Wildflower Wednesday

Crazy weather seems to be the norm in the Chicago area this spring, and now summer.  A derecho blew through our area suddenly last night, but didn't seem to cause much damage in our garden.  The minor hail damage on the foliage in this post is from another recent storm.  In spite of our crazy weather so far this season though, wildflowers are thriving in our garden.  

I may have made peace with Ruellia humilis, a native petunia who likes to sprawl and seed herself all over the place.  I pinched them back hard in early May, and even with our record rains, they are standing upright.  As for the rampant self-seeding, last year after they bloomed I cut them way back again, and this spring we've had only a few seedlings.  So as long as I can keep them in check, they'll be sticking around.

Tradescantia Ohiensis - Ohio spiderwort is another purple-flowering native blooming in our garden this month.  The spiderworts bloom well in a pretty shady area, while the ruellias weren't happy there at all and are now situated in full sun in our front foundation landscape.

Asclepias purpurascens - purple milkweed, has been here a few years, and has never set set seeds yet.  I've seen hummingbirds nectaring on these blooms for the first time this year, and hope they're doing some pollinating in the process.  I'd love to be able to collect seeds from this gorgeous plant.  It's the only asclepias that has thrived and bloomed in our part-sun garden.

  I think this is Oenethera fruticosa - narrow-leaf evening primrose.  I had these many years ago in a previous garden. They were passalong plants back then, and the gardening neighbor who shared them with me called them sundrops.

It's hard to pick a favorite June-blooming native in our garden.  If I had to, Indian pink  (Spigelia marilandica) might be the one.  Their red and yellow blooms are unique and so interesting.  Although hummingbirds are said to love these, I've yet to see them visit ours.   I'd hoped to see some seedlings here.  Since none have appeared after four years, last fall I divided our single plant and now there are two.

Each month, on the fourth Wednesday, Gail at Clay and Limestone hosts Wildflower Wednesday, a bloggers' celebration of native plants and wildflowers growing in gardens around the country and around the world.  This month Gail is featuring Bottlebrush grass.  Be inspired to add some/more native bloomers in your garden - check out Gail's post this month, and please visit the other bloggers showing off natives and other wildflowers blooming in their gardens this month.

Wildflower Wednesday

Asclepias purpurascens, (purple milkweed) is blooming albiet sparsely, for the first time ever. Added to our garden three years ago, purple milkweed is one of few asclepias that prefer part sun, although it will also grow in full sun to part shade. If these two little blooms are pollinated and set seed, the seeds will be collected and sent to Native Seed Gardeners, an organization that uses volunteer home gardeners to grow and harvest native plant seeds for restoration of protected conservation landscapes in the Spring Creek Forest Preserves in Chicago's north suburbs.

Purple milkweed is primarily pollinated by long-tongued bees, butterflies, and skippers, and Monarch butterflies feed on its foliage. Fortunately, it's rarely bothered by rabbits and deer, thanks to its bitter-tasting, toxic foliage. Although we don't have deer issues in our garden, we do have a lot of bunnies, and they can wreak havoc on vulnerable plants and shrubs here.

I found a little piece of the milkweed broken off a few weeks ago. A few lower leaves were removed, and it went into moist potting mix in our cool basement where a few summer vegetables are being started from seeds. The little cutting rooted easily with no special care, and is already growing and sprouting a crop of new leaves.

A favorite native in our garden, Spigelia marilandica, or Indian pink, just started blooming this week. Attractive to hummingbirds, Indian pink is easy grow, and prefers well-drained, fertile soil in part sun to part shade. Gail grows this in her garden too, so I think it's safe to say that while it may prefer well-drained soil, it's adaptable and will also grow in clay soil. Ours gets no more than a couple of hours of mostly dappled sunlight, and produces lots of these sweet, unusual yellow and red blooms.

Tradescantia ohiensis, commonly known as spiderwort, is native in Illinois. We have a few passalong plants - new additions to our garden this spring. I was on the fence about spiderwort for years, but its sweet blue blooms and the fact that they were free finally won me over. I'm happy to have them in our garden, and hope the bunnies will leave them alone. Spiderwort's leaves and stems are edible for humans too - one of many edible wild plants enjoyed by foragers. If they get too spready here, a few just might end up in a stir fry one day!

This is Penstemon digitalis - foxglove beardtongue, also native in Illinois, and blooming for the first time after three years in our garden. The tubular flowers attract honeybees, bumblebees, Anthophorine bees, Miner bees, Mason bees, and large Leaf-Cutting bees. Halictid bees, butterflies, Sphinx moths, and hummingbirds may also visit the very pretty blooms.

Growing in a spot that gets about an hour of sun in the morning and two more hours in the afternoon, it was slow getting established. As you can see it's blooming nicely now, although high winds and heavy rains have caused it rather poor posture. Even a bit bendy, it's taller in our garden than 'Huskers Red.' This native penstemon is a welcome addition with its pristine white blooms that show up nicely even at night.

Our garden is by no means all native, but the more of them that come to live here, the more I appreciate their quiet beauty and tough constitutions. Adding a few (or a few more!) native plants to an ornamental garden is one of the best ways to attract butterflies and other pollinators to our gardens, and to enjoy nature's beauty in our own backyards. For more Wildflower Wednesday posts, please visit Gail at Clay and Limestone.

Wildflower Wednesday - Indian Pinks

Although not thought to be native in the northern part of the state, Spigelia marilandica, commonly known as Indian pink or woodland pinkroot is native to moist woodlands in Illinois, and much of the southeast United States.

With our rainy spring, this year it's growing in moist soil. Last summer, its first here, it thrived even our typically dry shade garden. Since it was new, it received supplemental watering every week we didn't have a good, soaking rain.

Indian pinks are slow to emerge in spring, and I'm glad I left last year's dead stems. The stems are sturdy, even a little woody, making it easy to find even though it's a late sleeper. Indian Pinks grow to 1-2 feet tall with a spread of up to 1-1/2 feet, and are hardy in zones 5a to 9b.

The tubular crimson blooms with their sunny yellow throats and star-shaped lobes are an excellent source of nectar for hummingbirds when they bloom in June. Operation Rubythroat lists this sweet wildflower as one of the top ten native hummingbird plants.

(Gratuitous Hummingbird video ;)

The seeds ripen in July, when the capsules become black on top and black-green on the bottom. Within a day or two of ripening, the capsules explode and the seeds scatter. We had no seedlings this year, so once they're finished blooming I'll try the pantyhose trick, wrapping some of the capsules in a piece of old hose to capture some seeds.

Indian pinks aren't easy to find in nurseries. I found this one last summer during a visit to Gethsemane Garden Center with my fellow Chicago Spring Fling Organizers. I'm glad it was in bloom at the time. I may not otherwise have noticed it among all the wonderful plants Gethsemane stocks.

Wildflower Wednesday is the brainchild of garden blogger extraordinaire, Gail at Clay and Limestone. For more native plants posts, hurry on over and visit her blog today!