All this talk about early spring wildlife gardens and bluebirds nesting in Florida is so encouraging to those of us in the white north, where summer wildlife gardens exist only in our minds and dreams, so far…much of New England is still buried in snow!
But knowing that ruby-throat hummingbirds have arrived on the Gulf Coast to rest up before heading north, and hearing that male red-winged blackbirds are back in Massachusetts, carving out breeding territories, makes me so happy, knowing that soon it will be our turn here in New England. But some of us New England gardeners haven’t been idle – I know that seed catalogs are strewn across coffee tables everywhere, and small bundles of packets are arriving in mailboxes by the day. I for one, have even had seeds of native plants “stratifying” outdoors in the snow since late January:
Golden alexanders, nodding onion and spotted bee balm sown in recycled, ventilated containers used as mini greenhouses/cold frames
These are the seeds of my newest native plant introductions to our small “habitat farm” in central Massachusetts. Many of our northeast native plants germinate most quickly when exposed to multiple cycles of moisture, freezing and thawing (cold stratification), and a winter spent buried in snow in the confines of a mini-greenhouse is a great way to grow sturdy, hardy seedlings with a minimum of effort. Winter sowing also happens to be GREAT therapy for gardening-starved northern plant addicts in February and March. Try it! For the cost of a bag of a few packets of seeds, a bag of potting soil plus recycled household containers with drainage and ventilation holes added, you can grow some of the more unusual plants, including rare natives, that are generally only available from seed.
Each year I choose a few more plants to add to our gardens, always selected because they provide some benefits to birds, pollinators and other small but essential forms of wildlife. Here’s what I am trying out this year:
Golden alexanders (Zizia aurea ) a native member of the carrot family, so it’s almost guaranteed to host black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars, who feed only on carrot relatives such as dill, parsley and coriander:
Golden alexanders (Photo courtesy WildflowerFarm.com)
Spotted beebalm/Horsemint (Monarda punctata) – this is a close relative of bee balm, (M. didyma) which hummingbird gardeners know is a magnet for ruby-throats and long-tongued bumble bees. I mean really, who could resist a plant that looks like this?
Spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata) (Photo by Debbie Roos/protectpollinators.org)
Nodding onion (Allium cernuum) - closely related to the non-native ornamental chives and food onions, this is a short native onion named for its nodding flower heads. I’ll be growing these in a rock garden area where I can admire their pretty buds as they unfurl in early summer:
Photo by Joy Viola, ForestryImages.org
Profusion Zinnia
Also on the seed sowing deck are oodles of other plants, including ornamental butterfly and hummingbird plants such as salvia and zinnia “Profusion” (my favorite zinnia, staying short and feeding loads of butterflies and pollinators in our patio containers), as well as the vegetables that won’t be started until April.
So although here in New England, nesting birds and a garden buzzing with hummers are still months away, the waves of spring are beginning to move north!! Next week is the Boston Flower and Garden show, make the trip to Boston and come home with some inspiration and maybe some plants too. Pick up some seeds while you’re there and try winter-sowing some seeds outdoors in mini-greenhouses. You might be starting a new February gardening tradition in your house! And please tell us, what new plants are you planning to introduce to your habitat garden this year? It’s time to get excited about 2011 gardens!
Ellen Sousa is a garden coach, teacher and writer living on a small Massachusetts horse farm certified as a National Wildlife Federation backyard habitat and a Monarch Waystation. Her book “The New England Natural Habitat Gardener” will be available this summer from Bunker Hill Press. Visit her website and New England blog at THBFarm.com
© 2011 – 2012, Ellen Sousa. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Ellen Sousa
I was in the garden over the weekend (pulling English ivy invaders – boo!) and spotted the first tiny leaves from my Zizea aurea!
I planted a few plugs a couple years ago, but wasn’t sure the spot was ideal. Last year, I transplanted two of them and now I’ve got my fingers crossed.
It’s always good to see them popping up the year after you move stuff! What kind of soil do you have them growing in, Vincent? I am planning to locate my Zizia aurea on the moist edge of a pond where I think it will thrive…
Down here in NC it’s the season when bee balm is trying to gain a foothold everywhere so it can TAKE OVER THE WORLD. An annual suddenly doesn’t sound like a bad idea…
Ursula Vernon recently posted..Obligatory Annual Deer-Hating Post
I know what you mean, Ursula…the common red bee balm (M. didyma) is always great the first year you plant it, then the next year it spreads so well that you start thinking, hmm, maybe I should have given it more room. By year 3 you’re ripping it out by the handfuls and giving it to other gardeners
Hi Ellen,
I have all three of these plants and they’re among my favorites for hot dry sites with sandy soil.
The Zizia is wonderful b/c it flowers so early in the season and wasps love the Spotted Bee Balm.
Heather
Heather recently posted..Flies in the Native Landscape
Heather, interesting that the Golden Alexanders are doing well in a hot, dry area for you. I’ll be trying it on a pond’s edge which never really gets what I’d call hot…Cullina’s wildflower book says it should do well there, though, being native to wet meadows and low woods…
Hi Ellen,
I’ve seen it in prairie remnants on both upland and lowland sites. It flowers profusely the year following a controlled burn.
There’s also the heart leaved golden Alexander which is really similar but for some reason not as readily available at nurseries.
Heather recently posted..Flies in the Native Landscape
I planted a small offering of bee balm in my back pollinator garden last year and it seemed to disappear, nary a flower to appear beyond what was in the 4 inch pot when I purchased it. Well, it has come back and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m not sure what I will add this year, I’ll have to take a trip to Maple Street Natives in W Melbourne to see what looks good and appropriate this year…..maybe Amorpha fruticosa (BASTARD FALSE INDIGO)
I’m pushing the warm weather north for you guys….but I don’t have a whole lot of strength
Loret T. Setters recently posted..The Awakening – Giant Swallowtail
Thanks Loret, at this point we’d be happy for even the tiniest bit of warmth up here, so don’t exhaust yourself too much trying to shove it up north
I don’t think the common bee balm (M.didyma) is native to Florida? I have definitely never seen anybody growing it in my FL travels over the years. It spreads through stolons fairly aggressively in moist soils. The annual punctata (horsemint) does seem to be native south to FL so maybe it’s worth a try for you?
Bastard False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa)…that’s a new one to me but I imagine as a close relative to baptisia (also a wild indigo) it will be easy to grow in impoverished soils and very popular with the bees! Good luck and I hope you will share how it grows for you!
Ellen, I’m glad you’re encouraged and not discouraged by our March spring flowers. Just when you’re getting into spring~we’ll be swatting mosquitoes and fanning our faces from the heat!
I’ve planted zizia in heavy clay soil that’s been wet all winter and will be so-so moist this summer. It’s semi-evergreen here and I can’t wait to see it bloom then take off and colonize. I would love to get nodding onion established! I see it growing in cedar glades all along the wet weather streams.
gail
Gail Eichelberger recently posted..Eye- Eye- SkipperA Big Eyed Pollinator
Gail, sounds as though zizia is a recent intro for you too, look forward to comparing notes in a few years.
I use plastic recycled containers in the same way to start seeds- I have tithonia, marigolds and cosmos sprouting in them now. The fruit containers with slots on the bottom for drainage work perfectly.
Jeane – winter sowing is such a blast and I find it so much easier than growing stuff indoors with grow-lamps, etc. I’ve used fruit containers too, but often they have too many ventilation holes and I’ve had to tape up some of them to prevent moisture loss. Milk jugs have worked great for me too along with the clear plastic takeout containers with lids (in the photo). I just drill 6 or so drainage holes in the bottom, plus ventilation holes in the top and voila, instant mini-greenhouse
With tithonia, marigolds and cosmos, you’ll have loads of pollinators and butterflies this summer for sure!