Sneak Peak! What’s Growing At The Nursery
The Our Land Organics team has been hard at work in The Nursery, and we’re excited to share what’s growing behind the scenes.
Our online Nursery is now open for ordering! Currently, we’re selling just a few species of native plants, but many more are happily growing. In the coming weeks, we’ll have nearly two dozen native species available. Visit The Nursery’s online store to learn more, and check back regularly for updates!
In the meantime, here’s a sneak peak at six herbaceous perennials that are currently available.
Agastache foeniculum looks beautiful en masse and provides food for native butterflies and birds
Agastache foeniculum (Anise Hyssop)
Anise Hyssop is beloved by landscapers for its fragrant, showy, and dependable blooms. Beginning mid-summer, the plant’s terminal spikes are covered in bright lavender flowers, which attract people and pollinators to the garden. Butterflies avail themselves of the flowers’ nectar, while birds love the seeds that persist into the fall.
Typically found in dry grasslands and prairies, Anise Hyssop performs well in pollinator gardens, pocket prairies, herb gardens, and cut flower gardens. It’s a versatile plant that grows well in full sun to part shade and dry to medium soils.
Baptisia australis boasts gorgeous indigo flowers and offers nearly year-round interest in the garden
Baptisia australis (False Blue Indigo)
Elegant and colorful, Baptisia provides nearly year-round interest in the garden. Its indigo blossoms attract pollinators in the spring, while its striking seed pods persist until winter. This plant is a great option for pollinator gardens or pocket prairies. It fixes nitrogen in the soil and serves as a host plant for many species of butterflies, native bees, and other insects.
Baptisia prefers medium to dry soil and will grow successfully in full sun to partial shade. In the right conditions, it will stretch 3 to 4 feet high and equally as wide.
Carex muskingumensis is a great native groundcover for wet areas
Carex muskingumensis (Palm Sedge)
If you’ve got a wet area or a rain garden in need of a native groundcover, Palm Sedge is the plant for you. Native to wooded swamps and river floodplains, this sedge will love the wet areas in your landscape. Its glossy green leaves branch out from its center in a way that’s reminiscent of palm trees. The clump-forming sedge spreads slowly, by rhizome and self-seeding, and looks attractive en masse.
Like other native sedges, Palm Sedge provides cover for small wildlife and is useful for erosion control. It grows especially well in dappled shade but will tolerate full sun if sufficient moisture is present.
Showy Chelone lyonii resembles a turtle, hence its common name (Turtlehead)
Chelone lyonii ‘Hot Lips’ (Turtlehead)
This versatile native plant is beloved by gardeners and butterflies alike. Turtlehead is an exceptional host to the Checkerspot Butterfly and approximately 20 other butterfly species. It’s also a nectar source for other pollinators and hummingbirds. The hot pink flowers on the ‘Hot Lips’ cultivar bloom from summer to fall, providing a showy addition to pollinator gardens, rain gardens, pond peripheries, and border plantings.
Native to wet woodlands and stream areas, Chelone prefers wet to medium soil and grows best in full sun to part shade. (It does tolerate full shade but is likely to flop.) It spreads slowly by rhizomes and will self-seed in moist soil.
Liatris spicata is a versatile native plant that attracts a wide variety of native pollinators
Liatris spicata (Gayfeather, Blazing Star)
Commonly known as Blazing Star, Liatris is a striking addition to a native garden. In the summer, purplish-blue flowers erupt in long spikes standing 2 to 4 feet tall, which offer unique texture and visual interest in the landscape. This versatile plant is at home in woodland gardens, pocket prairies, cottage gardens, cut flower gardens, and pollinator gardens.
In natural settings, it commonly occurs in moist areas, mesic prairies, wood openings, and marsh edges. Liatris prefers full sun and moist, well-draining soils, but it will tolerate poorer soils and occasional flooding. Its striking flowers are attractive to many native pollinators including butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
Phlox paniculata is a dependable plant in native pollinator gardens and rain gardens