THE GARDEN(S) THAT ATE ME

We all have moments when we feel like the darker parts of our subconscious seep out to infiltrate our reality, even if just for a moment. It might happen a bit more often than I'd like, but I normally just brush it off and blame it on my over-active imagination and some combination of stress, exhaustion, and coincidence... but this past weekend was a bit exceptional.

I've been pretty desperate the past few weekends (and by "few" I mean since April) trying to get everything prepped and planted before the ground freezes... So I found myself the night after thanksgiving hacking away at the remains of a gravel road with an uncomfortably large number of winter moths fluttering past my head lamp, moving in and out of the cold fog that kept me from seeing much past the end of my pickaxe. Add this to the occasional muffled sound of howling coyotes, faint church bells, and the distant whirring of a passing train and I think any sane person would begin to question if they had wandered into a dream, or at the very least lost their grip on reality...

Getting to my point (I do have them occasionally) this odd out of body experience made me reflect on (not only my own sanity) but if the thing I was doing was really necessary at all. Given that nearly every bit of my free time has been consumed by my pursuit to "finish" the gardens I've started nearly 5 years ago I've been doing my best to try to be more efficient, or at the very least making sure the gardens don't consume me entirely. So while taking a pickaxe to the edge of a road may not have fallen under the category of completely necessary, with the complete lack of soil in certain areas and extreme compaction in others, I don't feel I was (completely) crazy for tearing it all up. BUT the reality is there are more than a handful of plants that are well equipped to deal with barely there heavily compacted "soils" that are a byproduct of current construction practices (a byproduct that at some point nearly every gardener has had to deal with). So if you would rather not rip up a road or that horrible corner of your yard where nothing will grow, consider these amazingly resilient plants that seem to bask in the compacted, clay-ey, gravel-ey poor excuse for soil that is an unfortunate and often overlooked cost of modern living.



Juncus tenuis - Poverty Rush or Path Rush
Zones 3-9
Find any old road in the northeast and this little guy is probably close by. An awkward little fella, but cute and mostly evergreen. Always a few darker shades green than the plants around it. I'm going to attempt to use it as a ground cover on the remainder of the old road I was hacking to pieces. Hopefully it works out.
Purchase from: (RETAIL) - Agrecol, Everwilde Farms, Ion Exchange, Niche Gardens, Morning Sky Greenery, Toadshade Wildflower Farm, Prairie Moon (WHOLESALE) - Northcreek Nursery, Midwest Groundcovers, New Moon Nursery



Ruellia humilis - Wild Petunia
Zones 4-8
By all accounts tough as nails and indifferent to soil. Planted a few during our drought this summer. Barely watered it. Didn't skip a beat. So far hasn't been browsed.
Purchase from: (RETAIL) - American Meadows, Agrecol, Butterfly Gardens to Go, Everwilde Farms, Heritage Flower Farm, High Country Gardens, Ion Exchange, J.L. Hudson, Seedman's, Lazy S'S Farm Nursery, Morning Sky Greenery, Prairie Nursery, Rare Find Nursery, Sunshine Farms and Gardens, Toadshade Wildflower Farm, Wildflower Farm (WHOLESALE) - Midwest Groundcovers, Northcreek Nurseries, New Moon Nurseries, Van Berkum Nursery



Symphyotrichum cordifolium - Blue Wood Aster
Zones 3-8
Other than being deer candy I have no complaints about this one. Its powder blue flowers are best appreciated in mass (and a great re-seeder so if you leave it to its own devices you'll have plenty in time). All sources list it as browse resistant, the local deer population says otherwise. Closely related a similarly adaptable species include S. drummondii S. ciliolatum, S. shortii, S. sagittifolium, and S. oolentangiense.
Purchase from: (RETAIL) - Amanda's Native Plants, Prairie Nursery, Prairie Moon Nursery (WHOLESALE) - Northcreek Nursery, New Moon Nursery, Van Berkum Nursery



Symphyotrichum novae-angliae - New England Aster
Zones 3-8
Always a bit obsessed with any species that seem to have a ridiculous (and seemingly pointless) level of diversity. All the populations I've come across have purples, light pinks, magentas, and everything in between. Its height is dependent on soil fertility. Gets a bit over rambunctious and floppy in overly rich ones.
Purchase from: (RETAIL) - Agrecol, Amanda's Garden, American Meadows, Everwilde Farms, Grimm's Gardens, High Country Gardens, Ion Exchange, Morning Sky Greenery, Prairie Nursery, Prairie Moon Nursery, Toadshade Wildflower Farm (WHOLESALE) - Midwest Groundcovers, New Moon Nursery, North Creek Nursery



Symphyotrichum pilosum - Frost Aster
Zones 3-8
I know this plant from my bike rides to work, growing happily in what looks like concrete alongside the railroad tracks. This plant will look like crap if you give it good soil, crappy soils of low fertility produce the best plants. Mainly white, but have come across light pink variants as well.
Purchase from: (RETAIL) - Agrecol, Ion Exchange, Prairie Moon Nursery, Plant Delights Nursery, Prairie Nursery, Toadshade Wildflower Farm (WHOLESALE) - New Moon Nursery



Scutellaria incana - Hoary or Downy Skullcap
Zones 4 (although I've seen a few 3 and 5)-9 (a few 8s too)
I'm a sucker for blue, and if it wasn't for the deer I would have given this guy a try. I've seen what they've done to deer resistant plants, can only imagine what they'd do to a plant without the resistance. Supposedly a fan of clays so extra bummer for me.
Purchase from: (RETAIL) - Easy Wildflowers, Everwilde Farms, Gardens in the Wood of Grassy Creek, Lazy S'S
Farm Nursery, Niche Gardens, Odyssey Perennials, Prairie Moon Nursery (WHOLESALE) - Forrest Keeling, Northcreek Nursery, New Moon Nursery


IMAGE SOURCES: J. tenuis (LEFT, RIGHT); R. humilis; S. incana (LEFT, RIGHT)

💀 ODE TO POISON 💀

The pseudo-branches of T. radicans in full fall splendor using adjacent trees as a scaffold.


So with the unavoidable ascendancy of the evil pumpkin king (aka the Trump) and the coming nuclear Trump-ocolypse® I thought I'd pay homage to one of the plants that will surely thrive after the nuclear holocaust and eventually usurp the great Trumpkin on its path to world domination. Toxicodendron radicans aka Poison Ivy aka our future plant overlord aka the current bane of my existence is quite ubiquitous 'round my neck of the woods (literally... its f***ing everywhere in the woods) and like many gardeners in the northeast I have gone to battle many times with this plant and always come back the loser.

Despite the ongoing war, my respect for this wondrous creature remains constant. It is the only plant I know of that can be found in both highly disturbed successionary as well as pristine climax plant communities (and everything in between). Sun, shade, dry, wet, vertical, horizontal; this plant's fine tuned genetics give it a level of phenotypic plasticity that is unparalleled in the plant world (or at least in the northeast anyway). It's an outlier in habitat succession & evolution in its ability to persist in whatever conditions it finds itself in, and simply adapts in place. Add this steel like constitution with the ability to cause one of the most uncomfortable and nasty looking allergic reactions around (and potentially disfiguring/life threatening if the reaction is severe enough) and you start to think that its super villain name-sake is actually no match for the actual plant... suck it Uma. So to go along with this super toxic, super adaptable plant I give you few other resolute toxic beauties east of the rockies that are a bit more people friendly (unless you eat them... but now you know better... so don't). Anyway if you like to live dangerously and more traditional plants just aren't cutting it, give one of these guys a try.




Aconitum uncinatum - Climbing Monkshood, Southern Blue Monkshood
Zones 5-8
The lore surrounding this genus's use as a potent poison dates back to about as long as people have had written language. As toxic as it is beautiful, A. uncinatum is no exception and one of the best garden subjects of the handful of species that call North America home. At its best when it has a few sturdy neighbors to ramble through and shade it during the hottest times of the day and like every other member of the genus not a fan of drought (or even moderately dry soil for that matter).
Purchase from: Enchanter's Garden, Far Reaches Farm



Eupatorium rugosum syn. Ageratina altissima - White Snakeroot
Zones 4-9
Despite my darndest attempt to stay strong, I've given in to temptation and left this plant in the garden which I'm sure I will more than regret as I pull up hundreds upon hundreds of seedlings that will inevitably pop up on every square inch of bare soil within shooting distance. Aggressive self seeders to say the least and also as far as I can tell, super toxic. One of the few plants that I have never seen get even a nibble. The cause of milk sickness, which was attributed to thousands of deaths of early European settlers in the east until someone had the foresight to ask the people who had lived here for thousands upon thousands of years prior. We thanked them by stealing their land and forgetting the name of the Shawnee woman who may have prevented thousands more from being poisoned.
Purchase from: Morning Sky Greenery, Prairie Moon Nursery, American Meadows, White Flower Farm, Niche Gardens, Forest Farm, Lazy S'S Farm, New Garden Plants, Secret Garden Growers



Euphorbia corollata - Flowering Spurge
Zones 3-9
I do my best to try to look at my clay soils as an asset, and while I do a pretty good job most of the time this is one of the plants that sends me a bit off course. But, if you are blessed with sterile freely draining soil you owe it to yourself to grow this plant. It shares the milky irritating latex typical of the genus that oozes from any part of the plant if cut, torn, or otherwise munched on. Unlike the other members its the actual petals rather than bracts that are the showy part of the inflorescence. Spectacular fall color, perhaps one of the best of any native herbaceous perennial in our flora.
Purchase from: Prairie Moon, Avant Gardens, Everwilde Farms, Heritage Flower Farm, Lazy S'S Farm, Niche Gardens, Plant Delights, Midwest Groundcovers, Ion Exchange, Rare Find Nursery, Agrecol



Oxytropis lambertii - Purple Locoweed
Zones 3-8
So named for the behavioral effect it has on livestock after it causes irreversible neurological damage once consumed. However the active toxin (swainsonine) is only produced in association with a symbiotic fungus. Ranchers once offered bounties for this plant and its relatives in the range lands of the west, but so long as cattle aren't an issue, and you have a dry sunny bit of land to keep this guy happy, a very worthy long lived garden subject.
Purchase from: Everwilde Farms, Prairie Moon



Toxicodendron radicans - Poison Ivy
Zones 4-10
See overly elaborate description at the top of the page.
Purchase from: WHY?!!!



Veratrum viride - Green False Hellebore
Zones 3-8
It and its brother from another mother (Symplocarpus foetidus) are quite the pair. Both emerge early and herald the triumphant return of spring with lush bold foliage that gives northeastern forests a tropical, almost primordial feel early in the season. The only problem with springing to life when there's not much other green around is your an easy target so V. viride employs a toxic alkaloid that makes it a little less appealing to voracious winter starved herbivores.
Purchase from: Could only find one western source :/ Far Reaches Farm


IMAGE SOURCES: A. uncinatum (LEFT, RIGHT); E. corollata (LEFT, RIGHT, BOTTOM); O. lambertii (LEFT, RIGHT); V. viride (LEFT, RIGHT)

GIFTS FROM MY GRANDFATHER

Recently rediscovered blueberry and asparagus in my garden



So I guess I should probably start with the fact that I never knew my grandfather. I'd like to think I got glimpses of him whenever I'd talk with my grandmother, or my mum, but truthfully I'd never spoken about him much with either. But despite this, even though I never knew him, I feel like he probably had just as much of an impact on my life (if not more) than anyone alive who I am close to.

I suppose I should back up just a bit. My parents were fortunate enough to inherit 2 properties from my grandparents, and it is on one of these where I do pretty much all of my gardening these days. Even now, after exploring the property for well over ten years, I still stumble across things my grandfather planted decades before. Granted there are the standard functional plants like blueberries, asparagus, pears, grapes, quince & apples, (a house isn't a home till it has at least a few good clumps of asparagus and blueberry bushes) along with your standard non-functional flowers (daffodils, anemone, forsythia, and lilacs). But even back long before "native" became part of the common lexicon he planted things like trillium and tamarack. I have no idea where he would have gotten these plants or how he would even have known to plant them but he seemed to have managed to do both.

So while I don't think I'm going to able to definitely prove there is a plant dork gene any time soon, if there is I'm pretty sure I know where mine came from. And so in honor of my grandfather, this month I give you 2 of his plants along with a 2 I'm pretty sure he would have been fans of if he had grown them. Functional (aka edible), beautiful, and underappreciated in the landscape. I think he would approve.




Asparagus officinalis - Asparagus
Zones (3)4-8
Maybe a bit hard to accomodate outside of the vegetable garden, but this classy vegetable is even classier plant. Delicate ferny foliage, adabtable, amazing fall color. Don't know why we don't use it more in the landscape. An alternative to some of the more ubiquitous ornamental grasses. Usually dioecious. Grown around the world. Many selections have been made... check it out.
Purchase from: Seed Savers Exchange, Johnny's Selected Seeds, Stark Bro's, Gurnery's, Jung Seed, Harvest Nursery, Oikos Tree Crops



Cydonia oblonga syn. Cydonia vulgaris - Quince
Zones 5-7(8)
This plant is probably as nostalgic as it gets for me (as it probably has been for generations of people as its been grown and cultivated for thousands of years). There was (and still is) a small quince hedgerow (courtesy of my grandfather) that bordered the property at my grandmothers place. I've always thought of them as the apple's richer cousin, showier in all aspects, but somehow still more refined. They develop a beautiful tortured character with time, with twisted muscular looking branches, and an irregular crown. And then of course there's the fruit, which is a whole thing in itself. Typically it needs to be cooked first before its eaten (fruit is typically very dense and hard), but there are selections that have been made that do have fruit that can be eaten right of the tree (including 'Aromatnaya,' 'Kuganskaya,' and 'Pineapple'). There is a closely related species, Pseudocydonia sinensis or Chinese Quince, that, while not as hardy (z6) has bark that can rival pretty much any ornamental available.
Purchase from: Forest Farm, Harvest Nursery, Jung Seed, Stark Bro's, Oikos Tree Crops



Passiflora incarnata - Maypop or Wild Passion Flower
Zones (5)6-9
The (or one of the, with maybe P. lutea coming in first) cold hardiest members of the genus. If there were ever an exotic looking plant this is it. An aggressive runner where it's hardy spreading in a similar manner to Hedge Bindweed (Calystegia sepium) but maybe with a little less wanderlust. This is one of those plants with fruit that is at its best when it looks its worse. Dull off-yellowish, slightly shriveled, and dimpled when ripe. Native to the mid-atlantic and south. Fruit with a similar structure to a pomegranate.
Purchase from: Prairie Moon, Almost Eden, Brushwood Nursery, Companion Plants, Everwilde Farms, Lazy S'S Farm, Logee's, Niche Gardens, Rare Exotic Seeds, Smart Seeds, Sunlight Gardens



Vaccinium macrocarpon - Cranberry
Zones 2-6(7)
When I say "cranberry" you say "bog." Cranberry!.. Bog!.., Cranberry!.. Bog!.. WRONG!!! You don't need a bog to grow this trailing ericaceous evergreen. Happy to adapt to average garden soils as long as they're not too droughty. An underused and undervalued plant in the industry.
Purchase from: Harvest Nursery, Seed Saver's Exchange, Stark Bro's, Jung Seed, Dancing Oaks Nursery, Gurney's, Forest Farm


IMAGE SOURCES: A. officinalis (LEFT, RIGHT), C. oblonga, (LEFT, RIGHT), P. incarnata, (LEFT, RIGHT), V. macrocarpon (LEFT, RIGHT)

OF TRUMP AND TWINFLOWERS

Does anyone know of a way to purge 50% of your genetics, preferably from the side that may (and in all likelihood will) be voting for Trump come this fall? Seriously though, I'm worried my genes might be seriously defective. Like REALLY REALLY defective.

Anyway, until I can cut out every last strand of my paternal genetics I'm stuck in the realm of the attainable (dealing in reality really sucks sometimes). So while my dad may be, at least at the moment, a complete and utter disappointment and overall terrible human being, I believe the reasonable part of him that actually does listen to numbers, logic and substantiated, reasoned arguments will eventually come through for me... one can hope anyway. So to cut to the chase, my Dad does believes that global warming is an actual thing, and while using any one specific instance/season to support global warming is more than a bit silly, it certainly doesn't hurt my cause (my cause being getting him to vote for anyone but Trump) that we have had one of the worst summers on record.


PRETTY SURE THIS PLAYS ON A LOOP IN TRUMPS HEAD WHENEVER HE HEARS SOMEONE SAY "GLOBAL WARMING."

Just to give some context, the general Boston area is AHS heat zone 4 with an average of between 14-30 days above 85 degrees/year. This summer (as of the 30th of August) after a very brief look, we've already had 43 days above 85 degrees, and we still have a few weeks left to go. Couple what is now the sixth hottest summer on record (as of August 25), with what is likely to be THE driest summer on record and you have a gardener's worst nightmare. The tiny bit of rain we got has been spread out in small little bursts where things get just wet enough into fooling you that the plants are actually getting water. Our local forests probably haven't seen rain since June (as most of the rain that fell never made it through the canopy. And while our native flora and fauna is resilient, all things have their limits and if we haven't passed those already for many species, I'm sure we're getting very very close to the point where they may not be able to recover.

While one exceptionally bad summer is by no means a predictor of summers to come, if this is any indication of what's ahead I've probably missed my window on growing many of my favorite plants that I've lusted after from the cool cold climes of the northern hemisphere. I've always thought of USDA zone 6/AHS heat zone 4 to be the unofficial southern limit of being able to successfully grow boreal species, and as those 2 delineations move gradually (or not so gradually) northward, so to does the region where these species can be grown well. Even if in an alternate universe I had somehow managed to obtain and grow some of these plants prior to this year, with the summer we just had, whatever wasn't done in by the drought would have succumbed to the heat, or vice versa. So to reach some sort of closure I thought I'd honor a few of these plants and try to come to terms with the fact that I may never get to grow them (at least in the Boston area). All 4 of these species have a (more or less) circumboreal distribution, so if you live in an area where these plants already grow and are looking to buy some, please select regionally sourced plants as you could be buying a plant that may be from genetic stock on the other side of the continent or another continent all together. Also, ideally I would have listed the heat zones for these plants as well, for it is excessive heat, rather than lack of extreme cold that will ultimately do these plants in. Unfortunately for me, AHS heat zones haven't become mainstream yet so are very rarely listed in the literature, and until this becomes standard make sure you do your research!



Cornus canadensis (recently changed to Chamaepericlymenum canadense) - Bunch Berry
Zones 2-6(7)
I grew up at the very southern end of this guys range (at least at lower altitudes) so I occasionally would happen across patches of this ground cover in the woods where conditions were just right. So like every plant that we associate with childhood (or at least the ones we don't have to eat) I'm particularly fond of this flowering dogwood relative and have always wanted to have a nice big patch of it someday for my very own... and I suppose I still can, just not where I live currently :-/ Its foliage flushes with beautiful burgundy tones in the fall. This, coupled with it's red berries make for quite a show. Apparently, when its happy, it can spread aggressively.
Purchase from: Far Reaches Farm, Forest Farm, Heritage Flower Farm, Lazy S'S Farm, Perennial Farm Marketplace, Prides Corner



Epilobium angustifolium (recently changed to Chamerion angustifolium) - Fireweed or Willowherb
Zones 2-6(7)
If you think cold and big exuberant plants are mutually exclusive think again. In it's native range this plant is a pioneering colonizer that is one of the first to take hold after a major disturbance event, like a fire for instance (hence the fire in fireweed). It's enemies are shade and competition, but in lieu of these it will otherwise spread and seed around rather aggressively when happy. Pictures of the white form still give me goosebumps.
Purchase from: American Meadows, Annie's Annuals, Everwilde Farms, Forest Farm, J. L. Hudson, Morning Sky Greenery, Prairie Nursery, Prairie Moon, Smart Seeds, Terroir Seeds



Linnaea borealis - Twinflower
Zones 2-6
What this diminutive little evergreen creeper lacks in height it more than makes up for with its elfin beauty. All the pictures I've seen make me drool. Have yet to see it in the wild.
Purchase from: Far Reaches Farm, Fraser's Thimble Farms, Tripple Brook Farm



Vaccinium vitis-idaea - Mountain Cranberry or Lingonberry
Zones 3-6(8)
If a blueberry and cranberry got frisky pretty sure the baby would look something like this species. I've only seen the native form of this evergreen (V. vitis-idaea var. minus) in New England growing in alpine and sub-alpine environments as a diminutive prostrate creeper. European forms seem to be much more robust and shrubby as well as more heat tolerant. Edible (have had a berry or 2 myself... not bad). The european form is widely available, so I only included links to our "native" north american form, (V. vitis-idaea var. minus).
Purchase from: Bay State Perennials, Bovees Nursery, Gossler Farms, Youngblood Nursery


IMAGE SOURCES: Trump Thought Diagram, C. canadense, C. angustifolium (LEFT, RIGHT), L. borealis, V. vitis-idea

DRUNK PEOPLE SUCK

"I'm a lot more drunk than I think I am." 

These insightful words were courtesy of a distinguished young lady outside the garden center where I take my lunch breaks. I wish I could say it was later in the day, but this was a little before noon and and she had just purchased [more] alcohol and was sidewalk drinking with a friend. Thanks to upstanding young people like this woman, along with the booze soaked culture of the many lofty academic institutions that litter the area, the garden center that is my daily treat to myself (Pemberton Farms) will be losing 90% of their real estate to... I'm sure you might be able to guess at this point... alcohol sales. So to all you wonderful speech slurring, vomit covered, barely able to walk students and Cambridge hipsters out there, I'd like to say F#######@K you. Thanks for taking away one of the few pleasures I have during my work day. 

Anyway getting back to the plant portion of this rant, while I would like to put all the blame squarely on the drunken populus, the reality is I have to accept some too. As a self-proclaimed plant geek, I should have done my horticultural duty (aka a lot less lunch strolling and bit more actual buying of plants). It is my failure to do so that has contributed to this sad state of affairs. After all, the main reason the plant section is being reduced is they simply aren't selling enough product. My point being when we, as discriminating plant dorks, find businesses we like, we need to make an effort to support them cause as soon as you take them for granted, poof! they're gone.

I've admired way too many great businesses from afar (Seneca Hill Perennials, Shooting Star Nursery, Munchkin Nursery, etc.) only to find they've closed when I finally go to purchase something. Ultimately the people who own and operate these businesses do it cause they love it, but unfortunately love doesn't pay the bills. Do your part to make sure they can keep selling the amazing plants we love and buy some stuff already!!!

So before my little refuge is reduced to a few tables of sad 6 pack petunias and marigolds I thought I'd take a break from highlighting plants and celebrate a few retail mail order businesses I've come across in the last few years that have really blown me away, whether it be breadth and variety, quality of plant, or just plain old good service. CHECK THESE PLACES OUT!!!!

1.) PRAIRIE MOON NURSERY

2.) PRAIRIE NURSERY

3.) MORNING SKY GREENERY

4.) SPECIALTY PERENNIALS (aka hardyplants.com)

5.) ENCHANTER'S GARDEN

6.) TOADSHADE WILDFLOWER FARM

7.) SUNLIGHT GARDENS

8.) NICHE GARDENS

9.) LAZY S'S FARM

10.) PLANT DELIGHTS

11.) FOREST FARM

12.) SPECIAL PLANTS NURSERY

13.) PLANT WORLD SEEDS

DIVERSITY!!! (OR DIE TRYING)

So I was talking design with a biologist friend of mine a few weeks back and and he said something along the lines of "it's funny, you guys think you can one up nature." The comment took me a back a bit, and rather than trying to defend or explain, I took the easy way out and did my best to change the subject. While I may have superficially seemed to brushed it off, it actually hit quite a nerve. So I chewed his comment over a bit after, and then sat with it for a while (and "for a while" I mean a few weeks) and formulated my thoughts. But just to clarify, before I get carried away, I definitely DO NOT think that designers can "one up nature." Should we aspire to? Yes. Has anyone done it? Not that I'm aware of. Not even close. Landscape architecture/design, at its best, mitigates human disturbance and, when possible, adds value back to the landscape through active intervention. To say that we could ever replace nature is beyond naive.

While I'd like to use some of my recent professional work to help demonstrate the "added value" part, I'm afraid that would only help prove the contrary, so in an attempt to not go in a totally negative direction I figured I'd use my own personal garden (in progress) to help illustrate a few points. Before I got started the area was more or less 1/4 natives, 1/4 escaped lawn grasses, 1/4 phragmites, 1/4 glossy buckthorn, and a few patches of poison ivy sprinkled in for good measure (technically poison ivy would be part of the native group, but I think it deserves to be in a class all by itself). If I had let things take their "natural" course the natives probably would have been out competed within a couple of years and it would have been mostly a "monoculture" (or bi-culture?) of these 2 species. So I did my best to turn the tide. I drew a line in the sand (or in this case very wet heavy clay) and went about eradicating the offending species. After knocking the phragmites and buckthorn back some, I then added a few additional regional natives, and preserved and propogated those that were already present.


PHRAGMITES LOOMING IN THE BACKGROUND...

The question is, if you assume existing conditions as a baseline, with all my effort have I really changed anything for the better? Despite the bad rap, both of the invasives I worked so diligently to remove from the area actually do provide valuable ecological functions. Phragmites sequesters nutrients, heavy metals and carbon, builds and stabilizes soils, and persist in places where most plants wouldn't stand a chance, while the glossy buckthorn serves as forage for pollinators, birds, and small mammals. So, at least from an ecological services standpoint I probably haven't moved the needle much, I might have even affected things negatively (hopefully that will change as the plants get established and spread over time). So what value, if any, have I added? Answer: Diversity. If I hadn't intervened it is probably conservative to say that at least 80-90% of the existing natives would have been lost. This is where I see design professionals having the biggest potential to "add value." We may not be able to fully replicate the ecological services of the species we're displacing, but we can provide stand-in plant communities that would otherwise be displaced by introduced invaders... ecological zoos if you will.

When we talk about "value", we need to look at things holistically, in context, otherwise we can over-emphasize the importance of certain aspects, while underestimating others. And relative to context, if we begin to look at the ways people negatively affect the environment around them (encroachment, fragmentation, and degradation) any intervention that keeps at least 2 of these factors constant, while improving at least one is more than worthwhile. So this week, to celebrate diversity, I'm picking three obscure (at least to those who call the northeast home) native-ish plants that you most likely haven't heard of (or at least probably aren't very familiar with). So if any of these happen to be endemic to where you live please give them a try!!!

*DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NO PERSONAL EXPERIENCE GROWING THESE PLANTS IN THE LANDSCAPE, SO DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE PURCHASING!!!


Synandra hispidula - Guyandotte Beauty
Zones 5-8
One of our spring woodland ephemeral biennials of the appalachains. Self-seeds when happy. Wants a rich, woodsy, evenly moist soil. I'm assuming a closely allied relative of the european woodland wildflower, Melittis melissophyllum aka Bastard Balm.
Purchase from: Enchanters Garden, Izel Native Plants


Thalia dealbata - Powdery Alligator-Flag, Water Canna, or Powdery Thalia
Zones 6(5)-10
A tall (6'-10') semi-aquatic, decidedly tropical looking, very architectural plant. You got a sunny spot with some shallow water and wanna impress you dorky gardening friends?...give Powdery Alligator-Flag a try! There's another less hardy species (to zone 7) Thalia geniculata or Red Stemmed Thalia/ Bent Alligator-Flag.
Purchase from: Niche Gardens, Missouri Wildflower Nursery, Secret Garden Growers, Maryland Aquatic Nursery


Zenobia pulverulenta - Dusty Zenobia
Zones 5-9
If the literature on this is correct, I don't understand why this southern (yet cold hardy) ericaceous shrub isn't more widely grown. Evergreen (or mostly evergreen). Beautiful fall foliage. Tolerance of wet, poorly drained soils. White, bell-shaped, fragrant flowers. I'll find some room for this plant if it kills me. Many selections of forms with silvery blue foliage including 'Woodlanders Blue,' 'Misty Blue,' and 'Blue Sky.'
Purchase from: Rarefind Nursery, American Beauties, Almost Eden, Bluebell Nursery, Broken Arrow Nursery, Nearly Native Nursery, Forest Farm, Panoramic Farm

IMAGES SOURCES: S. HISPIDULA (RIGHT, LEFT); T. DEALBATA (RIGHT, LEFT); Z. PULVERULENTA (RIGHT, LEFT)

PATIENCE, PERSISTENCE, & PRAGMATISM

I've learned over the years there are certain necessary qualities a gardener must have in order to be successful. Patience (not at all), persistence (absolutely) and pragmatism (absolutely not). While in some circles 1 out of 3 ain't bad, in this instance my lack of the majority of these essential attributes has caused pain, heartbreak, wasted money, and most importantly wasted time.

Given my continuing struggle to at least have some fleeting glimmer of the 2 qualities I lack, I feel I can credibly say that I can relate to the average home gardener's need for immediacy. I've been there, done that, and paid the price. So, given that I'm leaning on the side of brevity as of late as I am spending most (ok, pretty much all) of my free time in the garden these days I'm just going to dive right into the plants... Only three this week! (again with the brevity) My selections this week were strategic relative to the lessons they taught me.

PATIENCE

Dictamnus albus - Gas Plant
Zones 3-8
There's a good reason why this resolute, tough as nails, long lived (non-native) perennial beauty isn't as popular as it ought to be... well make that 2 very not good reasons: 1. It pretty much always looks sad and pathetic in pot and 2. It takes at least a couple years to settle in before it really begins to put on a show. And if you were wondering about the name take a look (apparently this doesn't actually harm the plant, so they say...).
Purchase from:

PERSISTENCE

Sporobolus heterolepis - Prairie Dropseed
Zones 3-9
For several years I debated ripping out this grass due to its overall underwhelmingness, but I managed to restrain myself. I weeded diligently, despite the fact that I wasn't sure it was worth it, but did my best to give the plants the time they needed to come into their own. And so glad they (and I) did! This ones definitely a keeper :)
Purchase from:

PRAGMATISM

Sisyrinchium angustifolium - Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass
Zones 4-9
This plant conjures up overwhelming feelings of guilt. For years I have dutifully collected the seedlings that popped up here and there around the property where I garden and transplanted them to (what I thought) was a much more amiable spot, but year after year I would come to find them gone without a trace the following spring. In their "natural environment" they often grow in the company of grasses which I imagine makes the tiny rhizome they grow from fairly difficult to access, but when grown on open soil not so much. I've concluded the rhizome must taste like candy to whatever kept eating it, given the size of the plant you wouldn't expect it to be worth the trouble. So now I leave the plants where I find them, and just appreciate them as is.
Purchase from:

DISCLAIMER: THIS ENTRY WAS WRITTEN HASTILY A FEW HOURS BEFORE MIDNIGHT AFTER A SOLID 4 DAYS OF STRAIGHT GARDENING.... NEEDLESS TO SAY THIS WAS NOT MY BEST ENTRY. :( BACK TO NORMAL NEXT MONTH! :)

OUT GARDENING.... BACK NEXT MONTH (I HOPE)

So I'm going to be in full on crazy plant mode for the next month or so, so no time for blogging at the moment. I mean, I partially do this blog as an exercise in self restraint to make sure my decaying corpse isn't discovered in my apartment several month after my death, buried in a collapsed tower of seed flats, but sometimes you gotta treat yourself so no blog this month. But, to give everyone a bit of clarity during this crazy time I thought I'd give you some insight into the world of scientific plant names and why lately everything seems to be reshuffled and renamed and regrouped to the point where you don't know your Asters from your Asters, or would that be Symphyotrichum, or Eurybia... hmmmm.

Anyway both of these articles (one which I will include directly below, since I can't find it online and the other you can read here), have been written by the amazing Joseph Tychonievich. So just be thankful that at least someone has at least some idea what's going on because this renaming business kinda seems like a massive cluster f***ck. But (while everything points to the contrary) there is, in fact, some logic behind it. Happy reading! :)


ALL OF THE BELOW APPEARED UNDER THE TITLE "My new favorite website: Encyclopedia of Life" ON GREENSPARROW GARDENS, JULY 30, 2014 AND WAS NOT WRITTEN BY ME!!!!

I'm pretty much head over heels in love with this website: Encyclopedia of Life. It is a massive effort to create one huge database for information about all of life. I'd stumbled on the website once or twice before, I think, but it must have been early in the stages of development, because I came away unimpressed. But recently I was contacted be the director of operations to see if I could give some feedback on the project (and when someone's contact information includes the words "Smithsonian Institution" you don't say no) and I am BLOWN away. Such an incredible resource for plant lovers!

The site is great to find good information on incredibly obscure plants... for example, my friend Kelly Norris recently has been gloating on facebook about his Silphium albiflorum. It is a lovely plant I know basically nothing about...

Type that name into eol, and I get tons of great stuff:

- Pictures, ranging from herbarium sheets to the whole plant habit to close ups of the flowers!
- Maps, showing where exactly this has been observed in herbarium records, giving an approximation of the range of the plant:

No, you aren't going blind... there are just TWO tiny spots there in texas. Not a big range on this thing.

These maps a really useful when I'm trying to figure out how hardy something might be. For example, I'm all gaga for Ononis right now, but most of the things I'm growing are basically not in cultivation, so it is hard to get information on how hardy they are.

Type Ononis spinosa into EOL, and...

Those yellow spots go PRETTY far North... don't think winter cold is going to be a problem.

Ononis cenisia (syn, O. cristata) on the other hand...

Doesn't look to promising. We'll see. But I'll be sure to give it some extra protection just in case.

EOL also rocks because it is just for organisms... So you can search for plant names without getting a lot of other clutter.

For example, a Google search for Fabiana gives me this:

Um... NOT quite what I was looking for...

But EOL gives me this:

MUCH better.

The other thing I love about this is getting the proper names for plants. As I learned in my podcast about the naming of plants, there is no organization that decides on one official scientific name for a plant. Rather, if a scientist thinks as name should change, they publish a paper saying so and why, and if other scientists think that makes sense, they start using the new name, and if they don't, they don't. Official names are arrived at by slow consensus... which makes it confusing for the poor gardener who just wants to know what the dang name is.

So... if I want to know about, say, bleeding heart, I type Dicentra spectabilis into EOL, go to the names tab, and I see this:

Three different sources, all listing the possible names of this plant, with the name they prefer marked with a green spot. So, I can see that one has switched to the new Lamprocapnos, but the other two are sticking with Dicentra, which makes me feel fine about staying with Dicentra as well, even though the only reason I don't want it to change is because I can't SPELL Lampro-whateveritis.

But when I do the same thing with Anemonella... turns out they all agree it is Thalictrum now. Guess I'm going to have to get used to that one...

Other cool things to do with EOL:

Find pictures that drive my ever growing obsession with Gladiolus into even wilder frenzy:

And browse randomly to discover useful facts like that a Koala weighs 0.36 grams at birth, or discover that raccoons first appeared between 1.8 and 4.9 million years ago, and there are TWO references which say that raccoons feed on american alligators! That is has got to be a bad ass raccoon.

In short, it is a delightful rabbit hole of delightful information! I'm thoroughly entranced.

GARDENERS ANONYMOUS (ALSO COOL SEDGES)

Across america, there is a growing and insidious epidemic. Often hidden in plain sight, sometimes even those who are most afflicted are totally unaware. It could be your neighbor, your son, maybe your mother, and even grandma. Scratch that, ESPECIALLY grandma. Yes, there is no denying it, gardeners are everywhere, and they need your help. As a recovering gardener myself, I speak from first hand experience when I say that it can get downright nasty. Old poop. Plant sex. Life purpose. Disgusting, unspeakable things. Back in the day, for the right packet of seeds I would do anything. ANYTHING. I'm talkin back alley, bathroom stall, weird ass sh****t. And in a completely unrelated topic, does anyone have any pre-stratified Thalictrum-dasycarpum seed? I'm asking for a... uuuum, a friend. Yes, that's it, a friend. Cause I'm totally rehabilitated... Completely.

Anyway this devastating disease is often at its peak during this time of the year and the symptoms are usually fairly easy to spot: obsessive seed sowing, attraction to bright colors, spending bill and food money on plants of all types, etc.. Unfortunately, many of these sad individuals will never be free of the disease and are doomed to live a life full of self renewing happiness, fulfillment, and wonder. So while the addiction itself my be utterly hopeless, I urge the family members of gardeners to encourage at least a modicum of self restraint during the spring season. To aid in the prevention of short sighted binging on luscious, colorful, but ephemeral spring blooms that will just leave gaping holes in the garden and the soul once spring is through, I've put together a list of plants that may help to calm the florally obsessed mind. After all, gardeners must be continually reminded (especially once the snow begins to melt) that there are more to plants than just flowers, and there is no better way to do that than focusing in on our least flowery of genus's (geni?), Carex.

Carex is a BIG cosmopolitan genus of grassy plants found on every continent except Antarctica, often thriving in places that are too extreme (by means of too much moisture, too much shade, or excessive sterility) for other species to properly grow. Rather than attempt to list all representative in eastern North America, I've limited my list to the more refined, finer species of the east coast, focusing primarily on foliage. If I missed any of the more garden worthy individuals please scold me thoroughly. I've grouped some species by similar habit, appearance, and growing conditions. Provided the cultural requirements are met, most of the species below are also great candidates for no mow lawns. Garden Rant did a great summary of sedge based lawn alternative plantings at the Scott Arboretum. Check it out.



GARDEN WORTHY CAREX SPECIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA



Carex appalachia - Appalachian Sedge
Zones 3-8
Appropriate that this guy comes first alphabetically, as it is one of our finest. Clumper. Won't tolerate wet soils.
Purchase from: Amanda's Garden, Niche Gardens, Sooner Plant Farm, Toadshade Wildflower Farm, Plant Delights Nursery, Sunshine Farm and Gardens



Carex albicans - White-tinged Sedge
Zones 4-8
I had never heard of this species till I came across it online as one of the "best performers" in the Scott Arboretum's lawn alternative plantings. Adapatable clumping species that reseeds when happy. Performs admirably in dry shade.
Purchase from: New Moon Nursery, Green Light Plants



Carex cherokeensis - Cherokee Sedge
Zones 6-9
If you want to grow C. pensylvanica but your soils are a bit too heavy and your summers a bit too hot try Cherokee Sedge for a larger, slightly messier version.
Purchase from: Niche Gardens, Plant Delights Nursery, New Moon Nursery, Hoffman Nursery



Carex crinita - Fringed Sedge
Zones 3-9
This might just be the nostalgia talking but I feel like this guy is one of the most under-appreciated of our native sedges. This plant was all over the place around the little brook where we played in as kids and despite growing in the shadiest and muckiest of places always seemed to catch the light just right so it was perpetually glowing.
Purchase from: Prairie Moon, New Moon Nursery, New Moon Nursery, Ohio Prairie Nursery, Hoffman Nursery, Possibility Place Nursery, Agrecol Native Nursery, New England Wetland Plants



Carex eburnea - Bristle-leaf Sedge (Pictured Above)
Zones 2-8
Carex retroflexa - Reflexed sedge
?Zones 5-9? - No consistent listing on this
These 2 clumpers, while not closely related, have a similar habbit and tolerance of drier soils. C. eburnea is the stronger tighter clumper of the 2 to the extent it is sometimes described as a "half burried green porcupine."
C. eburnea - Purchase from: Prairie Nursery, Prairie Moon, Plant Delights Nursery, Broken Arrow Nursery, Kelly Nursery, Morning Sky Greenery, Native Plants in Claremont, New England Wetland Plants
C. retroflexa - Purchase from: Plant Delights Nursery, Blooming Nursery, Wholesale Nursery



Carex glaucodea syn. flaccosperma - Blue Sedge
Zones (4)-8
Carex laxiculmus - Spreading Sedge (Pictured Above)
Zones 5-8
Carex amphibola - Creek Sedge
Zones 3-8
These guys are as close to a native liriope as your gonna get, with C. amphibola being pretty much a dead ringer for the ubiquitous groundcover (also of the group, probably the most adaptable).
C. glaucodea (syn. flaccosperma) - Purchase from: Fiddlehead Creek, Dropseed, Chesapeake Natives, Behnke, Wholesale Nursery, North Creek, New Moon, Bluestone, Plant Delights, Lazyss Farm, Kiefer Nursery, Niche Gardens, Bohn's Farms, Hoffman Nursery.
C. laxiculmus - Purchase from: North Creek, Plant Delights, New Moon, Hoffman, Sunlight Gardens, Santa Rosa Gardens, Classy Groundcovers, Rarefind Nursery, Pleasant Run Nursery, Emerald Coast Growers, Midwest Groundcovers, Saunders Brothers, Green Leaf, Gardens of Blueridge
C. amphibola - Purchase from: North Creek, Hoffman Nursery, New Moon, Prairie Moon, Wholesale Nursery, Bohn's Farm. Fiddlehead Creek, Gardens of Blueridge



Carex lasiocarpa - Wooly-fruited Sedge
Zones 3-7
A graceful, billowy, and robust sedge of northern marshes and lakeshores.
Purchase from: Prairie Moon, Fourth Corner Nurseries



Carex muskingumensis - Palm Sedge
Zone: 4-8
An awesome textural, adaptable, and multipurpose plant that somehow I've totally overlooked. Soon to be found in my garden.... as soon as I find some room :-/ A handful of cultivars available in the trade including the dwarf 'Little Midge' and the golden stripped 'Oehme.'
Purchase Fronm: Amanda's Garden, Forest Farm, Lazyss Farm, Prairie Nursery, Prairie Moon, New Moon, North Creek, Hoffman Nursery, Digging Dog, Possibility Place, Bluestem Nursery, Pleasant Run Nursery, Kelly Nursery, Forrest Keeling, Wholesale Nursery, Connon Nurseries, Hoffie



Carex pensylvanica - Pennsylvania Sedge, Oak Sedge (Pictured Above)
Zone: (3)4-7
Carex texensis - Texas or Catlin Sedge
Zone: 5-9, although I've seen a several 7-10
As far as groundcovers go these 2 compliment one another pretty well. If you're dealing with sandy acidic sterile soils and live in the northern half of the country (except the extreme north) C. pensylvanica is where its at. If you have a heavier (provided it is not wet) soil and live in the southern half of the country (except the extreme south) give C. texensis a try. I've used a not so flattering, rather sparse looking image of C. pensylvanica as a not so subtle reminder that even though sedges are tough plants, in order to get them to look lush and thriving as shown in many of the images used to market them (especially C. pensylvanica), you often need to plant them in conditions that are at least sightly better than what you would find in the wild.
C. pensylvanica - 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, Bluestem Nursery, Droopseed Nursery
C. texensis - Purchase from: Plant Delights, Niche Gardens, Hoffman, New Moon, San Marcos, Wholesale Nursery



Carex plantaginea - Plantain-leaved or Seersucker Sedge (Pictured Above)
Zone: 4-8
Carex platyphylla - Silver Sedge
Zone: 4-8
The widest leaves of any of our native sedges, and while other sedges are shade tolerant, these 2 species need shade to truly thrive. Basically a green (C. plantaginea) and blue (C. platyphylla) variation of one another. Both are evergreen to semi-evergreen depending on the climate.
C. plantaginea - Purchase from: Lazyss Farm, Prairie Nursery, Rarefind, Pleasant Run, North Creek, New Moon, Hoffman, Fiddlehead Creek
C. platyphylla - Purchase from: Dropseed, Sunlight Gardens, Plant Delights, Klehm's Song Sparrow, Lazy S'S Farm, Dropseed, Van Berkum, North Creek, New Moon, Pleasant Run, Fiddlehead Creek, Stonehouse Nursery, Broken Arrow



Carex radiata - Eastern Star Sedge
Zone: 3-8
Carex rosea - Curly-Styled Wood or Rosy Sedge (Pictured Above)
Zone: 3-8
Even the experts apparently have difficulty telling these 2 apart; both fine textured clumpers, both adaptle to a range of soil types, with C. rosea being a bit more tolerant of excessive moisture.
Carex radiata - Purchase from: Prairie Nursery, Prairie Moon, Plant Delights, Possibility PLace, North Creek, New Moon
Carex rosea - Purchase from: Prairie Moon, Prairie Nursery, Bluestem Nursery, Morningsky Greenery, Toadshade, New Moon, Hoffman Nursery, Possibility Place



Carex socialis - Low Woodland or Social Sedge (Pictured Above)
Zone: (5)6-9
Carex leavenworthii - Leavenworth's Sedge
Zone: (5)6-9
Carex woodii - Pretty Sedge
Zone: 4-6
Let me start out by saying that the image above is different than the one before it, and despite looking extremely similar supposedly it is a different species. The truth is the information on these 3 was sparse at best, and while a few sources referred to them as clumping, most had them listed as having a running habit. Overall though they seemed like they would make great, adaptable alternatives to C. pensylvanica if your dealing with a heavier soil. I'd like to list them up with C. pensylvanica as well, but until I find more information I'll relegate them to this little band of misfits. Of the 3, there is the least amount of information on C. woodii, so if you come across a good source let me know!
Carex socialis - Purchase from: Plant Delights, New Moon
Carex leavenworthii - Purchase from: Plant Delights, New Moon, Bluestem Nursery, San Marcos Growers
Carex woodii - Purchase from: New Moon, Izel Plants



Carex sprengelii - Long Beaked or Sprengel's Sedge
Zone: 3-9
I keep find references of this being a beautiful ornamental sedge, although the pictures I've come across haven't been particularly overwhelming. Maybe its one of those plants that can't really be captured in photographs. Anyway have yet to grow or come across it in the wild so I'll wait till I see it first hand before passing judgement.
Purchase from: Ion Exchange, Morningsky Greenery, Prairie Moon, Prairie Nursery, Agrecol, New Moon, Outback Nursery



Carex stricta - Tussock or Upright Sedge (Pictured Above)
Zone: 3-8
Carex bromoides - Brome Hummock Sedge
Zone: 3-8
C. stricta will always be lodged in my memory from my winter explorations of the frozen swamp in my backyard when I was a kid. The little goupings of the plant always reminded me a bit of a horde of cousin its rising from the swamp. The tussocks were just the right size for an 8 year old to sit on (hopefully I didn't damage them too badly), As much as I can gather C. bromoides is a closely related species with a more northern distribution.
C. stricta - Purchase from: New England Wetland Plants, Ion Exchange, Agrecol, Morning Sky Greenery, Prairie Moon, North Creek, New Moon, Hoffman Nursery, Pinelands Nursery, Possibility Place, Forest Keeling, Catskill Native Nursery, Hoffie Nursery, High Ranch Nursery, Long Island Natives
C. bromoides - Purchase from: Agrecol, Natural Garden Natives, Spence Nursery, Izel Native Plants, Wholesale Nursery


IMAGES SOURCES: C. appalachia, C. albicans, C. cherokeensis, C. crinita, C. eburnea, C. laxiculmus, C. lasiocarpa, C. muskingumensis, C. pennsylvanica, C. plantaginea, C. rosea, C. socialis, C. sprengelii, C. stricta