Go native. Learn the plants that are native to your area and grow them.

Nothoscordum bivalve - False Garlic or Crowpoison

It's time to go native. But what does that mean? Maybe you heard someone at your local nursery mention native plants. It is a niche area when it comes to plants, most are hard or difficult to propagate, while others are better off left in the wild.

A Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic (indigenous) or naturalized to a given area in geologic time. Which can seem a bit ambiguous. Where's the cutoff? Well, in North America a plant is often deemed native if it was present before colonization. There, that's better. So if it was in your area naturally during Colonial times, then there's your native plant.

Cornus florida or Common flowering dogwood

We all know of at least one truly native plant where we live. Whether you are in the US or Canada, Europe or India, there are plants that you see every day, everywhere. Here in Virginia I had always known from childhood that the Cornus florida, or Flowering Dogwood was the Virginia state flower and tree. If you drive through the country on a bright spring day, you can spot all of the dogwoods growing wild in the woods, being comprimised by their bright white flowers, in an otherwise, still bleak landscape.

I just had no idea just how many plants were native until we started going to a small boutique nursery near our house. They have a small section carved out just for native plants. It's quite helpful and at least gets us looking or doing more research about plants in our area.

Stylophorum diphyllum - Wood Poppy, Celandine Poppy. A beautiful, yellow, early spring wildflower

A colleague of mine shared her sometimes out of control Wood Poppy with me a couple of years ago. Shade loving and a prolific spring bloomer, this plant is wonderful in my shade garden near the edge of the woods. Stylophorum diphyllum - Wood Poppy, Celandine Poppy.

One plant that I inherited when we purchased this property had me stumped for a few years. It has a beautiful flower, but it grows in thin leafed clumps and has white bulbs similar to onions or garlic, but has no smell. It has spread pretty well over the years and part of me doesn't mind, but I might have to start keeping it under control. It is Nothoscordum bivalve - False Garlic or Crowpoison.

I'm still researching to find out what this one is

I'm still researching to find out what this one is

 So what's my point? Find what is native to your area, find something you like and plant it. Keep these native going. Some are fast becoming extinct. The way we Americans build housing and businesses, by scraping off the top layer of earth, and cutting every tree in sight, building and then planting horrible trees like the Bradford Pear in droves, it's a wonder that we have any native plants left at all.

If you don't have a nursery like we do near you, at least get with your state forestry service or local co-op or farmers market and inquire about these plants.

Nothoscordum bivalve was formerly classified in the lily family, but has recently been moved to the Amaryllis family. It does not have the oniony-smell of true garlics and onions.

False Garlic