Restoring Native Plant Populations

Why “Native” Plants?

“Native” plants are plants that are plants “that have evolved and adapted to a specific location and have remained genetically unaltered by humans.” I have written a detailed explanation of what they are and why they are important for pollinators and wildlife HERE.

A few good resources on identifying and learning about native plants: Audubon Native Plant Database, NYSDEC Native Plant Fact Sheet, Video: Nature’s Best Hope Presentation by Doug Tallamy, Adk Action Pollinator Festival and Native Plant Sale.

The native plant garden in the Creative Kitchen Garden is home to some common, rare and threatened species of native plants. They are part of the you-pick garden, and I hope that you will visit and get to know them!

Some Native Plants in the Creative Kitchen Garden:

• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) A perennial herb that grows to about 3 feet tall. It has fragrant feathery green foliage with clusters of small white flowers. The seeds of yarrow are beneficial for warblers, sparrows, finches, waxwings, and woodpeckers. The nectar of yarrow is a crucial food for many pollinators, including parasitic wasps that help control tomato hornworm populations! Yarrow is also a medicinal herb, and I use it in my “Heal-All Balm & Salve” to support skin healing.

• Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa) Also known as Wild Bergamot or Oswego Tea, Bee Balm is an incredible flowering perennial. Its blooms are like light purple fireworks atop 4-foot tall foliage that blooms in July. Bee Balm nectar feeds Ruby Throated Hummingbirds and a multitude of insects, including the hummingbird moth. Its seeds are food for wrens, vireos, titmice, and thrushes. Bee Balm can also be used in tea or used medicinally.

• Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) Also known as Helen’s Flower, Sneezeweed is a late-summer early-autumn pop of yellow color in the garden. Cheerful yellow blooms atop 4-foot tall foliage. Sneezeweed nectar is a particularly important source of food for pollinators like butterflies before their long migration south for the season.

• Blackeyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) Grows 1-2 feet tall with slightly fuzzy foliage and yellow blooms that stay open from June-October. Blackeyed Susan nectar is beneficial for wild pollinators as well as honeybees. Blooms make great cut flowers with a decent vase life.

• Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) Also known as Pleurisy Root, Butterfly weed is a beautiful 1-2 foot tall plant with narrow leaves and a cluster of stunning bright orange flowers. As the name implies, the nectar is especially important for butterflies. They bloom around July. Likes dry soil. Also has some medicinal uses.

• Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) Also known as Eastern Red or Wild Columbine, this plant loves partially shaded areas with well-drained soils. Columbine has pinkish bell-shaped flowers that bloom in early summer. Columbine is another flower that provides nectar to Ruby Throated Hummingbirds and insects. They can also attract songbirds such as Orioles.

• Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) A perennial flower that you may see growing along marshes, riverbanks, or other wet areas. Enjoys partial shade or full sun. A low-growing plant that sends up tall spikes of bright red flowers. Cardinal flower depends on pollination from Ruby Throated Hummingbirds.

• Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) A tall fruit bearing shrub with a long history of medicinal uses of both the flowers and dark purple berries. Fruit is eaten by warblers, thrushes, wrens and other songbirds. Flowers attract butterflies, and the leaves are a food source for caterpillars.

• Juneberry (Amelanchier canadensis) A resilient native shrub with beautiful white blooms in early spring. Grows wild in moist soil and woodland edges. Fruit is eaten by wrens, vireos, waxwings and woodpeckers.