Latin for Gardeners: July 2021

July’s Native Maryland Plant
Delphinium exaltatum
(del-FIN-ee-um eks-all-TAY-tum)
Common Name: Tall Larkspur

July is our hottest month, a time when I prefer to ‘look but not touch’ my garden – it’s just too darn hot! Yet I want my garden to look great, full of color and blooming profusely so I can attract hordes of pollinators and observe them up close or at a distance. Delphinium exaltatum is one plant that exceeds my summer-blooming expectations both in flower-bearing and pollinator attraction. 

Thinking back a few years, I remember that I almost did not buy this species, mainly due to its very tall stature. I recall seeing this plant in my youth, along woodland borders and on roadsides in New England.  Today the biggest threat to roadside Delphinium is habitat loss, mainly due to physical disturbance, widening roads and the severe clearing regimen that severely impacts this and many other plants’ ability to flower or set seed.

Choosing to plant Delphinium in my landscape helps to sustain its population and guarantees that I have a tall blooming flower in the back of my beds that draws in butterflies and hummingbirds as well as a variety of bee species. Because it prefers cooler nights, I planted it where it receives only morning sun and where it is protected from strong winds.  The flower color ranges from white to lavender to purple and as its name implies, it is much taller than the earlier blooming and also native, Dwarf Larkspur (Delphinium tricorne).  

I find the structure and silhouette of this plant particularly captivating, and as to its stature, I’ve determined that many of my favorite perennials are very tall, excellent pollinator plants and often endangered; it’s up to me to plant them, to promote them and to support them however and whenever necessary – they reward me and pollinators many times over.

¹ A tapering, sometimes curving projection.

~ Alison Milligan – Mstr. Gardener/Mstr. Naturalist/Mstr. Watershed Steward

Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)

aligmilligan@gmail.com

Latin for Gardeners: June 2021

June’s Native Maryland Plant
Solidago juncea Aiton
(so-li-DAY-go JUN-kee-uh)
Common Name: Early Goldenrod

It’s the year of Brood X and I don’t need to go outside to hear the deafening sound of cicadas; they’re on many of my plants and I often find them climbing up my pantleg or awkwardly flying past me as I meander through my yard. It’s during these brief encounters that I’m glad that I listened to Haley.

In 2019, I gave the Watershed Stewards Academy a tour of my yard to demonstrate many native plants that are used to address common landscaping problems.  As the group came to my pollinator garden, I mentioned that I had recently noticed that the Solidago juncea, planted in the rear of the garden, was slowly encroaching on my shorter plants and may need to be managed or possibly removed and relocated, in favor of the shorter plants.  Without hesitation, Haley, a young WSA staff member, said, “But Alison, goldenrod is such a valuable pollinator plant, I don’t think you should get rid of it.” After the tour finished and everyone had gone home, I thought about Haley’s immediate defense of this plant and I decided to keep a closer eye on it.  I knew that fall-blooming goldenrod was especially important for late-season bees, but was a summer-blooming goldenrod equally valuable? If so, was it possible for me to constrain it rather than eliminate it entirely?

After two years of observation, I’m convinced that Solidago juncea is a consistent pollinator favorite, attracting a variety of bees and butterflies, as well as some unique beneficial insects, namely scoliid, sand, potter and cicada killer wasps – all solitary and non-aggressive wasps that I enjoy observing. Scoliid wasps are a particular favorite because they feast on June beetle grubs that nest in lawns, sand wasps feed their larvae the invasive brown marmorated stink bug, potter wasps feed their larvae caterpillars, commonly cankerworm and sawfly. And cicada killers, well, what can I say?  Although they are more than just a predator of the annual cicadas (they also pollinate plants), I’m delighted to have any insect in my yard that will reduce the cicada population.

Solidago juncea is a solitary or few-stemmed perennial that provides a nice contrast to the many purple and blue flowers blooming in summer. I’ve come to embrace its stature and find its plumes add a nice structural element, even through the winter.  The diversity of beneficial insects it attracts makes it valuable to me as it may to anyone interested in integrated pest management (IPM).  Thanks Haley, for taking a stand for goldenrod - an often under-appreciated plant in any garden.

~ Alison Milligan – Mstr. Gardener/Mstr. Naturalist/Mstr. Watershed Steward

Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)

aligmilligan@gmail.com

Latin for Gardeners: May 2021

May’s Native Maryland Plant
Iris versicolor
(EYE-riss VER-suh-kuh-lor)
Common Name: Blue flag

The genus Iris contains over 250 species, but only a few of them are native to Maryland. Fortunately, Iris versicolor is one of them. This plant is a rhizomatous monocot¹ with nectar guides on the petals and sepals that are visible to both bees and humans – this is not often the case. Bees are particularly attracted to flowers that are blue, purple, white and yellow and Iris versicolor give them all of that and more. They offer a landing pad (falls) where pollen collects and a substantial nectary. As the bee enters the flower it squeezes under the style arm, scrapes off the pollen, and transfers it to the stigma where it germinates.

Iris flowers are special enough to merit unique terminology and their own day on the calendar – Iris Day in 2021 is on May 8th. These exceptional plants also have some salt-tolerance and are a valuable plant in any naturally wet area of a landscape or in the center of a rain garden since they thrive in moist-wet conditions.  Another of their great features - they are deer-tolerant.

A single Iris is a vision to behold but as any good gardener knows – more is always better! Enjoy the blooms of May and be sure to celebrate the iconic and irresistible Iris on May 8th.

¹ -Monocot leaves generally arise from a single point and feature parallel veins. Monocot flower parts are mostly in multiples of three e.g. three sepals, three petals

~ Alison Milligan – Mstr. Gardener/Mstr. Naturalist/Mstr. Watershed Steward

Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)

aligmilligan@gmail.com

Latin for Gardeners: April 2021

Aprils’s Native Maryland Plant
Betula nigra
(BET-yoo-luh NY-gruh)
Common Name: River Birch

The 2020 State of the Bay report¹ rated the Chesapeake Bay a 32 (D+), down one point from the last report in 2018.  Many factors played a role in contributing to this grade, but stormwater pollution continues to be a significant one. 

Bay-Wise² teaches us that most Marylanders live within ½ mile of a storm drain – the basic channel that sends all runoff to the Bay or its tributaries.  For homeowners wanting to do their part to protect this irreplaceable natural and national treasure, planting trees - especially canopy trees - on their property is an excellent way to contribute.  Trees that create a dense canopy will intercept and slow down rain, reducing the erosion that carries sediment, nitrogen (from fertilizer), and other chemicals into our waterways.  The shade they produce cools adjacent impervious surfaces, thereby reducing the temperature of any eventual runoff – this is particularly important if we are to protect the Bay’s fish species.

For those of us who have perpetually wet areas in our landscapes, one of the best choices for a tree may be a Betula nigra – an adaptable tree that also happens to be a keystone species³.

River birch prefer wet sites, are fast growers, and thrive in full sun to part shade. They are naturally found in riverbanks where they tolerate extended periods of flood conditions. The dry riverbed in my yard is flanked by river birch that have four-season interest and play a major role in supporting the food web necessary for birds to breed and attracting them to my yard.

For those of us working on community projects, River birch are excellent choices for bioretention or raingardens where they readily soak up water.  Pruning them, if desired, is best done in late summer or fall when the plant enters its dormant season and sap is not flowing.

Restoring the Bay requires a team effort. Why not be a key player and plant a hard-working keystone species? Oh, I almost forgot to mention, Betula nigra, is also deer-resistant – even more reason to plant one!

¹ -https://www.cbf.org/about-the-bay/state-of-the-bay-report/index.html

² – https://extension.umd.edu/baywise

³ - A genera that ‘form the backbone of local ecosystems’ – Doug Tallamy, Nature’s Best Hope

~ Alison Milligan – Mstr. Gardener/Mstr. Naturalist/Mstr. Watershed Steward

Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)

aligmilligan@gmail.com