by Behnkes Woodies Buyer Miri Talabac

Have enough Azaleas? Roses? Bored with yews? I always yearn for the different when it comes to my garden, and these shrubs are some of my favorites.

Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)

Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)

I love this shrub! It’s native (they pop up from between the rocks at Great Falls), attractive to pollinators (wow! lots of Red Admiral butterflies on them this year both at home and at the nursery) and has multi-season interest. Leaves are either mahogany or gold and flowers are white. Older wood has peeling bark (probably why its named nine-bark) and the seed pods are bright red before they mature to dry brown. I have had one in my yard for ten years now with no problems – and plenty of “benign neglect” the whole time. My deer leave it alone, though I have heard of some snacking on it.

Sweetspire (Itea virginica)

Sweetspire (Itea virginica)

Another native, this is one of my top ten shrubs for fall color. White spring flowers, dark red winter stems, and fall colors ranging through burgundy, red, orange and yellow. They tolerate wet areas, shade and deer, and stay relatively short. And while not evergreen, I do often see plants arrive on the nursery in early spring with several burgundy leaves from last fall still hanging on. Neat!

Summersweet (Clethra anifolia)

Summersweet (Clethra anifolia))

For in-your-face summer fragrance, you can’t beat this. Deer-resistant, wet-soil-tolerant, butterfly-drawing goodness. They’re native too, and in the wild I see them in sunny wood’s-edge ditches and under the canopy itself. Flowers are white (sometimes pink) and can start in late June and end in early September.

Leucothoe

Leucothoe

Part of the large Azalea/Andromeda/Blueberry/Heath family, these low-growers are great evergreens for those pesky deer-infused yards and shady spots. Two cream-splashed plants (the variety ‘Girard’s Rainbow’) that I have in my back yard are content under tall shade trees, not bothered deer or neglect for going on ten years now.

'Blue Chip' Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)

'Adonis Blue' Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)

Okay, we ecology-minded gardeners know to keep an eye on this one; they can escape via seed into wild areas. However, there are several new series that are both compact growers (the better to reach the seed heads for trimming) and/or don’t even set seed. I happen to LOVE the fragrance, and I’m one of those people who can’t stand the overly-sweet scents of Wisteria and Gardenia. Butterfly bush fragrance reminds me of something like a floral vanilla, if that makes any sense. In either case, it’s one of the few shrubs that blooms from June to October; it also takes hot sun well and rebuffs the deer. Plus, it certainly lives up to its name as a butterfly magnet. Blue-violet, purple, pink, magenta, white or yellow flowers let you match it up to just about anything.

Uncommon Natives

This is a catch-all group, but I just can’t skip over these neat natives that can be hard to find. We have all of these now, but once they’re gone, they’re gone until next spring.

Sweetfern (Comptonia peregina)

Sweetfern (Comptonia peregina) is a toughie that looks like a coarse fern and has nice fall color.

Dusty (Xenobia pulverulenta)

Dusty Zenobia (Zenobia pulverulenta) as bluish leaves and nice fall colors.

Yellowroot (L) and Pipevine (R)

Yellowroot (Xanthorhiza simplicissimi) has chains of tiny maroon stars when they flower.

Pipevine (Aristolochia tomentosa) has velvety heart-shaped leaves that feed pipevine swallowtail butterflies and clothe a fence, trellis or arbor.

New Jersey Tea (Ceanthus americanus)

New Jersey Tea (Ceanthus americanus) and its new hyrbid with the western native California Lilac (Look ma, blue!) that also attracts butterflies.

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) has white starburst flowers in summer that are very popular with butterflies.

Deciduous Azaleas

More Deciduous Azaleas

Finally, there are several deciduous azaleas that I love.  They have fragrant flowers in white, pink or yellow and fantastic fall color.

Sweetfern photo credit.  All other photos by Miri Talabac.

This is part 2 of my summary of landscape architect Thomas Rainer’s talk about native plants at the Lahr Native Plant Symposium.  Part 1, covering design, is here.  

Thomas’s myths about native plants:

1. That native plants are drought-tolerant, requiring less supplemental watering, a notion Thomas calls total ‘hogwash”.  Au contraire.  In this region the most popular native plants are actually from the wetter habitats, so they’re decidedly NOT drought-tolerant, for good reason.  (An example of this would be planting Itea along highways.  Native-plant advocate Rick Darke calls this type of placement “native plant abuse”).

2. That natives are weedy or messy.  Well, they don’t have to be.  Read that design link above, or just notice how gorgeous Prairie Dropseed and Baptisia look at Chanticleer Garden near Philadelphia (below).

3. They natives MUST be naturalistically arranged.  The ultra-modern and anything-but-naturalistic array of horsetail in Andrea Cochran’s design pictured here is an example to ponder.

4. That they shouldn’t be planted in large masses.  But why not?  There’s great drama in monocultures, and masses DO happen in nature.  (Thomas showed us some photos taken in the wild as proof.)

5. That native plants are not as vigorous as exotics, that they’re wimpy – a myth that exists concurrently with its opposite, number 1. And this one is sadly true IF the natives are planted in the wrong spots, when the soil has been changed by development, for example.  On the East Coast poor performance frequently results when woodland ephemerals are chosen for sunny, developed sites, where plants like Hibiscus and switchgrass should be used.

Proof that native plants perform well when they’re sited correctly are found in the wild, where native plants are seen thriving in even such brutal sites as granite rock out-croppings.  And at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center they’re finding that native grasses are outperforming succulents on green roofs.

Photo and text by Susan Harris.

We’re pleased to announce some new additions to the Gardening Articles on our website, all designed to encourage customers to grow native plants.  Click here to find all of our of articles about regionally native plants, a resource we hope will encourage more customers to grow more of them.

Or go directly to:

•  How about Planting Something for Wildlife? makes the case for thinking about the critters when making choices for our yards, by Miri Talabac.

• Our Favorite Native Woody Plants collects favorite shrubs, vines and small trees from the Behnkes gang.

• Our Favorite Native Perennials is our growing collection of favorite native perennials for the garden.

• Native Plants in the Wild shows what gems can be found in the woods at the edge of your garden, or at a nearby park.  More great stuff from Miri.

You’ll also find lists of plants native to Maryland in the various plant groups.

Send us your suggestions
Have any favorites we’ve missed?  Let us know!  Just leave a comment to this blog story, and thanks for contributing to this wildlife-friendly resource.

Alex Dencker, well-known native-plant enthusiast and our Potomac manager, is making a guest appearance today on the wonderful local blog Metro DC Lawn and Garden – check it out.   And no surprise, he’s recommending his favorite native plants for the garden, including the ones you see here.

Goldenrod (Solidago) in September

River Birches in January at the Air and Space Museum

Crossvine (Bignonia)

Thanks to Betsy Franz, editor/author of the blog, for giving us the opportunity to contribute Alex’s recommendations.   Behnkes was already a collective fan of Metro DC Lawn and Garden but this puts us over the top!

Howard County Master Gardener Natalie Brewer has compiled a terrific resource for gardeners who are also nature-lovers – and that includes all gardeners, right?  Click here to learn all about nesting boxes, tree hollows, what plants provide the most food for birds, and even how healthy soil makes your garden more inviting to birds.

Great job, Natalie, and keep up the good work.