Ten native shrubs and perennial plants to build a beautiful landscape Story and Photos by Yvonne Lelong Bordelon If you’d like to create a beautiful landscape that is also easy to maintain, consider giving native shrubs and perennials a try. Native doesn’t necessarily mean wild and unruly. There are hundreds of showy, hardy, low-maintenance indigenous …
Story and Photos by Yvonne Lelong Bordelon Woodland phlox, also known as wild sweet William, is a low-growing native perennial sporting masses of white, pink, blue, and lavender blooms. Pollinators, such as swallowtail, gray hairstreak, and western pygmy butterflies, are attracted to the fragrant flowers. Phlox forms colonies, spreading by shallow roots from stem nodes, …
Story and Photography by Yvonne Lelong Bordelon Native spotted horsemint (Monarda punctata), one of the remarkable members of the mint family, is a beautiful short-lived perennial herb that is a must-have for the pollinator garden. Butterflies, bees, solitary wasps, and other beneficial insects flock to the gorgeous, nectar-rich flowers. It is also deer resistant and …
Story and Photos By Yvonne Lelong Bordelon Native swamp spider lily (Hymenocallis occidentalis) is a moisture-loving perennial plant that sports clusters of 6-8-inch, ghostly white, richly fragrant flowers. The gorgeous spring blooms also attract pollinators, including hummingbirds, and the plants are highly deer resistant. Who could ask for more? In the wild, this easy-to-grow member …
By Yvonne Lelong Bordelon The beautiful fragrant flower clusters of native Piedmont azalea put on a show in early spring just as the leaves are emerging. These hardy, deciduous shrubs, which grow along creeks, swamps, bluffs, and in moist flatwoods, can form colonies and will also hybridize readily with other native Rhododendron species. In the …
Here’s a list of lists about why you should use more native plants in your landscape Gardeners are constantly looking for ways to make gardening easier and more carefree. “Low maintenance” is often the holy grail for most of us. One of the easiest to reduce the “work” of gardening is to use plants native …
