and none would probably even come close to even the least tolerant herbaceous species above, but these guys are ultimately as good as it gets. Again none of these species would be able to survive anywhere near the mean hightide line, the idea is simply that they might have more of chance of surviving a major storm event. For a more complete picture, check out this list put out by the Virginia Cooperative Extension.


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



Chionanthus virginicus - Fringetree
Zones (4)5-9, although have seen many 3-9
Purchase from: A Nearly Native Nursery, Almost Eden Plants, Forestfarm, Gardensoyvey, Lazy S'S Farm, Niche Gardens, Plant and Gnome, Shady Gardens Nursery, Sooner Plant Farm, Tree Seeds, Vincent Gardens, White Oak Nursery, Nasami Farm



Diospyros virginiana - Common Persimmon
Zones 4-9
Purchase from: A Nearly Native Nursery, Forest Farm, Greenwood Nursery, New England Wetland PLants, Tree Seeds, White Oak Nursery



Juglans nigra - Black Walnut
Zones 4-9
While not exceptionally salt tolerant I consistently find this species growing at the edge of the salt marsh, closer than any other surrounding species.
Purchase from: Cold Stream Farm, Forest Farm, Plant and Gnome, Idaho Forest Research Nursery



Juniperus virginiana - Eastern Red-cedar
Zones 3-9, although have seen everything from 2-9 to 4-9
Despite being common, a very (and perhaps overly so) adaptable evergreen tree.
Purchase from: A Nearly Native Nursery, Purchase this from Cold Stream Farm, Forest Farm, Toadshade Wildflower Farm, Tree Seeds, White Oak Nursery, Environmental Concerns



Magnolia virginiana - Sweetbay Magnolia
Zones 5-9
Purchase from: Beaver Creek, Briggs Forest Farm, Kelly Nursery, Gardensoyvey, Pleasant Run, Sooner Plant Farm, Southeastern Natives, Spring Meadow, Tankard Nurseries, Environmental Concerns



Taxodium distichum - Baldcypress
Zones 4-10
Arguably one of the most unique and adaptable trees in our flora (although the furthest northern extent of its range is Delaware, so technically outside of the northeast) and our only truly aquatic tree. In all likelihood perhaps the most salt tolerant of all temperate trees, there is ongoing work to increase this species salinity tolerance.
Purchase from:Nearly Native Nursery, Boyd Nursery, Cold Stream Farm, Conifer Kingdom, Lazy S'S Farm, Plant and Gnome, Rarexoticseeds, Sooner Plant Farm, Environmental Concerns


IMAGE SOURCES: H. moscheutos (LEFT, RIGHT); H. occidentalis (LEFT, RIGHT); K. virginica (LEFT, RIGHT); L. carolinianum (LEFT, RIGHT); S. kennedyana (LEFT, RIGHT); S. tenuifolium (LEFT, RIGHT); C. virginicus (LEFT, RIGHT); D. virginiana (LEFT, RIGHT); J. nigra (LEFT, RIGHT); J. virginiana (LEFT, RIGHT); M. virginiana (LEFT, RIGHT); T. distichum (LEFT, RIGHT)