Gardening with Gail
Summer Native Plants and Their Care
—by Gail McIlroy
I think June and July are probably my favourite times of the year in the gardens.
In June we can enjoy: Prairie smoke (Geranium maculatun), Bunchberry (Cornish canadensis), and Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatun).
Many native plants bloom in June:
Scarlett Bee balm. Bee Balm florets also make a great tea if they are dried properly.
Obedient plant. Although research suggest early spring my experience has been that it prefers August in our area. This is another plant that travels and reseeds itself most years, spreads quickly and some people say it’s invasive!
Pussy Willow plant. Tolerates moist conditions.
Service Berry Bush. Tolerates most type of soil and is considered to be a four season plant/bush.
Spiderwort Plant. Darker green I think is the native plant. The lighter green stems and leaves almost lime in colour is the one found at most nurseries.
Solomon Seal. This native plant some think to be invasive however it divides easily. It’s one the perennials that lives and thrives for years. Thrives in the shade. It prefers rich, moist, well-drained soil. This native friend with its tiny white bloom doesn’t do well in the hot sun of summer. This native can be divided at almost any time of the year.
Trillium. Ontario’s national flower is primarily white, however, a few are dark red and some look almost pinkish. These plants are slow growing and can take up to seven years to produce a single bloom. The plant enjoys semi-shade and holds its flower until mid-June. Then the plant will die off until the following spring. It is illegal to pick trilliums in British Columbia, Michigan, and New York State, but not in Ontario. In May of 2009 an amendment to the Ontario Trillium Protection Act was passed allowing the transplanting of trillium. A good companion plant for trillium is Wild ginger.
Wild Columbine. Is actually part of the buttercup family. It’s native to the woodlands, although it will grow in any shaded area on your property. It’s well known for its red and yellow flowers. The bloom is small and unpretentious. Grows in sun or shade.
Butterfly weed. Loves the sun, drought tolerant soil. Monarchs feed on this plant. This native plant is always a bright orange shade. Monarch butterflies are drawn to this plant to drink. It’s unusual for these butterflies to lay their eggs on this plant.
Cardinal flower. Pollinators love this plant. As the name suggests it’s bright red. The blooms last a long time and are dependent on hummingbirds and butterflies for pollination. It depends on moist nutrient soil. These attractive plants can be difficult to grow but when you are successful, they are well worth your persistence.
It’s interesting to me that many of the recognized plants are native and I’m guessing many of us were not aware. In Hawkestone our garden club is creating a pollinator garden along the trail. It is our hope that the little local people will enjoy and gain knowledge as they observe this in progress. Last spring the children “with trowels in hand” helped start the first pollinator garden along the side of our community centre. I hope the next generation will educate and learn the importance of pollinator friendly plants and just how necessary these plants are for our environment.
Best way to enjoy your annual plants in June and July:
The best care you can give your annual plants in the spring and summer is to dead head regularly before watering. Dead heading allows the plant to recover and grow. The plants that are not regularly dead headed will become long and leggy with less bloom. Keeping most of your annuals watered is also essential. Annual plants in general are more sensitive and although they can get through the season without attention it’s important to keep the bloom coming. In some cases, it’s wise to pinch back just under the existing bloom. By using this technique, the plant will also fatten up.
Annual plants add a lot of colour to our gardens as well as feed many of their visitors. Some annuals are edible. Google ahead of time, they enrich salads also. It’s important to break up the roots before planting. Being root bound happens if the roots aren’t unlocked, causing the roots to take and grow in circles or squares.
Have a wonderful June and July enjoying all the gardening that is available in this lovely area.