I found Pinus strobus ‘John’s Find’ at a local plant sale several year ago.
One of the most difficult aspects of creating a native plant wildlife garden can be finding the actual plants. It’s kind of a chicken and egg thing — will mainstream nurseries carry native plants before there’s a sustained call for them?
Fellow NPWG team member Ginny Stibolt recently wrote about that issue in her post on the importance of supporting the native plant industry. While there are more and more independent nurseries carrying native plants, and some devoted solely to selling native plants, it can still be a bit difficult for many gardeners to find reliable local sources for native plants.
One somewhat hidden source of regionally appropriate native plants can be your state’s native plant society or a local native plant center. They often hold a plant sale or two each year to raise money and help native plant enthusiasts buy garden-worthy but hard-to-find native plants.
I’m fortunate to live near the Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College, an affiliate of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Each spring they host a plant sale where locals can find an impressive array of native plants. If you garden in Westchester County, NY or lower Fairfield County, CT, I encourage you to attend the plant sale. I was so excited to see that this spring they are offering two native plants I’ve had on my wish-list for a few years.
In a few weeks my native plant garden will be richer with the addition of these two fairly elusive native plants…
Antennaria neglecta (Field Pussytoes)
Flowers and foliage of field pussytoes. ©El Grafo
I first heard about pussytoes during a lecture by Douglas Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home. He mentioned how he had planted pussy toes as a native groundcover in his garden and so it was immediately added to my ‘plants to research list’ and then to my official native plants wish list.
The only problem with pussytoes is that I’ve never seen them for sale anywhere remotely close to my home until I saw Antennaria neglecta on the list of plants for sale at the Native Plant Center.
American lady butterfly
Native to much of the US, field pussytoes is a low-growing and spreading ground cover that loves hot, dry, sunny spots but also tolerates part sun and average garden soil. Fluffy whitish-pink flowers cover the plant in the spring. Woolly hairs on the leaves lend a silver cast to the foliage which just adds to its overall appeal.
Field pussytoes is also a larval host plant for the American Lady butterfly.
Senna hebecarpa (Wild Senna)
Wild senna in a mixed border garden
The first, and only, time I saw wild senna in a garden setting was in the garden of Brid Craddock, owner of a micro-nursery, Heirloom Gardens, and a fellow garden designer. On a visit to Brid’s garden one August, the wild senna was in full bloom and simply screaming for attention. It looked so exotic with its feathery foliage and bright yellow flowers. I was surprised and delighted to hear that this strange plant was a native to Connecticut.
I searched and searched but could only find a few online seed sources for Senna hebecarpa (I really didn’t need or want 250 seeds), but I could never find plants, until now.
Native to much of the eastern US, wild senna is considered threatened, of special concern or endangered in many of the New England states, including my home state of Connecticut.
Cloudless sulphur butterfly on a coneflower
At 5′ tall and almost as wide, this herbaceous perennial reaches the stature of many medium-sized shrubs. Give it a spot with full sun to part shade and average to moist soil and then let it do its thing. Its bright yellow flowers in mid-summer are especially attractive to bumblebees. The flowers are followed by long thin pods whose seeds are a favorite of birds. Senna hebecarpa is also a larval host plant for the cloudless sulphur butterfly.
Senna hebecarpa is ideal for use in a mixed border, especially when planted with large-leafed plants or those with dark foliage to help add textural and color contrasts.
If you can’t attend the Native Plant Center’s spring sale, take a look at the website of your local native plant organization. They’re probably gearing up for an upcoming native plant sale, too. These plant sales are a great way to support a local non-profit, get more native plants to support the wildlife in your garden and meet other native plant enthusiasts.
© 2013, Debbie Roberts. All rights reserved. This article is the property of Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens. If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Debbie Roberts
Native plant societies are indeed an excellent source of plants, many of them local. The Georgia Native Plant Society has a big sale every April in the metro Atlanta area and we have plants from five sources: local plants rescued from construction, member donations, nursery donations, nursery purchases and plants that we propagate just for the sale. And we usually always have pussytoes at the sale because of construction rescues. It’s a great plant!
Ellen Honeycutt recently posted..Plant a Tree for the Future
Ellen, I like the concept of rescue plants, I haven’t seen that in this area. I’m going to have to look into that since it’s a wonderful idea to save wild native plants and give them a good home.
Debbie recently posted..Garden Designers Roundtable ~ Romance
Unfortunately I always miss the local plant sale due to work…maybe next year…it is in Ithaca. These look like great additions.
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Organic Gardening
Debbie, how exciting to find those plants available for sale this year! I have never seen either of these for sale, nor in the wild. The Senna’s natural range seems to be from CT south and west which explains its rarity around here. I’d be very interested in how the Senna does for you – according to Cullina, they are easy to grow from seed so I hope to try them if I can ever find roughly local seeds. Wild Senna was a plant I debated including in my book but did not, in the end, because I’ve never been able to study it growing..
I only ever heard of Field Pussytoes from Tallamy, too, and was not aware that there was another Antennaria native to New England – I’m only familiar with the Plantain-leaved/Mouse-ear Pussy-toes (A. plantaginifolia). Field Pussytoes look as though they might do well in hot/dry/exposed coastal gardens.
Thanks for the heads up on Heirloom Gardens in Newtown, looks like an interesting place.
Ellen Sousa recently posted..Norcross Sanctuary – Hidden Jewel of Monson, MA
Ellen, I’ll be happy to share any wild senna seeds I may get from my plants…however long that may take! I am very excited about my purchases and can’t wait to see how they perform in my garden. I’m sure there’s a future blog post in there somewhere.
Debbie recently posted..Garden Designers Roundtable ~ Romance
I grow senna in eastern NE, a bit outside its zone, but it’s a beauty–so unique, folks always comment on it, and I even had caterpillars munching on it last year. A LONG bloomer in high heat!
Benjamin Vogt recently posted..Farming Away Our Future
Benjamin, I’m definitely looking forward to lots of munching in my garden, too. And I’m glad to hear it takes the heat, my garden gets pretty hot & dry in July.
Debbie recently posted..Garden Designers Roundtable ~ Romance
Thanks for extending the conversation.
Ginny Stibolt recently posted..Love Your Planet!
Debbie – We carry Wild Senna at our nursery just a few plants usually as people don’t really seem to know about it and it isn’t a big seller – in fact – that is what our newest chocolate lab puppy (Senna) was named after last summer! I absolutely love it. it is so different looking from the rest of the plants really. but it does get quite big if it is happy – so be sure to give it plenty of room to grow. I planted a grouping of 3 in the back of a rain garden a few years ago – and looking back now – 1 would have done just fine! in terms of hardiness – we are now a zone 5 – but still in upstate NY where it gets mighty cold in the winter – so I’m sure it will do fine for you.
EMily – Fiddlehead Creek carries the Wild Senna? OK, now I am plotting how to get myself to your area of NY sometime this year, so I can just “happen to be in the area” and do some shopping
Ellen Sousa recently posted..Norcross Sanctuary – Hidden Jewel of Monson, MA
Emily, The wild senna I saw was just one plant and it was HUGE! I will definitely follow your advice and plant with an eye to the future. In your experience, how long does it take to really get going?
Debbie recently posted..Garden Designers Roundtable ~ Romance