Native bloodroot growing in my garden.

Belinda Gallagher tells it like it is. And backed by an impressive career as a nursery-owner and most recently, as Head of Horticulture at the Royal Botanical Gardens, her words reflect her experience and pragmatism. Although I missed her lecture on January 27, 2011 at the Toronto Botanical Garden, my good friend (and note-taker extraordinaire) Lorraine Hunter was there. Here are the points that she took away from the lecture: 

Native plants are not always the answer for gardening problems ranging from drought conditions to flooding Belinda Gallagher told a full house at the Toronto Botanical Garden Edwards lecture on January 27.

“I’m a huge fan of native plants but they are not the be all and end all for every situation, she said.

First of all, there is no definitive definition of a native plant. While generally considered to be plants here at the time of the European settlers, that’s not always true.

Then there is the issue of natives versus the ‘nativars’, which are cultivars of native plants bred for specific things which may carry little or no pollen. “We don’t know if they perform the same services as the parent.”

She cited purple coneflower (Echinacea) which has some naturally occurring cultivars and some selective. “Orange purple coneflower sounds like an oxymoron to me.”

Plant identification, Gallagher said, is a big problem. While breeders and some growers know where their plants originated, big box stores generally do not.

“Is a plant produced in Ecuador or Holland really a North American native?

Ecological diversity is important, she said, “Lots of different things in the garden will protect our insects and birds.

She also noted that some species plants, such as Solomon’s Seal have cultivars bred in North America and Asia that look very similar and that both native and imported varieties of cimicifuga  are often grouped together in nurseries.

“It doesn’t matter in an isolated backyard if your native plant is from Ontario but if you back onto a native ravine, it does,” because imported versions could be extremely invasive.

The demand for native plants, driven by media and marketers, is huge, says Gallagher., “and far exceeds the capability of local growers. There is not enough supply for the market.”

Plants come onto the market too soon, she said. “I have an unease about the short supply. Not everyone knows where to plant or how to care for them. We’re putting natives on boulevards and they’re getting salt dumped on them. These plants came from oak savannahs not the 407.”

When not to plant natives, she said, is “when it’s not the right plant for the right place.”

Thanks Lorraine for a great overview of the lecture.

Now, what do you City Gardening readers think about using native plants? Do you agree with Belinda, or not?

Leave a comment and let the discussion begin!

There are many more of these wonderful fall bloomers, including ‘September Charm’, which comes a close second to ‘H. J.’  Which one would you choose to grow in your “desert island” garden?

Brunnera 'Jack Frost'

You may prefer the creamy edges of Brunnera ‘Hadspen Cream’ or the gold-rimmed ‘King’s Ransom’ or even the silvery leaves of  ‘Looking Glass’, but my heart will always be true to ‘Jack Frost’. It’s not just the snowy foliage (it reminds me of Frosted Flakes cereal — maybe it’s a nostalgia thing…), or those gorgeous forget-me-not blue flowers, it’s that ’Jack Frost’ is so vigorous and healthy, he just seems to be in love with life. I’ve divided mine several times over the four or five years I’ve grown this wonderful shade plant, and I think I’ll have to do it again this year. By comparison, ‘King’s Ransom’ looks smaller and more delicate than when I planted it last year, and ‘Looking Glass’ has yet to make an appearance this season. So, my desert island choice for Brunnera is definitely ‘Jack Frost’. Any takers?

Photo: Blooms of Bressingham

Walking through my garden the other morning, it occured to me that I tend to hang onto plants whether they perform or not. In other areas of my life, I’m ruthless about getting rid of things I no longer use, wear, read, eat — well, you get the picture. So, in an effort to force myself to be just as cold-hearted in the garden, I’m compiling a list of desert island plants (or should I say, temperate island plants…).

So here’s the first in a series of “if I had to choose just one plant” posts.

I think it’s more than fitting that Geranium ‘Rozanne’ should be the first to kick off the series. This is a plant that belongs in every garden. Introduced at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2000, ‘Rozanne’ was nominated as the Perennial Plant of the Year in 2008 (what took them so long?!). In my garden, it blooms from June until November — I don’t know any other perennial that blooms as long! ‘Rozanne’ is such an easy-going plant, too. I moved it from the relatively rich soil of my perennial bed to the dusty dirt where a ‘New Dawn’ climbing rose thrives and ‘Rozanne’ didn’t so much as wilt. In fact, it clothes the naked canes of ‘New Dawn’ with lush foliage and those oh-so-lovely blue flowers.

So, are there any other nominations out there for the “If I had to choose just one hardy geranium” contest? Post a comment and let me know!

Well, firstly, he lives up to his nickname of Heathcliff of the Hedgerows (although the debate rages about whether he’s more Darcy-like. Personally, I think there’s a bit of (a young) John Cleese in him too…). Secondly, after unlikely stints at pizza-making and hotel-running, he has wielded his trowel in some of the world’s best-ranked gardens — namely, RHS Hyde Hall and Harlow Carr. So, he’s got real dirt under his fingernails. And thirdly, he can pronounce Zauscheneria as naturally as we might say: Make mine a double-double! So, ya get the picture. He’s gorgeous, funny and knows his stuff.

So listen up: here’s the scoop on which plants in the whole wide world (that we can grow here in Canada “the edge of where it’s good to garden”) rank among Heathcliff’s Wilson’s favourites for small gardens:

The solid performers

Geranium 'Rozanne'

1. Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (is there anyone anywhere who doesn’t love this plant?)
2. Nigella damascena (what, an annual on a best plants list — yes!)
3. Sanguisorba ‘Tanna’ ( gorgeous, purple-rose colour)
4. Kniphofia rooperi
5. Echinacea ‘Sunset’ (as opposed to the “annual” ‘Art’s Pride’)
6. Rosa ‘Roserie de l’Hay’ (but you won’t ever hear him recommending a hybrid tea…)
7. Phlomis russeliana (in the words of Oudolf, a plant that “dies heroically”)
8. Eyphorbia schillingii in combination with Hosta ‘Frances Willams’ (ask him his guaranteed solution for slugs and snails on hostas…)
9. Polystichum setiferum ‘Herrenhausen’ (lovely twisted fronds)
10. Kirengeshoma palmata (oh yah, loves deep shade)

Shooting Stars

1. Pulsatilla vulgaris (must be the pickiest plant on the planet — needs limestone magnesia with acidic water running underneath — as if!)
   

   Camassia

2. Iris orchiodes (a Juno type)
3. Eremurus robustus  (oh sure, Matthew,  just try growing it on clay…)
4. Camassia cusickii (yup, I’m with you on this one)
5. Rhododendron yakushimanum (ditto)

These are just a few of Wilson’s top picks for small gardens. To hear about all of them, you’ll have to track him down at one of his next speaking engagements.

Helleborus Vancouver Medallion

What better way to welcome athletes and visitors to the Winter Olympics than with drifts of  this gorgeous Vancouver Medallion hellebore?  Thanks to the advance planning of the Garden Club of Vancouver and Heritage Perennials, 750 of these specially named hellebores (the cultivar name is ‘Candy Love’ — appropriate for upcoming Valentine’s Day, too) have been planted in Stanley Park and arranged in sweeping curves resembling the ski runs on the mountains where Olympic contenders will vie for gold medals. Hmm, I could go for a little hellebore gold in my un-Olympic-sized garden, too!

Bottle tree in Yoest garden

11. Bottle trees

Discovering new plants is a big part of why I attend conferences such as the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina. It can also be frustrating, especially if the plants aren’t hardy enough for my USDA Zone 5 garden in Toronto. None-the-less, I’m always captivated by shrubs, trees and perennials that are regional staples in faraway places. That’s why when a fellow garden writer pointed out the bottle tree in a garden we were visiting, I looked desperately around the yard trying to spot this local beauty before confessing, “Oh, gosh. I’m not from around here, can you tell what one looks like?” Duh! I could have kicked myself for being so dense. The great, rare, North Carolina Bottle Tree (Arbus amphoreus?) is a tree made from bottles! Once spotted, we found them in almost every garden we visited. But the best thing I discovered about bottle trees is they’re perfectly hardy – even to Zone 2!

Scuppernong grapes. Photo by Amy C Evans, SFA oral historian

7. Scuppernongs
For a gal who grew up with a grape vine in her backyard you’d think I’d know a grape when I see one, but scuppernongs had me scuppered. The size of ping-pong balls, these juicy fruits were nestled into pint-sized boxes lined up on the open shelves of more than a few vendors at the North Carolina Farmers’ Market where a gaggle of garden writers were visiting during the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh. After explaining they were indeed grapes that grow on a vine, the kind lady behind the counter proceeded to demonstrate how to eat this strange (to me) fruit. Hold them right up to your mouth, she said, and lightly squeeze the too-tough-to eat skin to pop the jelly-like insides right into your mouth. Yum! The sweet, grapey flavour is very intense, which is why it’s so popular in the South for pies and jellied condiments. When I returned home, I opened up a copy of the Garden & Gun magazine (no, I’m not making this up) that I’d picked up at the Raleigh airport to discover an entire article on this odd fruit. Here’s some scuppernong trivia from the pages of Garden & Gun:
· Scuppernongs were first found in North Carolina’s Cape Fear River Valley in 1524. The “mother vine” discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584 spanned an acre and still produces fruit today.
· Scuppernong wine was a favourite of Thomas Jefferson
· The vines need a sturdy trellis at least 10 feet long by six feet wide

Does anyone know if these grow north of the Mason-Dixon line?