Garden soil is a precious resource that must be protected and nurtured. Gardeners work for years to improve the soil by adding compost, protecting it from compaction, preventing erosion, and removing weeds. Soil that is left uncovered is vulnerable to damage from the elements and weed establishment. Green mulch can refer to the method of covering the garden soil with green yard waste. Pulled weeds and clippings can be laid down between desirable garden plants to cover the soil, preventing more weed growth and providing future compost as the greens decay. Pulling weeds and letting them lay where they fall saves the gardener a lot of trouble hauling weeds to the compost pile and then hauling compost to the garden. This is a way of mimicking nature, allowing dead plants to decompose where they fall and return to the earth. To reduce the unsightliness of decaying plants in the garden they can be covered with some leaf mulch which will also aide decomposition. Another reference to green mulch can mean that the ground is completely covered in living plants. Weeds will not grow when there is no bare ground for seeds to germinate. Native groundcovers can be used as a green mulch to prevent weed growth, stop erosion, and naturally cover the soil without applying mulch each year. Allowing creeping plants like wild strawberry to fill in the gaps between taller plants is an effective green mulch. Finding aggressive spreading groundcovers that don’t smother the other plants in the bed can be challenging. Shrub plantings are great candidates for green mulch as the groundcover will not be able to smother the shrub. Allowing the taller plants to be well established before the green mulch groundcover is introduced may tip the scales in favor of the original plants. Either of these methods of covering the garden with green mulch reduce the need for external sources of wood mulch. Mulching the garden with the resources provided by the garden is an efficient method to cover the soil without buying mulch that just decomposes in a season. The needs of garden insects and birds must also be balanced in the care of the garden. Many insects live in the leaf litter covering the soil, helping with decomposition. These insects can be damaged by a too heavy application of mulch or the removal of leaf litter. Some insects like ground nesting bees require bare patches of ground to build their nests. Many birds forage across the ground looking for seeds and insects and like to have just the right amount of debris on the ground to scratch in. It is a delicate balance to make all garden residents happy but sticking close to natural processes is usually the best way to go.

Beetle banks is a concept from sustainable agriculture that we can modify for our home gardens. A beetle bank is a raised strip of land planted in grasses where beetles can shelter but still travel out into the surrounding land to perform their services. Lets create a home for beetles in our gardens. Many native beetles are beneficial insects. They feed on weed seeds and are predators of the more pesty insects. Beetles are also beautiful and very cool insects. I like to think of them as little tanks traveling my garden and protecting it. The exception is emerald ash borer and the other invasive beetles that have been introduced here and are disturbing natures balance. Beetles need shelter for winter hibernation, egg laying, and pupation. They need a place that is not disturbed and never sprayed with pesticides. A beetle bank is meant to provide these services when the surrounding landscape is too disturbed to provide them. Our lawns, fancy hedges, and vegetable gardens are disturbed landscapes that do not provide the habitat beetles need. The beetle bank should be placed in a central area where there are no barriers to beetle travel such as sidewalks, roads, and buildings. Mound the soil up in the bank to be about a foot higher then the surrounding area and plant it with native grasses. The plants should be at least 75% clump forming grass but also add wildflowers and the occasional rotting log. Grasses like Virginia wild rye, little bluestem, and prairie dropseed are ideal. Incorporating an area for beetles into the landscape may be tricky without creating an eyesore. The bank does not need to be straight, it can curve to follow the edge of a bed and blend with the landscape. Many existing garden spaces could become beetle banks with the addition of more grasses. Examine the landscape for opportunities to incorporate more beetle habitat. Even a small amount of habitat will provide benefit to the garden and the beetles. https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/16-020_01_XercesSoc_Habitat-Planning-for-Beneficial-Insects_web.pdf

The native garden should be enjoyed not only as a beautiful sight but with all the senses. True enjoyment can be found in the sensory garden. Humans have many delicate ways of enjoying the word and a native garden can provide them all. We know our gardens are beautiful but how does the garden taste? My favorite taste in the garden is the fruit of the viburnum, tastes like a date, not much juice and lots of pit. Service berry would be my second favorite fruit. Glade onion and wild garlic taste how you would expect. The suncholk has a very tasty tuber when baked. The fiddle heads of ostrich fern can be sauteed and are a delicacy. Sometimes I beat the squirrels to the hazelnuts and have a treat. The sap of the milkweed is a bitter taste and too much of it can harm. There are many native pants in the mint family and they all are good for a little taste while walking down a path. Mints also smell nice too. I go out of my way to brush past a big patch of mountain mint just to fill the air with a minty smell. I love to dig up the lizards tail and smell the licorice scent of it’s roots. The fragrance of dropseed fills the air in summer. In the spring a wonderful smell is produced by the golden current. When I’m hiking I like to roll the leaves of sassafras in my hand to release the scent. The scent of phlox in bloom can drift across a garden and draw you in. Besides the sound of birds and signing insects the plants produce sounds. I listen for the rustle of the little blue stem in the wind. Trees creek and crack. The rattle of compass plant in the winter. Wild indigo also rattles as each seed pod matures. In the spring listen for the pop of jewel weed seeds exploding. A nice ripe persimmon makes a delicious splat as it hits the ground. I can not resist running my fingers through the hair of the sedges. The wings on the stem of wingstem makes this plant easy to name even blindfolded. An unpleasant touch is waxweed as it brushes against my leg and leaves its sticky seeds on my skin. The downy fluff of milkweed, seeds and the strong fibers of the stem contrast. Thimbleweed seeds are a fun surprise as you rub the rough seed head it explodes into an even larger ball of fluff. I love the seed box because this plant makes a perfect box to hold it’s precious seeds. With our eyes, lets look a little deeper. I’m always amazed by how many shades of green there are. The purple petal of a wine cup is transparent and the bruise from a pinch changes the shade of purple. In the winter the colors and textures of grey are unique for each part of each plant. The garden is so much more then a pretty sight to see. Lets enjoy to the full depth our senses can take us.

When planting a tree be sure to look up. Trees might be small when they are purchased but they need a lot of space to become healthy adults. When trees and power lines come into conflict trees end up hurting from repeated pruning that leads to weak branches and early death. It is a sad look when half of a trees crown has been sheared off by the utility company. Know the mature full canopy size of trees and shrubs before planting near power lines or any other structure. Some of my favorite small trees and shrubs and their mature height: Witchazel 8-12' Red Buckeye 10-15' Rough-leaved Dogwood 10-15' Wild Plum 10-15' Wafer Ash 10-15' Carolina Buckthorn 10-15' Smooth Sumac 10-15' Southern Black Haw 10-15' Serviceberry 10-20' Redbud 10-20' Fringetree 10-20' Many shrubs will become as wide across as tall so plant them far enough away from structures and each other so they don’t get crowded. Often power right of ways are close to the street or back fence. Branches invading the street or the neighbors property are likely to be mistreated which could weaken the tree from infections. The power lines in front of my house are only 10’ off the ground and 5’ from the street so it is not a good spot to plant shrubs. I have planted beauty berry and hydrangeas but no taller shrubs. The neighbors have a Bradford pear under the lines that had been cut into the Vulcan salute to allow the lines through. I have no sympathy for Bradford pears but I pity the car who parks under them when the poor branch structure gives and the tree splits down the middle. When managing the area along one of the larger power right of ways choose plants underneath that are short and aggressive. Most of the time all the plants occurring under power lines are exotic invasives like bush honeysuckle and tall fescue. Identify the plants to find out if it is a weed or native and don't spray the sumac. The native sumac shrubs are well suited to the harsh conditions under power lines and will respout if they get mowed on occasion. Before planting in a right of way be sure to have clear communication with the utility about the intent of the planting and new maintenance schedule before getting started. There is nothing more heartbreaking then finally seeing a planting get established only to have an uninformed employee come by and cut it down or spray it with herbicide. Also, never top a tree!

By hell strip, I’m referring to the area right next to the road. Usually a small strip of lawn sandwiched between the sidewalk and road that must endure more abuse then any other parts of the yard. The many insults to this piece of soil include heavy foot traffic, an occasional misplaced tire, road salt, snow piles, trash totes, and heavy storm water. Plants growing in the hell strip must be able to survive compacted, polluted soils. They must be low growing so as to not interfere with car doors, tough enough to withstand foot traffic, and provide year round soil cover to prevent erosion. If there are no power lines overhead this area is perfect for a shade tree. Trees like the Kentucky coffee tree, hackberry, and oaks like northern red oak and pin oak will tolerate the harsh conditions next to the road. If the power lines are high a small tree can be planted like redbud, serviceberry, witchhazel, and wafer ash. Keep trees next to the road pruned up so that branches are not hit by cars and they don’t block the sidewalk. When planting in this part of the yard I like to dig the soil level down to be an inch or two lower than the street and sidewalk. This area can collect storm water and infiltrate it into the ground. This tiny rain garden will only stop a small amount of the water running off the street but every little bit helps. Bringing down the soil level also helps to keep the mulch in the bed and not washing off into the sidewalk and street. There are not many ground cover plants that can survive in this harsh environment. One option to to have a Pennsylvania sedge planting. This is a similar look to liriope and expect every dog that walks by to find it an irresistible bathroom spot. Our native wild strawberry also makes a nice solid ground cover with the runners filling in bare spots. The sedge and strawberry stand up well to heavy foot traffic. Plants that also look great in the hell strip but need to be protected from trampling are pussy toes, senecio, and rose verbena. More sensitive plants can be tucked in next to trees or around mail boxes to protect them from being stepped on. The hell strip or any piece of ground receiving runoff off the street is not a good place for the vegetable garden because the veggies will soak up all those chemicals and heavy metals and concentrate them in their fruits. Road salt, oil spills, and car exhaust should be kept away from any edible plants. A few ways to help the public recognize this small piece of garden as an area to protect is to put up a landscape info box or sign. Add a bench where pedestrians feel welcome to sit and enjoy the garden. Strategically placing rocks can help keep tires from running over the garden and give people a place to step when crossing from the sidewalk to street. The hell strip is the last frontier for many native gardeners as more prime planting locations become filled. Is it a good idea to be attracting insects and other critters to this dangerous area? Cars zoom by catching butterflies and smashing turtles. The mosquito fogging trucks come down the road leaving poison on the flowers that pollinators will pick up the next day. The traffic noise can drown out bird calls. Light from passing headlight confuses moths and other nocturnal insects. These decisions must be weighed with each planting.

St Louis has a very high level of bee diversity with 205 bee species in the area. How many species of bees can a native backyard garden support? Scientists in St Louis are very interested in this question. My garden recently participated in a SLU graduate student project studying urban bees. The students came to my yard and identified all the bees they could find once a month during the summer. My garden supports bee species from at least 14 different genera. The scientists found; Andrena (mining bees) Anthidium (potter bees) Augochloroni (metallic sweat bees) Bombus gresiocollis (brown-belted bumblebee) Bombus impatiens (common eastern bumble bee) Ceratina (small carpenter bees) Dianthidium (pebble bees) Halictus (furrow bees) Heriades (resin bees) Hylaeus (masked bees) Lasioglossum (sweat bees) Megachile (leaf cutter bees) Melitoma taurea (mallow bee) Ptilothrix bombiformus (hibiscus bee) Xylocopa virginica (carpenter bee) My native plant garden is about a quarter acre and has been developed from a boring turf monoculture gradually over the last 10 years with the final section of lawn conversion happening about three years ago. The garden is not 100% native. I have a blue spruce, magnolia, a few tomatoes, swiss chard, some onions, an apple tree, etc. Probably my garden is over 80% native plants especially if you count the two big silver maples that tower over it. I try to grow a wide variety of native plants not only because plants are cool but they also attract interesting things to the garden, like bees. Many bees are easier to identify if you see which flower they are visiting. Like the hibiscus bee was visiting the hibiscus flowers and rubbing itself all over the pollen in the center of the flower. I have heard that sometimes a hibiscus bee will be found sleeping in the hibiscus flower but I guess I do not wake up early enough to witness it. Other bees are named for the places they construct like carpenter bees can be found excavating tunnels through wood, like my deck. The potter bees build their nests out of mud that they carefully mix and transport in their jaws. The scientist were especially interested in the bee hotel I have on my front porch which is busily being filled with eggs by a group of leaf cutter bees. The bees seek out holes in wood, either natural or man made, in a protected spot. My bee hotel is a block of wood with several holes drilled in it that sits on my south facing covered front porch. In the hole the bees lay a single egg, create a catch of food for the newly hatched baby to eat, and then take a piece of leaf the build a door to protect the egg. If the hole is deep they may lay several eggs with a leaf door between each egg. Amazingly, the eggs will hatch in the reverse order that they were laid with the outer most egg hatching first so that each baby only needs to eat through one leaf door to escape out into the world. I often see signs of leaf cutter bee on leaves around my garden. The leaves look like a crazy hole punch has been taken out of the leaves at random. I don’t mind the damage. It is far too little to hurt the plant and the cutleaf edge if very pleasing. More about our bees https://www.stlzoo.org/files/9413/3303/3161/MO_Bee_Guide_w_boarder.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxmysJbOS_Y

When I want to spread my love of native plants around, an easy way for me to do that is to give away seeds. I collect seeds in my own yard over the year as they ripen and store them in paper bags. (Collecting seeds is also a good way to control spread of some aggressive plants). On cold or rainy days I get out my seeds and package them up to give away. A reliable way to tell a seed is ripe is to watch for the birds eating them. Ripe seeds will turn a dark color, pods will split, and fluff will happen. When collecting seed my preferred method is to place a bucket under the plant and tip or rub the seeds into the bucket. Seeds that are more determined to attach to the plant can be clipped off and crushed to break them apart from the plant. Bugs like seed heads and usually I accidentally collect a few beetles and spiders. If I set the seeds out in a tray in the sun for an hour usually most of the critters take off. Seeds that end up mixed with a bunch of plant debris can be separated by sifting them in front of a fan so the lighter material blows away. Seeds with fluff like asters and goldenrod can be placed in a paper bag and shook up really well. The seeds will break from the fluff and fall to the bottom of the bag. It is difficult to separate out every last seed and I don’t worry if I don’t get every one. Some seeds will end up in the compost pile where they return to the garden. Label seeds immediately after collecting with the name and date. I always think I will remember what I collected but seeds are hard to tell apart and get mixed up easily. Keep labels with the seeds throughout the cleaning and packaging process to avoid confusion, wasted time, and embarrassment if something is mislabeled. Throw out seeds that are more than a year old, they might germinate poorly. Fresh seed will perform better and the goal is to get others hooked on native plants by making it easy. I like to make my seed packets from coin envelopes that I order in packs of 500. I print the labels on address stickers with the plant details. Ideally including the common and scientific name, preferred habitat, boom color and time, growing tips, and the year collected. I put about a teaspoon of seeds in each envelope which seems like a small amount but can be hundreds of seeds. If I have all my material laid out I can put together about 100 packets while watching a webinar. Not all seeds will germinate easily. Some seeds, like berries are accustomed to going through the gut of an animal and being deposited in a nice packet of growing material so that process must be mimicked to get the seeds to sprout. Many seeds depend on the cold winter months and spring thaw to trigger germination, this is easily done with a refrigerator. Some seeds will go into a deep dormancy if they dry out from being in a seed packet. Light can also trigger germination as a plant experiences day length increasing in the spring. Seeds can either be sown directly in the bed where they are to grow or can be grown in pots. Growing in pots is a good method for a beginning gardener to learn what the seedling plant looks like, often very different from the adult. Direct sowing outdoors is a good method for the lazy gardener who might forget to water. Keep seedlings moist after germination to allow them to develop a sturdy root system before transplanting. Here is a list of easy to collect and grow plants that can be directly sown in the ground. These plants are relatively well-behaved garden stars. Since they are plants that are easy to grow from seed they will spread in the garden and may become weeds in other areas. I keep these plants in check by collecting the seeds to give away. Any baby plants that sprout in areas I don’t want them I dig up and give to friends in the spring. Aquilegia canadensis, wild columbine Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, aromatic aster Coreopsis lanceolata, lanceleaf coreopsis Dalea purpurea, purple prairie clover Monarda fistulosa, wild bergamot Rudbeckia hirta, black-eyed Susan Silene regia, royal catchfly Solidago drummondii, cliff goldenrod

I’m a plant person, but I really get tickled when I seed birds in my garden. Watching the wildlife appreciate my plants is just as good as hearing a friend compliment my garden. I know those birds could have picked any yard in the area and they choose mine because it had what they wanted. On the other hand, my mom is a bird person who has joined full steam with the native plant garden enthusiasts once she saw how the plants could bring even more exciting birds to her yard. No matter what type of person you start off as, native plants will bring the excitement to your garden. While saving a birds original habitat is always best, recreating bird habitat in the garden is a accomplishable goal for anyone. Using native plants in the garden can provide the habitat birds need with nesting sites, shelter, and food. Even small improvements, like adding one berry bush, can attract more birds to the garden. Birds need large trees to nest in and the best time to plant a tree is now. Preserve mature trees by having them tended to by a certified arborist. Even dead trees provide nest sites and insects for woodpeckers and many other birds. When preserving a dead tree be sure to have it evaluated to make sure it will not fall on any structures. When a dead tree must be taken down, keep large logs to rot and provide insect (food) habitat. Logs make good bed edging, will hold up floppy plants, and prevent erosion when placed on contour. The birds want you to plant a protective shrubby area where they can hide and nest. Shrubs that form dense cover by growing as a colony are gray dogwood, hazelnut, sumac, plum, and spicebush. It is so fun to watch these shrubs alive with flocks of birds when the fruit is ripe. To provide evergreen thick cover that birds love plant an eastern red cedar. Plan the garden to have protective cover a short distance from any feeding stations so birds can easily dive for cover if a hawk flies over. However, keep the cover a little distance from the station to prevent a cat from hiding there and jumping out at the birds. Loosely piled brush also provides good cover for birds and insects. Birds enjoy foraging in a decaying log and rotting sticks in the brush pile. Many neighborhood ordinances do not allow brush piles. Tucking the piles into hidden areas under shrubs or surrounded by taller flowers will keep it from view. Brush piles are also another way to keep organic material from leaving the garden. Migrating birds notice fall fruits more easy from above when they are planted in large masses. Tempting birds down out of the sky is easier with bright fall and winter displays from berry producing shrubs. Berries will ripen at different times throughout the season depending on their sugar and fat contents. For the widest variety of birds plant fruits that ripen at a variety of seasons like serviceberry, elderberry, and winterberry. Birds are looking for ripe seeds. Leave seed heads standing so they can be pecked clean. Attract finches with coreopsis and cone flower. Larger birds like the many species of the sunflower family. I really enjoy the acrobatics birds perform when pulling seeds out while balancing on a bouncy flower stem. Asters and goldenrods provide important seeds for birds putting on extra fat to survive the winter. Seeds and berries are not the only bird food native plants provide. Insects make up an important part of the bird diet especially when nesting. Native plants feed insects and insects are tasty treats if you are a bird. Oaks, willows, and plums are wonderful host species for many insects providing a reliable source of protein for young birds. Don’t forget the hummingbirds that sip nectar. Plant columbine, red buckeye, and coral honeysuckle to attract hummingbirds. Providing a natural source of nectar during the times hummingbirds are in the area ensures they will always have food even when we forget to fill the feeder. Hummingbirds also use spider webs to build their nest so be sure to leave those in the garden. https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/seven-simple-actions-to-help-birds/

There are so many beautiful plants to admire right now but the golden fall color of Shining blue star is really amazing. I have a row of Shining blue star planted behind my front fence as a hedge. It likes full sun and moist soil so I dug a shallow ditch to plant it in that collects the rainwater coming off the street. It is doing double duty as a hedge to give me privacy from the street and by protecting my garden from stormwater run off. Shining blue star blooms light blue in May, has lush green foliage through the summer and then turns yellow before dropping it's leaves. This plant produces a milky sap like milkweed so avoid getting it on clothes. Seed heads are ready to collect in late October when the thin pods split open and dark seeds that look like mouse poop fall out. To germinate the seeds they first need three months of cold moist stratification. I leave the plant stems up through the winter because they are ideal habitat for winter hibernating bees. I have seen birds peeling away the stringy stem to use as nesting material in spring.

An easy way to keep up to date with what is going on in the native landscaping community in St Louis is to subscribe to local newsletters. Below are some of my favorites. BiodiverseCity BiodiverseCity is a new local organization that aims to coordinate and amplify biodiversity efforts across the region. This mostly native plant focused resource is great at highlighting what other organizations are doing around St Louis. Newsletters usually feature a native plant highlight, book review, events, and volunteer opportunities. If you want a general overview of what is going on in the region, this is it. http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/sustainability/sustainability/biodiversecity-st.-louis.aspx on the right, under get involved, join the list Wild Ones Wild Ones has a national newsletter and local blog. The national newsletter has interesting articles about native plant gardening techniques, highlighted native plants, and national events. The local chapter’s blog features descriptions of St Louis area native plant gardens, plant highlights, upcoming local native plant events and sales. Wild Ones really helps me keep in touch with local gardeners in the St Louis area that are passionate about native gardening. There are so many talented gardeners in St Louis and Wild Ones is the place to get to know them. http://stlwildones.org/email-subscribe/ Audubon The St Louis Audubon chapter also runs Bring Conservation Home which is a great native plant resource although they don’t have a newsletter. The local Audubon chapter is more bird focused group but they understand that native plants are necessary for birds to thrive. The local chapter newsletter, Tale Feathers, has information about the importance of native plants in bird survival, local native plant events, and common birds you might find living in your native plant garden. https://stlouisaudubon.org/category/tale-feathers/articles/ sign up is at the very bottom of the page City of St. Louis Sustainability News The St Louis office of sustainability puts out a newsletter. The newsletter is filled with local events, sustainable projects that use native plants, grant programs like the Milkweeds for Monarch program and Project Clear, and highlights of how to get involved in our sustainable community. Email Catherine Werner at WernerC@StLouis-mo.gov to subscribe to monthly Sustainability eNews Missouri Prairie Foundation Missouri Prairie Foundation, the keeper of Grow Native!, is an established organization with lots of native plant expertise. While the Missouri Prairie Foundation is a state wide program, many of their tours and talks are outside of the local St Louis area. Their Missouri Prairie Journal is an in-depth scientific quality newsletter highlighting Missouri’s prairies and prairie plants. To get the Journal you must join but you can also sign up for the enews. https://www.moprairie.org/Public/Account/CreateEnewsAccount.aspx Missouri Native Plant Society The Missouri Native Plant Society has a very active local chapter with local field trips to ID plants and plant presentations. There is no local newsletter but the statewide publication, The Petal Pusher, is heavily contributed to from the St Louis region. While not landscaping focused this newsletter will help to highlight native plants and their history and uses as well as let you know when upcoming field trips will occur so you can meet the plants in person. https://monativeplants.org/publications/petal-pusher/ The Xerces Society We don’t have local chapter of the Xerces Society but I still find their national newsletter and blog to be educational. The Xerces Society focuses on insects and is a great resource to learn about bees, butterflies, pollinators, and all the insects we find in our gardens. Their detailed insect profiles and articles about insect conservation help me understand the purpose of my native garden in the broader system of life on earth. https://www.xerces.org/blog sign up at the very bottom of the page State Conservationist Magazine The Missouri Department of Conservation puts out a beautiful monthly magazine, Missouri Conservationist. With a general conservation theme this magazine covers everything from fishing to prairie chickens. There is usually at least one article about native plants or some other being that might be found in the native plant garden. The photography in the magazine is inspiring and definitely worth looking through each month. https://mdc.mo.gov/conmag

It is interesting to think about all the mysterious interactions that happen between plants and the soil. I recently attended a presentation about how mycorrhizal soil inoculates help with establishing prairie plants. Scientists can harvest soil microbes from healthy prairie, grow them in the lab, and then inoculate a future prairie restoration site by drilling the microbes into the soil. Many native plants that are found in a prairie have developed special interactions with fungi and bacteria in the soil. These interactions are beneficial to both parties in a symbiotic relationship. For example, bacteria fixing nitrogen out of the soil to feed the pea plant and the plant providing a special place for the bacteria to live in it’s root nodules. Often these interactions are species specific so that a specific type of plant will only interact with certain fungi or bacteria. It makes sense that the microbes in the soil and the native plants have evolved together over time so that native plants do best with native soil microbes. In our gardens, most likely many of the native soil microbes are missing from the soil ecosystem. Microbes can be killed by being exposed to sun from tilling, soil compaction from vehicles, the soil horizons being mixed up from construction, and landscaping poisons. Most importantly a healthy garden of native soil microbes requires that the native plants that the microbes depend upon be present. Lawn and invasive species have a different set of soil microbes that can be detrimental to native species. In most cases when we plant a native garden we are not planting into the nurturing soil that the plant would experience in the wild. It is amazing that native plants do as well as they do in our gardens. Some native plants are pickier then others about their preferred soil microbes. It is easier to grow plants that are early successional species, better known as weedy species, like annuals. These early successional species also appear to be the best adapted to have relationships with a broader range of soil microbes that are more tolerant of poor soil conditions. This can explain why it is easier to quickly grow black eyed Susan than New Jersey tea. Much like planting native plants to attract native insects, we may also be attracting native soil microbes to our yards. It may be that growing easy native plants in the garden now is building a healthy native soil that will create a more welcoming environment for the more difficult to grow natives in the future. Plant diversity, insect diversity, bird diversity, and soil diversity are all building on each other, creating a more diverse and a more truly native garden.

I’m horrible at remembering to water my pots. This is probably why I’m into native gardening because they can tolerate the neglectful care I give. When gardening in pots it is much more important to keep up with a regular watering schedule and careful monitoring during the summer heat. I have trouble keeping plants alive in pots over the winter. Pots left outside tend to dry out and crack. Bringing pots inside is a lot of work and sometimes brings in pests that infect my house plants. Outdoor pots can be buried either in the compost pile or with straw. I find the squirrels and rodents dig a lot at pots left out over the winter so I sometimes put a screen over the top of the pot to keep them out. Due to the problems of winter die off and summer neglect I have had the best luck with just treating my pots as annuals and replanting them every year. Redoing pots each year can be expensive but when I need to I just remix the old potting soil with some new compost to freshen up the pot and then dig some of the perennials from my yard that are crowding or seeded into the wrong bed and voila, it’s free. A container is a great place for the dry rock garden since it will get less water and has less weed competition. Rock pink, Phemeranthus calycinus, grows well in a pot because of the reduced competition. Rose verbena, Glandularia canadensis, MO evening primrose, Oenothera macrocarpa, and calamint, Clinopodium arkansanum, are all nice in the dry pot and gracefully drape over the edge. Large pots with no drainage can be turned into a small water feature. A pot filled with water is a good place to grow wild canna, Thalia dealbata, or lizard’s tail, Saururus cernuus. To prevent mosquitoes growing in a water pot use a small solar bubbler, mosquito dunks, or fish. Larger rock gravel can be used to fill the pot so there is still enough space for water but not any water at the surface. For the shade garden a pot could contain ostrich fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris as the tall center piece surrounded by Solomon’s seal, Polygonatum biflorum, Jacob’s ladder, Polemonium reptans, or Celandine poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum. For a fall pot try blue stem goldenrod, Solidago caesia. I like to grow my vines in pots as a way to keep them under control. The vines would grow much more robustly if I set them free in the garden but I don’t have that much space so I want to keep them contained. There are many decorative trellis structures built to go in pots and as the vine grows up there is space at the base to grow other plants. Vines are able to escape from pots either through the holes in the bottom or by laying their tendrils on the ground and rooting in so monitor the pot closely or even better, bring it up on the porch. Broken pots can still have a place in the garden. Attractive broken pieces make good decorations to place around the garden, bury the broken edges to make a little shelter for a toad or other garden visitor. Unattractive pieces can be placed in the bottom of other pots to provide drainage and help weight the pot so it is less likely to fall over.