Anyone who’s been reading my blog for a while knows my fascination with native gardening. I find that my perspective on what makes a “good” garden has changed so much in recent years. Don’t get me wrong, my heart still skips a beat at the sight of a perfectly tended garden filled with non-natives. I can’t imagine giving up roses, columbine, peonies or hydrangeas. But I guess that as I’ve learned more about native plants, I have just found that there are so many interesting options, why wouldn’t a person choose a plant that is contributing to the eco-system where they had the chance. I can still wander the neighbourhood and enjoy all the more exotic plants on offering, while nurturing my own increasingly native wildflower garden.
Of course that means that much of my garden is not what I would like. I’ve been doing a major rehaul. I don’t know how many of you know this about me, but I am an incredibly impatient person. When I want something, I want it now. If I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it now. Which is yet another reason this endeavour is so good for me. By starting so many of my native plants from seed, I am forced to be patient and wait, as most of them will not flower in their first year. But being patient definitely doesn’t come naturally to me!
Native Wildflowers Already in My Garden
As I’ve mentioned previously, I already have a well-established swamp milkweed. I also have some false indigo, which I put in, not even knowing that it was a native plant. Last year, I added wild beebalm. It didn’t flower last year, but wow did it spread! I’m excited to see what happens this year. I also found a small shoot of goldenrod in the garden last fall. When we moved into this house, the backyard was completely overgrown and, not knowing, I ripped out all the goldenrod. I guess some survived. Also, a lovely lady in my Facebook gardening group gave me two types of native spirea. It was so easy! At the end of October, she just dug out a couple of shoots, which I put in the ground, and they seem quite happy already. I wonder if they will flower this year?
Where I Got My Seeds
As any avid reader of my blog would guess, most of my seeds are foraged. I collected seedheads from around my neighbourhood and some in my mom’s neighbourhood in Ottawa as well. I also ordered a few seeds from the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library (for free!). Still others were given to me by people in my local gardening Facebook group. So, this whole process was at a very minimal cost.
Winter Sowing Native Wildflower Seeds
I started all my natives from seed using the winter sowing technique. And they all took beautifully. A word of warning: columbine will be the absolute last to sprout, long after everything else is growing nicely. So don’t give up too soon.
I planted:
- Goldenrod
- Blazing Star
- Pearly Everlasting
- Blue Lobelia
- Eastern Red Columbine
- Obedient Plant
- Butterfly Weed
- Purple Milkweed
So once the seedlings were big enough, I put them in the ground. I have to say that native plants really are ideal for winter sowing, provided that you’re willing to be patient. I had what felt like a lot of seedlings, but I’m starting to realize that to combat the groundhog and other pests, you really need a lot of everything. The blue lobelia and eastern red columbine are the last that I will put in because they took the longest to reach a good size. I kind of just threw the seedlings in where there was space and once they are established I will give more thought about placement and pairings.
Other Places to Get Native Wildflowers
I also bought a couple of native plants (lupine, black eyed susan and some spring ephemerals) from Jardin Buzz. And did you know you can actually get native plants from Loblaw stores? I bought a couple from Maxi. The key to knowing that you are actually getting a native plant and not a cultivar is to make sure there is no variety name. You want the latin name, but nothing in quotation marks. The same applies to seeds.
To create room in my garden, we moved two lilac bushes that have done absolutely nothing. I am also removing a weigela and dividing my non-native geranium and Autumn Joy sedum. My coneflowers and phlox will have to go though to be honest I’m leaving them there as a distraction for the groundhog and possibly bunnies that have loved feasting on them thus far.
Everything has been growing well thus far. I did have something dig up some of my butterfly milkweed (honestly, why???) but I planted it enough spots that I am not freaking out. We’ve had incredibly hot and sunny weather, so slugs have been less of an issue. I feel like the weather is giving my plants a bit of a head start.
Native Garden Design
I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with the amount of purple/blues I’m going to have in my garden, so I did get a bunch of yellow plants, which I don’t usually choose. But I think yellow and purple look so nice together. I’m dreaming of dense blazing star and black eyed Susan, autumn sneezeweed and obedient plant. And all with pops of bright orange butterfly weed. I can’t wait! And I will be adding a turtlehead next year, it’s just to decide whether I will choose a pink or a white. I was quite focused on white, but I’m thinking I need a little pink in my garden.
Honestly, my garden is a bit of a mess this year as I try to reorient. My roses are doing beautifully and my hydrangeas are getting started. I don’t think I will ever be able to give those plants up. I also have varieties of non-native columbine that I love so much. I am just a bit worried about them cross pollinating with my eastern red, so I’ll try to plant that beauty far away from my others. I’m still waiting for my bee balm to flower. I started from seed last year, using winter sowing. It has spread soooo much, but still no flowers. I think it’s still early in the season though. But if its spread is any indication on how native plants grow, then my garden will be more than full by next year.
Sill on My Native Wildflower Wishlist
I don’t think I’d be a gardener if I didn’t still have a wishlist and yet no room for anything more! Here are some native plants that I’d love to get my hands on:
Canada anemone
Turtlehead
Prairie Smoke (seriously, check out the pictures of this stunner. I’ve not seen it in person ever, but it would make a lovely native alternative to some varieties of columbine and honestly some geraniums)
Anise hyssop
Any number of spring ephemerals, but that’s a topic for another blog post!
So what do you think of my attempts to start a native garden? Any advice? Are you adding any native plants to your garden? What’s your favourite native plant pairing? I hope to have an update on how my native garden is coming along soon!
Martha's Garden Obsession 