Iris, peonies and day lilies are blooming, adding color to my gardens, some are old varieties brought by European gardeners, other varieties have been bred for larger blooms and color variations. All are well-loved, long-lived perennials. But I also enjoy growing many native perennials. Some I’ve been growing for 30 years or more and others are newer additions to my garden. All are thriving here in our Plymouth environment of sandy soil, hot summers, and cold winters. By planting species that bloom during different seasons, I can have flowers blooming from spring through late fall. One of my favorite native plants is Dicentra eximia or fringed bleeding heart. It has lovely, dissected leaves with stalks of many small pink, heart-shaped blossoms about 18inches tall floating over the foliage. It starts blooming in April and continues through most of the summer if you keep it moist. It grows in nearly full shade under trees and also in part sun.

Over the years I’ve divided many plants and tried growing them in various places or microclimates, learning where they would thrive. About 8 or 9 years ago I bought a native plant – Lobelia cardinalis or cardinal flower. I planted it in a bed with partial sun as the label indicated. It grew and bloomed with a 2-foot stalk of red flowers that attracted many pollinators. After a few years, I was able to divide the plant and put a piece in a new garden I had started with much more sun. To my surprise, the plant grew much better – to over 3 feet tall with even more stunning flower stalks. It has re-seeded itself and provided more plants to spread and share. Last summer, I had clumps of tall, red-blooming flower stalks in at least a half dozen spots in my yard, some in partial shade and others in full sun, attracting hummingbirds. I have discovered that many of the native plants are so well-adapted to our area that they will tolerate a range of growing conditions and provide pollen and nectar for our native bees. An added bonus is that they often spread and re-seed so that I have extra plants to share.

One of the reasons my plants do so well, and multiply is that for years I have spread 1/2 to 1 inch of compost on my gardens around the perennials each spring instead of mulching. This enriches the soil, so I don’t need to provide much extra fertilizer and helps the soil to retain moisture better. When I prepare a new bed after the lawn is removed, I mix in several inches of compost before planting. In addition to trying to plant more native plants, I’ve been planting small native trees such as red bud and shrubs such as fothergilla, nine bark, swamp azalea, and winter berry holly which drops its leaves and show off loads of red berries loved by birds. These add some structure and winter interest.

More of the local nurseries are carrying native plants so look for the straight species rather than the hybrid or exotic plants. For lists of plants native to our area visit the SEMPBA website, www.pinebarrensalliance.org and scroll down to ‘Native Plants Recommended’ or check out the Native Plant Trust at www.nativeplanttrust.org .

With all the rain lately, the invasive plants are growing vigorously. Garlic mustard is currently blooming with clusters of small white flowers. It is very important to pull the plants out and dispose of them in the trash. Garlic mustard produces thousands of seeds and can quickly overtake an area. Japanese knotweed is growing tall very quickly. You can cut it down now and compost the plant material as long it does not have seeds yet. It will grow back, but if you keep cutting it down you will begin to exhaust the energy of the roots. It may take several years of treatment but if you let it be, it can grow to 6 feet tall and take over large areas. These invasive plants are not bothered by pests; I’ve yet to see a rabbit or deer eating any of them, and they grow quickly. Most have many seeds, and some spread by underground roots as well. This enables them to invade and crowd out our native plants resulting in monocultures. Plymouth has a very informative booklet online at https://www.plymouth-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3479/Plymouth-Dirty-Dozen-Invasives-Species-PDF which identifies and has control methods for the ‘Dirty Dozen’ of invasive plants in Plymouth.

You can email me at geri3williams@comcast.net with your gardening questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.