perennials Archives - Nature Center at Greenburgh

“April cried and stepped aside, and along come pretty little May”
-Rogers & Hammerstein

April’s daffodils are fading, but May is the best season for flowers! Are you ready for spring planting? Plant sales are happening all around us. Let’s make a shopping list!

This year, consider skipping the big box stores and garden centers selling flats of annuals for flower beds. Who really wants to watch tropical plants (wax begonias, New Guinea impatiens, petunias) wither and die in our very un-tropical weather? If you are going to all the expense and trouble of planting flowers in your yard, why not choose a few of these native perennials that can withstand our variable climate and come back strong next year?

Here are some great early-blooming native perennials that start to shine just as the daffodils fade from view:

In a sunny area, try Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea or aptera). With masses of big yellow flowers, Zizia looks just like sunshine. It is in the carrot family and is the native host plant for Black Swallowtail butterflies. If you plant it, you will definitely see them. The plants spread themselves around where they are happy and are easy to grow. Never more than 2 to 3 feet tall and about 2 feet wide, blooming from late April well into June, Zizia tolerates a little shade, but does best in average garden soil with a mostly-sunny exposure. And it is deer-resistant.

Do you usually plant annuals along your front walk? Try these early-blooming native perennials instead:

Moss Phlox (*Phlox subulata*)
blooming now

Prairie Smoke (*Geum triflorum*)
blooming now

Pussytoes (*Antennaria plantaginifolia*) blooming now

Moss Phlox or Creeping Phlox is widely available and popular –for good reason! It blooms profusely from late April into May and is available in a huge array of colors, from white and pastel or hot pink, to a variety of blues. It needs full sun and sandy or pebbly well-drained soil, so it is perfect for lining a sunny path where the soil tends to be poor. After blooming, it forms a weed-suppressing, green, mossy clump that stays through the winter and reliably blooms again the next spring.

Pussytoes and Prairie Smoke also work along concrete, gravel, or masonry paths, and for the same reasons. They don’t mind the thin rocky soil typically remaining after construction of paved surfaces; they don’t mind reflected heat and cold from pavement; and they tolerate drought and salt better than most garden plants. See our post on these and other great plants for walkways here.

Jacob’s Ladder (*Polemonium reptans*) blooming now

How about an early-bloomer for shade?

For a fabulous front-of-the-border plant in dappled shade, or a great choice for underplanting trees, try Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium reptans). It is one of the very first plants to break ground in the spring, and within a couple of weeks, it is covered with light blue flowers that are magnets for the first bumblebees emerging from hibernation. The foliage stays green all summer and has interesting leaves spaced evenly along the stem inspiring the name “ladder.” There are some tempting cultivars of Jacob’s Ladder on the market with variegated or multi-color foliage, but they seem to suffer in Northeastern winters. The old-fashioned Jacob’s Ladder species is not only reliable, but spreads slowly to make a lovely ground-cover.

Two other early bloomers for shade are Woodland Phlox and Wild or Spotted Geranium.

Woodland Phlox (*Phlox divericata*) blooming now

Woodland Phlox is a true woodland species, preferring humusy soil where leaves are allowed to stay on the ground and decompose naturally. It loves the even moisture of a shady wooded area, but does well in cultivated shade gardens with rich soil and good drainage. Colors range from nearly white to pale pink or true blue. Grow it under mature trees and shrubs where fallen leaves provide winter cover and summer moisture protection. It blooms early and is a great native replacement for vinca. Rabbits may hit young plants, so a repellant is advisable.

Wild or Spotted Geranium (*Geranium maculatum*)

A favorite early-blooming native for part-shade, Geranium maculatum is a total winner. It blooms on and off for months and the leaves are beautiful all season long. It’s a great edge plant between lawn and taller shade perennials and will form substantial clumps growing slowly from the crown, and even occasionally sending seedlings into nearby areas. The flower colors are soft pastels that seem perfectly at home in dappled shade or morning sun.

Fringed Bleeding Heart (*Dicentra eximia*) blooming now

If there is one early bloomer that will capture your heart, it is this one. Dicentra eximia starts blooming with the daffodils in early April, and will still be blooming in October! The lacy fern-like foliage forms a soft mound about a foot high and wide, though older plants may be 18 to 24 inches tall. The flowers are suspended like charms on slender stalks just over the leaves, each cluster lasting a week or more. Fading flowers still look good as they gradually turn white, so dead-heading is unnecessary to keep the plant looking fresh all summer. Deer and rabbits ignore Fringed Bleeding Heart, but it is not a strong competitor and can be overwhelmed by thugs like ivy and vinca. It is happiest in part sun and very well-drained, even rocky or sandy soil. Too much moisture or heavy soil will shorten its life-span. Unlike the Asian bleeding heart, Dicentra eximia will not disappear after blooming, and it is surprisingly tolerant of drought. For more information click here.

So, check out your local native plant sales, or visit a good nursery that carries a varied selection of perennials. Some of these plants are available at garden centers if you know what you’re looking for – check the Latin names to avoid mistakes and non-native hybrids.

And if you plant these early bloomers now, you will see them again next spring and, hopefully, for many springs to come!

A paved walkway to the front door is one of the most common features of suburban residential landscapes. And it’s important! It is a visitor’s first impression of your home and a major element of “curb appeal.” Landscape design professionals recommend planting your walkway to welcome visitors and visually direct them to the correct entrance while giving them something interesting and beautiful to see along the way.

A well-planted entry walk guides visitors to the front door.

The entry path to the Greenburgh Nature Center in spring.

But a paved walkway presents multiple challenges for landscaping. The process of paving, whether with stone, concrete, brick, or asphalt, often damages the adjacent soil, leaving it compacted, dry, and rocky with bits of concrete and masonry that can significantly alter soil pH and create poor planting conditions.

New construction of paved areas can leave depleted soil.

Paved surfaces are also warmer in summer and colder in winter than the surrounding soil. Pavement reflects summer heat onto adjacent areas and can hold that heat long after sunset. Frozen pavement, on the other hand, can be even colder than surrounding air and soil temperatures, and snow cleared from walkways often includes salt or ice-melting products damaging to plants. With these extremes, it can be challenging to find plants that will look good and survive year-round.

Understandably, many suburban homeowners opt for planting nothing at all along walkways.

Others plant a row of annuals every summer only to watch them wither and die long before fall (New Guinea impatiens anyone?). Most annuals are tropical plants that evolved in the understory of rainforests. The harsh conditions along a paved entry path are a far cry from the rich, wet soil in the shady jungles of equatorial New Guinea!

So, what can you plant along an entry path that will survive tough conditions through summer and winter, and still come back strong in the spring?

Consider plants that evolved in regions with baking hot summers, freezing winters, poor hard packed soil, and weather that can alternate between drought and flood. America’s great prairies and dry meadows are the original habitats of a vast array of hardy native plants. With variations in annual rainfall, soil depth, tree cover, and elevation, an incredible variety of grasses, flowering plants, and hardy shrubs evolved in those challenging landscapes. These native plants are ideal for the conditions so often found on paths from sidewalks and driveways to front doors throughout suburban neighborhoods.

The bonus is that these plants also feed native bees and butterflies and need very little care. Many of them already have been featured in prior posts of this blog. Take a look at these plants as you consider re-designing your entry path, and follow the links below for more information and photos:

Blue-eyed Grass (*Sisyrinchium angustifolium*) is a
cheerful sight lining a sunny path.

Field Pussy-toes (*Antennaria neglecta* or *A. plantaginifolia*) is a grey-green ground cover with
adorable cat-paw flowers.

Prairie Dropseed (*Sporobolus heterolepsis*) is a small
ornamental grass with a soft look and a lovely scent.

mountain-mint — Mountain Mint (*Pycnanthemum muticum*) grows about 2 ½ feet tall,
has flowers that last for months, and smells wonderful.

Yet another prairie plant that looks great along a path is Prairie Smoke (Geum trilflorum). Its nodding pink flowers turn into puffs that give it another common name, Old Man’s Whiskers. The foliage stays fresh all summer and turns a lovely burgundy in the fall. It is not bothered by snow cover in the winter or hot dry summers.

Prairie Smoke in stages of spring bloom.

Another reliable low-growing groundcover that can fill in along a path mixed with shrubs and taller perennials is Barren Strawberry (Waldsteinia fragaroides). Blooming with bright yellow buttercup-type flowers for weeks from spring into summer, and semi-evergreen through the winter, it spreads slowly and is exceptionally hardy.

Barren Strawberry (*Waldsteinia fragaroides*) in March.

The most attractive pathway gardens include a variety of native perennials, grasses, and shrubs to create four seasons of interest.

A mixed border makes a path interesting.

There are a number of tough native shrubs that mix beautifully with perennials to create a real garden on the way to your front door:

Shrubby St. John’s Wort (*Hypericum frondosum*, or *H. prolificum*, or the pictured *H. kalmianum*)
are similar species, but different sizes, and all bloom with bright yellow pom-poms
adored by bumblebees.

Another great shrub for the entry path is Shrubby Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa). Its flowers may be bright yellow or nearly white, its foliage a soft gray/green, and it blooms all summer long, much to the delight of native pollinators.

An entry path with Potentilla in full bloom.

So, there are many beautiful options for designing a durable planted path to welcome visitors (and nature!) to your front door. Think about pushing your lawn away from the path and giving a bit more space to a native garden that says: “walk this way!”