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June 15, 2018 - The Real Dirt by Eric W. Wahl

Natives Are the Rock Stars of the Plant Kingdom!

TreesHappy Pride! I love talking about native plants—and since every color of the rainbow can be found with them, they’re a terrific way to display your Pride from spring through autumn and even in winter. And since native plants are acclimated to our region, using them in your garden almost guarantees a successful landscape. Let’s chat about a few.

Trees: The workhorses of the plant community, they provide shelter, food, beauty, and a little thing called oxygen. They also have provided our nation and the world over with an invaluable resource of building material and fuel. Indeed, where would we be without them?

Acer rubrum, the Red Maple, can be found throughout our region and is well suited to our soils and performs extremely well in wet environments. It provides an astounding display of color during the fall months. In the spring, groupings of red maples are easy to spot—their swollen buds appear as a reddish mist above the branches, just before the leaves unfurl.

Ilex Opaca, the American Holly, is Delaware’s State Tree and a valuable forest native. Occurring throughout Delaware as an understory tree in our forests, these trees provide shelter, food, and abundant beauty in our winter landscapes. A slow grower, the straight species of American holly is rarely sold in nurseries. Instead, there are numerous cultivars.

What is this word, cultivar? Many of the plants at nurseries are either cultivars or varieties, and the difference is big. A variety is naturally occurring in nature, like the white flowering Redbud. But a cultivar is grown by selective breeding. This means that if you plant a seed from a cultivar, you might get a very different looking plant.

Black Eyed SusansCultivars are found throughout the region and are more often better suited to our gardens. American hollies require both a male and female plant in order to produce berries, so make sure you have a male holly somewhat nearby.

Quercus phellos, the Willow Oak, is a superb shade tree with a finer texture than other oaks, plus it turns wonderful shades of orange in autumn. The leaves resemble those of the willow tree and the acorns are somewhat smaller than most oaks. It grows at a medium rate and likes moist but well-drained soils. However, willow oaks can adapt to almost any soil type, which is why they make a great choice for street trees.

Ornamental Trees: These are the trees we love to see and smell when their flowers emerge and display their brilliance. Native ornamental trees are under appreciated and have been overshadowed by their non-native counterparts in our area. However, our natives can be just as beautiful and enduring, and are quite important to our local wildlife.

Amelanchier arborea, Downy Serviceberry, is a perfect addition to a garden, especially for those who enjoy bird watching—the purplish fruit is devoured by birds. However, the berries are also quite tasty to humans and from what I have read, make a delicious pie. They can be found in a wide range of soil types and are considered salt spray tolerant, so they can be a great addition to the coastal garden.

HollyCercis Canadensis, Eastern Redbud, is a stunner in the native landscape. Its fuchsia petals seem to climb on every branch in early spring before the trees leaf-out. Cultivars available today include those with purple, chartreuse, and deep green leaves; one called Rising Sun has new leaves a wondrous golden yellow that turn to bright green.

Shrubs: Shrubs are the backbone of our home landscapes. They provide structure, form, color, texture, habitat, aroma—virtually every sense can be excited by them. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Clethra alnifolia, Summersweet, is a gorgeous addition to the garden. It provides sweet smelling flowers in the summer and tolerates shade and wet areas. It even can tolerate some flooding by slightly brackish water. Summersweet is a tremendous resource to wildlife and is virtually pest and disease free.

Ilex verticillata, Winterberry, is one of my favorite all-time shrubs. It can grow rather large, but smaller cultivars exist for tighter spaces. The berries produced on winterberry are an explosion of color in the autumn and winter months and can last sometimes until January. Native to swampy areas, it does extremely well in wet conditions and can even tolerate wet feet. A must-have in the native garden.

Perennials: Just like the shrubs, the list of native perennials is far-reaching. They are a glorious part of the garden, providing color and fragrance from spring until harvest time. They also provide an important food source for many pollinators.

Baptisia australis, Blue False Indigo, is magical in the native landscape. Its violet-blue pea-like flowers stand above the foliage in late spring. Their seeds, in large pods, can be sown in fall for additional plants. It can be slow at first, but once established you will be amazed at the size and beauty. A must-have for those who love blue flowers.

Rudbeckia fulgida, Black-eyed Susan, continues to provide beautiful displays year after year. Another low-maintenance perennial that should have a place in every sunny border, their yellow bursts of flowers over their deep green leaves make the garden glow with excitement.

This just touches on the many native plants that adorn our little neck of the woods. Just with these plants above, you could have your own Pride garden with all the colors of the rainbow. For more information check out the library, local nurseries, the internet, even your local landscape architect (wink, wink). So go out and enjoy all that our native plants have to offer, and let’s garden together! ▼

Eric W. Wahl, RLA is a landscape architect at Element Design Group and president of the Delaware Native Plant Society.
 

‹ June 15, 2018 - View Point by Richard Rosendall up June 15, 2018 - June 27 is National HIV Testing Day ›

Past Issues

Issues Index

  • November 16, 2018 - Issue Index
  • October 19, 2018 - Issue Index
  • September 21, 2018 - Issue Index
  • August 24, 2018 - Issue Index
  • August 10, 2018 - Issue Index
  • July 27, 2018 - Issue Index
  • July 13, 2018 - Issue Index
  • June 29, 2018 - Issue Index
  • June 15, 2018 - Issue Index
    • June 15, 2018 - Cover-to-cover with ISSUU
    • June 15, 2018 - The Way I See It by Murray Archibald
    • June 15, 2018 - In Brief
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMPmatters by Murray Archibald
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMP Out by Fay Jacobs
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMP News - Introducing CAMP Rehoboth Intern Steven Ennis
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMP News - The Skivvies at the RB Convention Center
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMP News - Tom Wilson Weinberg July 13
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMP Rehoboth Opposes Revisions to Regulation 22
    • June 15, 2018 - Rescuing the Rescue by Stefani Deoul
    • June 15, 2018 - Straight Talk by David Garrett
    • June 15, 2018 - President's View by Chris Beagle
    • June 15, 2018 - In the Community Planting Seeds of Love by Glen C. Pruitt
    • June 15, 2018 - Intentionally Inclusive by Wesley Combs
    • June 15, 2018 - View Point by Richard Rosendall
    • June 15, 2018 - The Real Dirt by Eric W. Wahl
    • June 15, 2018 - June 27 is National HIV Testing Day
    • June 15, 2018 - It's My Life by Michael Thomas Ford
    • June 15, 2018 - Millennial Times by James Adams Smith
    • June 15, 2018 - Volunteer Spotlight - Eric Gannon
    • June 15, 2018 - Volunteer Thank You
    • June 15, 2018 - Eating Out by Fay Jacobs
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMP Critters
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMP Stories by Rich Barnett
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMPshots Gallery 1
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMPshots Gallery 2
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMPshots Gallery 3
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMPshots Gallery 4
    • June 15, 2018 - Out & About by Eric C. Peterson
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMP Cheers!
    • June 15, 2018 - Pride Fiction - June 28th by Stefani Deoul
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMP Arts by Doug Yetter
    • June 15, 2018 - Booked Solid by Terri Schlichenmeyer
    • June 15, 2018 - CAMP Dates - June 15 - July 9
  • June 1, 2018 - Issue Index
  • May 18, 2018 - Issue Index
  • May 4, 2018 - Issue Index
  • April 6, 2018 - Issue Index
  • March 9, 2018 - Issue Index
  • January 26, 2018 - Issue Index

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