My Favorite Native Plants

As a gardener, if you’ve ever been asked to name your favorite plants, you know that’s not easy—the list just keeps getting longer. More than 600 native plant species may be found at The Quarry Gardens (“QGS”) at Schuyler where I spend much of my time, so I don’t want for choice. 

For this article I have chosen among volunteers—lovely native plants that flower at the QGs naturally, exclusive of the hundred or so species we’ve added to fill out ecosystems within the gardens. Such volunteers are gifts. 

Delicate Rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) in the buttercup family, may be the longest blooming of the spring ephemerals. It shines in semi-shade in the spring woodland, often peeking from rock crevices among oaks, hickories, and maples. It is easily cultivated in wildflower gardens, propagated by cutting, division, or seed, and once established will spread via a thin, tuberous root system. Plants and seeds are available from reputable native plant nurseries—ones that don’t collect wild plants.

Perfoliated bellwort/Merry bells (Uvularia perfoliata), is so named because its pointed oval leaves are pierced by the stem. Each main stem has a single lemon-yellow bell-shaped terminal flower, which hangs downward. A member of the lily family, it spreads freely in woodlands nearest the quarries. In the same area, we find a small colony of Mountain bellwort (Uvularia puberula) — disjunct, but perhaps here because of our proximity to the Blue Ridge; it prefers a dryer site than U. perfoliata. The slightly larger flowers are born along the stems rather than terminally.  Both plants are small, growing no more than a foot high; their delicate young shoots are said to be a substitute for asparagus when cooked—but we wouldn’t dream of it. 

Three skullcaps may be found at QGs: Hairy skullcap, (Scutellaria elliptica var. elliptica); Hyssop-leaved skullcap (Scutellaria integrifolia), and Showy skullcap (Scutellaria serrata). In the mint family, all produce charming small blue helmet-shaped blossoms in the gap between spring ephemerals and summer flowers. I have difficulty telling them apart. Mt. Cuba Center cultivates a fine display of Showy skullcap and calls it under-appreciated as a garden plant—it will grow in moist or dry condition in sun or filtered shade—but it is not easy to find in the trade. A new, cultivated cross of two Virginia natives — S. serrata and S. incana — called ‘Appalachian Blues’ may soon be more available. 

The low-growing Showy orchis (Galearis spectabilis) is true to its name, with lovely hooded, bicolor lavender and white blossoms appearing in April and May. The flower stem rises between two large, fleshy oval basal leaves. Uncommon and slow growing, these orchids want moist, humusy soil in dappled shade. The lip petal has a hole at its base which leads to a nectar-containing spur visited by many kinds of bumblebees. As with other orchid species, showy orchis requires the presence of certain fungi in the soil, which makes it difficult to grow in the home garden, so attempts to transplant it from the wild are doomed. Ours do not appear every year, so finding one is a special treat.

Diminutive Quaker ladies/Bluets (Houstonia caerulea), with their modest tufts of pale azure, four-petaled flowers, can pop up in the most unexpected places, including lawns and stumps. (I found one in my raised vegetable bed.) They bloom for three weeks or more, beginning a bit later in spring than other ephemerals. Usually found in moist woodlands, they can be charming when planted in a rock garden with some shade. Quaker ladies reseed freely, and clumps may be transplanted easily on a cloudy day. 

Curlyheads (Clematis ochroleuca) is a subshrub in the buttercup family that bears fuzzy, pendulous, solitary, bell-shaped flowers with curling edges in late spring.  We find them in at least six locations, encouraged by the high pH of much of the QG’s soil. Out of bloom, the leaf shape readily identifies the plant as a clematis, as does the highly ornamental whorled seed pod. Outshone by clematis cultivars, it is almost unknown in the trade, but can be grown from seed. 

In summer, the brilliant white blossoms of tall thimbleweed  (Anemone virginiana)  stand out on the edges of shaded woodlands. Among handsome serrate leaves, the stems shoot up to two feet or more. As the petals drop, the reason for the name is revealed in a thimble-shaped cluster of pistels, which matures to a cottony tuft that explodes in autumn. Less aggressive than other anemones, it is nevertheless easily grown in a variety of settings.

Southern slender ladies’ tresses orchids (Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis) are found in a variety of open habitats and are widely distributed in the eastern half of the U.S. We typically find them among and on top of boulders, blooming in late summer/early autumn. The leaves usually wither before flowering. The flowers are pollinated by a variety of long-tongued bees. In years when they bloom here, they may be numerous. Nodding Ladies’ tresses orchids (Spiranthes cernua) have been found in wetter areas. 

Another late-season gem is Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis). This one is easy to find in the trade, but hard to keep. Though it is said to be a short-lived perennial, we’ve found through cultivation that it’s best to think of it as an annual and encourage it to reseed. Discovering it growing naturally on a shady stream bank was a clue to cultivating it: It wants a consistently moist soil, but can’t reseed successfully in a low place where fallen leaves collect.

Rose pink (Sabatia angularis), a kind of gentian, is a delight to find in late summer with its showy, fragrant flowers. It’s a biennial, with blooms emerging from a basal rosette established in the previous year. The tiny seeds are readily spread by wind so that we find it scattered in small colonies along woodland edges.

It is in the nature of native plants to appear unbidden where they want to grow. Sometimes all that’s needed to find them is to look for them. In woodlands and on woodland edges, at the rough edges of lawns and agricultural fields, in seldom-mowed rights of way, and in other neglected spaces where exotic invasives have not smothered them, you might find your own favorite native plants. 

 

SOURCES:

Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

Mt. Cuba Center

Missouri Botanical Garden

North Carolina State University Extension

Quarry Gardens at Schuyler

Center for Urban Habitats