Guest Blog by Rachel Shaw
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| Spiderwort |
February is the time for making plans for the coming
gardening year. There are limited and not very enticing tasks that can be done
in the yard now, weather permitting: picking up downed branches and pulling
winter-hardy weeds come to mind. Pruning can be pleasant on a nice day. Otherwise,
not much else to do besides dream of spring and make plans. So instead of
focusing on a particular native that I have taken pleasure in growing, I’m
going to write about a few plants that I’d like to grow or that I’ve grown in
the past and would like to grow more of.
One in the latter category is Spiderwort, Tradescantia virginiana. I started a few
of these 5-6 years ago, and they did well enough for a while. But I think they
have been crowded out as I’ve added to the bed; the Red Osier Dogwood has
probably encroached pretty hard on their territory. Likewise, I’m afraid the delicate
Rue Anemone, Thalictrum thalictroides is
being crowded out by the Foamflower
(Tiarella cordifolia) which has both the advantage and disadvantage of
being a very successful groundcover.
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| Rue Anemone |
I’d like to acquire more of the Spiderwort and the Rue
Anemone this spring, and give them conditions in which to thrive. This means
being careful about the plants’ requirements, of course. And it also means reminding
myself that just because I love a plant and it is wildly successful doesn’t
mean I have to let it crowd out other plants that I love.
Other natives that are a sparse a presence in my yard are
Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra
cucullaria), Wild Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia), and Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla), although the two
Twinleaf plants bloomed thrillingly last spring and I’m hoping for their
return. This year I’ll also be looking to find some things I haven’t tried to
grow. Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) is one I
have in mind.
There’s a formerly overgrown area of the yard that I had
help getting thoroughly weeded this fall. I then threw down a bunch of seeds
from existing plants. Even if many germinate, there will be a shady strip where
I can introduce some newcomers.
What new things end up in the yard depends in part on what
shows up at the native plants sales I manage to get to. And once in a while
something will emerge from the ground that I never planted but that found its
way from elsewhere, proved to be native, and made itself at home. Such
adventures to look forward to with the advent of spring!
What new plans or new native plants do you have in mind for
your yard this year?
About the author:
Rachel Shaw focuses on vegetable gardening and growing
native plants in her small yard in Rockville, MD. She blogs at http://hummingbirdway.blogspot.com/
This guest blog post is part of a monthly Native Plants series that Rachel will be posting here around the 10th of each month.
Spigelia marylandica! Likes some sun but half sun is fine.
ReplyDeleteHi Kit, I planted some Spigelia marylandica last year and love it!
ReplyDeleteI have spiderwort aplenty which I would be more than happy to give you. It tries to take over in my garden….
ReplyDeleteEileen
Eileen, thanks, I would love to have some spiderwort! Email me at botania@verizon.net and we can figure out the when and where.
ReplyDelete