Native plants for small gardens

Barbara Wagner,Erie County Master Gardener Can the small flower gardener grow native plants? The answer is a resounding yes. Native plants can even be grown in containers. Native plants are by definition ones that grew in an area before European settlers brought in plants from other continents. They benefit the landscape because they take less water and fertilizer and are important to wildlife. Many of us are familiar with the use of native plants in prairies, like prairie dock with yellow flowers on 3 to 10 feet stalks or Joe Pye Weed that reaches 60 inches high. These are much too large for the small garden. But others are not. Three that come to mind are purple coneflower, black eyed Susan and bee balm. With height between 10 inches to 2 feet, these can easily grow in a border in a small garden or in a container. So how does one begin? As with all plants, it is important to know the light, soil and moisture requirements. Some native plants like purple coneflower require full sun, 8 hours a day, while columbine does well in partial shade. Some like swamp milkweed require a lot of moisture and can even grow in swale areas; others like asters need well-drained soil. After determining what requirements your garden meets, you need to find the plants or seeds. Every article I researched states most emphatically, "Do not dig up plants from the wild." By doing so you are decimating native plants instead of increasing their use in the landscape. Native plants in your gardens should come from seeds or nurseries. The best time to plant native plants is in the spring, early summer, or fall. This gives the plants time to be firmly entrenched in the soil before the dryer hotter months of July and August or the harsh months of winter. So now it is time to look at the plants themselves. You probably want to know the scientific name. In "The Native Plants of Ohio" from The Ohio State Extension, wild columbine, Aguilegia Canadensis, is listed as a native plant. It grows 12-24 inches and will bloom in the spring with yellow or red flowers. Another species, Aquilegia coerulea is native to the Rocky Mountains. There are also hybrids like Aquilegia incarnata that are not native. To help our landscape, you want the species that is native here. You also want to know about the growing habit. I have grown purple coneflowers, black eyed Susans, and columbine for many years. The coneflowers stay put. They do spread out in the flower bed, but you rarely find them popping up all over your garden. Black eyed Susans and columbine self-seed and will often appear in new areas. So what are some other plants you could try? Crested dwarf iris, Iris cristata, is a smaller spring blooming plant; butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, is a larger 12-36 inch plant acclimated to dry clearings; wild geranium, Geranium maculatum, is 12 to 24 inches with violet pink flowers in the spring. "Go Native" from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources lists native plants by their habitats. Nurseries and specialty garden centers in our area feature native plants in the spring. The plant tags will give you important information about their size, habitat, and care. Also you can try planting in containers. In "Container Gardening With Native Plants" from the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Anne Kirkpatrick gives a list of native plants in the "Filler, thriller spiller" categories for containers in Missouri. If natives can be grown in containers in Missouri, they can also be grown here. Some plants native to Missouri are also native to Ohio. Examples are Nodding Onion, Allium cernuum for a filler, purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, as a thriller, and wild ginger, Asarum canadense, as a spiller. Kirkpatrick also lists water plants for those who are interested. So if you want to help the environment by going native, do not give up because your garden is small. Even small gardens can grow plants beneficial to Ohio.