Filed under: Gardening, Flowers, How-To, Experts
Thinking beyond hostas: These six native perennials offer natural beauty in your garden.A walk in the woods can be very inspiring, offering beautiful shade-loving blooms for the garden. Many native American plants perform well in cultivation and are readily available at nurseries. Adapted to the shady and dappled conditions of woodlands, these perennials will respond nicely to well-drained, humus-rich soil (think compost) in your garden.
Dicentra eximia. Photo: Marie Viljoen
1. Fringed bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia) is native to the Eastern United States and blooms from mid-spring through summer. It may go dormant in very hot weather, sometimes re-blooming in early fall. Its feathery leaves persist through the growing season and are attractive in their own right. It self seeds when it is happy, so expect more plants than you started with.
Erythronium americanum. Photo: Marie Viljoen
2. Known as Trout or Fawn Lilies because of their spotted leaves, Erythronium americanum are delightful spring ephemerals (meaning their season is brief), one of the spring jewels of shady gardens and a must-have for plant geeks. They are also native to the Eastern United States. Grown from corms in slightly acidic soil they will bloom in mid-spring and become dormant in summer, disappearing entirely. It is a good idea to plant them with a companion whose blooms are timed for later in the summer. I like to pair them with (non-native) Begonia grandis (Hardy Begonia).
Geranium maculatum. Photo: Marie Viljoen
3. Geranium maculatum (Cranesbill, Spotted Geranium) occurs naturally in the Northeastern United States and flourishes in both sun and semi-shade. The characteristic, beaked seed capsules that give these flowers their common name form in summer and can be deadheaded before they open and spread seed.
Packera aurea. Photo: Marie Viljoen
4. Native from Missouri through Texas where it occurs near streams, Golden ragwort (Packera aurea) sparkles with life in shade and will grow in some sun, too. The yellow daisy-like flowers appear for about four weeks in spring. The finely-toothed, round leaves provide a good groundcover for the rest of the season as long as the soil does not dry out. This is another plant that will spread naturally, so if you want it to stay put, deadhead after flowering.
Trillium grandiflorum. Photo: Marie Viljoen
5. Wake Robin (Trillium grandiflorum) is an aristocrat native to the Midwest and Eastern United States. Its graceful white flowers are very distinctive and elegant. This plant hates full sun and is best situated in bright shade under high, deciduous trees or in an area with morning sun and afternoon shade. Humus-rich soil is essential as is good drainage.
Podophyllum peltatum. Photo: Marie Viljoen
6. Anyone who knows me knows that if a plant is both beautiful and edible it gets five stars in my book. Enter the May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum). This unusual Eastern native bears one flower per stalk, and that flower is a perfect white beauty. Each stalk has one or two umbrella-like leaves held over the flower. May apples, en masse, make a wonderful shade groundcover through summer, when they become dormant. If pollination takes place, each flower will become a fruit, which is sweet and edible when ripe and is delicious in jellies. Note: The leaves and roots are poisonous.
Contact your local nurseries to see which native wildflowers they stock, and always ask for local recommendations you may like.
If we can't go to the woods, we can always bring the woods home to us.