A touch of the wild
LEARN HOW TO BRING NATIVE PLANTS INTO THE MOST PAMPERED GARDEN
Some exhibits at the upcoming Chicago Flower & Garden Show will offer fantasies of far-away places, but the display by Pizzo and Associates is deeply rooted in the Midwest.
Named "A Walk through the Wildflowers," this exhibit is a "demonstration of native plant materials that can be used in Midwestern gardens," says owner Jack Pizzo.
It also will be educational, sending us home knowing more than when we arrived. Display boards will make the case for native plants in the landscape and the benefits of ecological restoration. Another will help us visualize what our region looked like ages before anyone's eye ever gleamed with visions of Chicago.
Key herbaceous plants in the 1,800-square-foot space will include bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), papoose root (a.k.a. blue cohosh, Caulophyllum thalictroides), purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) and hundreds of black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta). Native grasses and trees-swamp white oak, witch hazel and crab apple-round out the palette.
Your own native landscape
In a perfect world, Pizzo would turn most of our landscape back to prairie, savanna and woods. But the odds of the skyscrapers, expressways and parking lots disappearing anytime soon are remote. Second best, then, would be to include some native plants in our yards. As habitats continue to be degraded and disappear, the few plants we provide can help sustain beloved creatures like butterflies and also give home gardens a more naturalistic look.
As in any garden planning, first study your light, soil and moisture conditions. "You can decide what you want, but Mother Nature will determine whether or not you can grow it," says Pizzo. Native plants that originated in sandy soil will do better near the lake. Those from clay sites will feel more at home in the suburbs. Several desirable plants such as Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum), culver's root (Veronicastrum virginica), swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and blue flag iris (Iris virginicum var. shrevei) like wet feet. They would grow well in the moist soil alongside a water garden.
Many gardens today include purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and various rudbeckias. Less common are penstemons and liatris. The white-flowering Penstemon digitalis is an excellent garden plant that blooms around Memorial Day with spikes of little white bells. The taller Penstemon grandiflorus has pink flowers.
There are several species of liatris available, so make your selection based on your soil type. Liatris ligulistylus is especially attractive to monarch butterflies. For fall, choose from numerous species of aster and be sure to include a goldenrod or two.
Consider native roses. Pizzo grows several at his west suburban home, including the prairie rose (Rosa blanda), pasture rose (Rosa carolina) and Illinois rose (Rosa setigera). Although their single blossoms don't resemble hybrid teas, they have other advantages: super-hardiness, fragrance, colorful rose hips in fall and handsome red canes in winter. Even better, the deer don't like them.
What to avoid
A wildflower garden is lovely, but a garden isn't quite like the wild. Some native plants that a functioning ecosystem would keep in check will become invasive in your yard. For example, there are many fine goldenrods, but you will be sorry if you plant Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis).
Gray-headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) is a lovely lemon-yellow daisy, but it, too, can take over your yard. Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) can be spectacular when it matures to a large purple-flowering clump, but you'll need a spade to dig out its numerous seedlings. Grasses such as switchgrass (Pancium virgatum) or big and little bluestem (andropogon) also can turn invasive.
If you plant carefully, these survivors of the native Midwest landscape can be a delight in the garden.
Chicago Flower & Garden Show
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and March 12 to 17; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 11 and 18.
Where: Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.
Cost: Weekdays, $9.50 adults, $4 children; weekends, $11 adults, $5 children. Coupons for a $2 discount are available at Chicago-area Ace Hardware stores.
Call: 312-321-0077 or see www.chicagoflower.com.
To read more about the Chicago Flower & Garden Show, see the special section in today's paper, Section 17.