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| Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa |
Diane Marchese, Guelph Wellington
(a version of this article was published in the Puslinch Pioneer Community Newspaper)
(a version of this article was published in the Puslinch Pioneer Community Newspaper)
It
always surprises me when someone finds gardening an act of
frustration. Or when they devise a plan for a garden consisting of
one type of plant, thinking this will ultimately cut down on their
work outside. I had someone once say to me as I stood in my front
yard garden, “Image a front yard filled with nothing but hostas.”
“What! I proclaimed, that’s asking for trouble.” Are these
new landscape aesthetics really working for us?
Before
I became a Master Gardener I didn’t think twice about native
plants. I probably wouldn’t have been able to name one. But now,
I treasure them, the true native plants that flourish in our
environment. These native plants have adapted to our land due to the
accumulated wisdom they’ve developed over thousands of years and
assimilated within their DNA. They are adapted to our climate, soil
and weather trends. When not interfered with by chemical-poisoning,
fertilizers and the invasive competition of alien plants they will
thrive and require less water and very little ongoing long term
maintenance.
Native
plants also nurture the environment. This year there’s a great
deal of attention being paid to the plight of the Monarch butterfly.
Studies
have revealed that the Monarch butterfly migration is at its lowest
in 20 years. Several reasons account for these startling numbers;
chiefly severe drought and herbicide use, which are killing the
milkweed plants that these butterflies require for laying their eggs
and for the caterpillars to feed on. Other necessary wildflowers
that offer nectar for the adult butterfly have been severely
decimated.
It’s
so easy to include a few native plants in your garden beds or even
develop an area of your garden for butterflies that are filled with
nectar giving plants.
Consider
some of these plants in your garden as you organize your plant list
of “Must have plants”: remember if you use the
Latin name, you are requesting the correct plant by its scientific
name and any nursery or greenhouse should be able to access the exact
plant for you. Start out with planting:
Beebalm, Monarda didyma
Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirtae
False Sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides
New England Aster, Aster novar-angliae
Pasque flower, Anemone patens
Purple Coneflower, Echinacea palida
Wild Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa
Blazing Star, Liatris spicata
Joe Pye, Eupatorium maculatum
Colombine, Aquilegea
Butterfly Weed, Asclepias
tuberosa
Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias
incarnate
Developing our gardens with the diversity of native plants will
also contribute to our own health. After all a garden is never
finished and there’s always something to do. Gardens breathe, grow
and are constantly communicating, nurturing interactions with other
plants, birds and yes butterflies. A healthy garden makes lots of
noise, with birds singing, bees buzzing and insects humming. All that
activity insures that, as it grows, your garden can offer shelter and
protection to the pollinators who make it grow.
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