Native Plants Almost Gone Wild

Cardinal flower has held our attention for many years.  Starting with a single purchased plant from Sandy Mush Herb Nursery, we learned by both experience and books the habits and needs of this native plant.  Much of what is written does not agree with what we have  seen but little credence is given to the observations of two former math teachers.  Our plan is to find a location where this native will grow without human assistance.  This is a moisture loving plant and the rough road to the gravel bank created a basin, with no outlet, that holds water after rainfall.  This should be enough liquid to both keep the plant alive and encourage its seeds to sprout.  Both the Cardinal flower and the roughly chopped leaves were placed here.  Unfortunately, Garlic mustard seeds were hiding in the leaves.  Some were removed but more need to go.  That will happen soon.

 Directly adjacent to the roadway, sword like leaves grew but no flowers were seen.  Blue flag is another native plant that we have purchased but we were unsure about their actual identity.  They closely resemble Siberian iris so our question was valid.  Since a nearby bog is loaded with Blue flag growing in shallow standing water, there is a chance that these plants grew from their seed.  These flowers are the first to appear here and with any luck we will have a total of six blossoms.  It is solidly possible that these native plants grow in close proximity to each other in a natural setting.  The fern also meets the conditions to escape a jerk from the weeder.  The gravel bank hill delays the arrival of direct sunlight so these plants are slow to begin their year's growth escaping some of the harsh temperature swings of early Spring.  If we can eliminate the Garlic mustard, there is an excellent chance that these plants will survive on their own.  Brilliantly colored red flowers should fill this area later in the year.  More photos can be expected. 

Going Native

The whole idea of our native plant garden was to have native plants where they could be observed and appreciated by Ed and myself but for others too.  However going native is not easy!  My beautiful Miterwort plant is caged for protection from being eaten or stepped on.  But because of the cage this plant has had a chance to grow, flower and even go to seed.  Tiny black seeds sit in little green baskets.  When the wind blows and the seeds are ready Mother Nature will disperse them.  Wow I'm so happy that I got to see that!

Maidenhair spleenwort looks like a delicate wispy little plant but tucked into a rock crevice for protection it is doing beautifully.  This plant is lovely.  I never saw this plant in the wild or if I did I never noticed it.  I'm watching it now.  What a pleasure that is! 

Partridgeberry is a plant that grows wild here. When Ed last moved trailing arbutus here it was when long time friends moved away.  He never moved arbutus plants in October before.  He had no choice. It was his last chance. That was in 2019.  Sadly the Trailing arbutus died.  However, the Partridgeberry and the Wintergreen that came along with it are doing great.  Partridgeberry is to my way of thinking a perfect native plant.  The leaves are attractive.  The red berries are edible and have the unique mark of two navels.  I was delighted to see that the twin flowers are starting to bloom.  One flower is open here but there are more buds showing.  Knowing when your favorite wildflowers bloom makes them so much easier to find!

Wintergreen is also a perfect native plant.  It has a reputation for being somewhat difficult to transplant and that has been our experience.  It is almost three years later and finally we are finding new growth on these plants.  I love to chew on fresh wintergreen leaves, but these are forbidden fruit!  It was not until I saw the photo that I noticed the tiny beginning of wintergreen flowers.  If we have flowers we might have berries.  Wow I love teaberries!  These plants had beautiful berries when they were moved.  I will keep watching and perhaps see them again!