Guide to our Native Fall Plant Fest & Sale

By: Stacey Wildberger

Fall is coming and that means it is time to plant! Yes, that’s right fall is the best time of the year to plant which is why we chose to have our Native Plant Fest and Sale in the fall. The best reason to plant now is that the cooler temperatures are much better than the hot summer as the plants won’t need constant watering, it won’t cause as much stress to the plant.  The soil is warm from summer which will allow the roots to develop and set much faster, giving them a jumpstart next spring.  The weed competition is less.  There is usually an increase in rainfall during this time as well. 

So, welcome to Fall Native Plant Fest and Sale!! We will have loads of native plants and low prices to choose from as well as many experts on hand to ask questions and advice from.  Master Gardeners/Baywise Certification, Master Watershed Stewards, Master Naturalists, Adkins Arboretum, Pollinator Pathways, and author/blogger/gardening with wildlife expert Nancy Lawson.  We will once again offer a wider variety of groundcovers, ferns, carex, perennials, vines and even shrubs.  There will be plants for the sun, shade and part sun/shade.  Plants that will work in dry, moist or average conditions. In other words, something for everyone or every condition.  Our experts and volunteers can help guide you in making selections that will work best for you.  We will have some handy guide sheets too, telling you which plants like what conditions. 

I am going to offer a few suggestions for groups of plants that will work well together.  We want to factor in that nature abhors a vacuum and your goal is to have full coverage of the ground, not plants spaced out 2-3’ apart.  Plants are social, they want to be close to their friends and family just like us.  My rule of thumb is planting at least 1-foot on center for most plants. And then I throw in the matrix of carex or some groundcover in between those spaces.

Layers in the garden are important as it helps to organize the garden in an intentional and well thought out plan. From the ground up there are four layers to plan for:

• groundcover layer: that forms a green mulch to help control weeds by shading them out.  This includes low growing sedges, perennials and grasses.
• seasonal layer: is where we get the beautiful blooming forbs.  Be sure to have something in bloom each season.
• structural layer: that will form the bones of your garden design and can be seen year round. 
• architectural layer: Within the structural layer you could include plants that offer architectural interest.  An extra tall plant or an unusually shaped plant, something to catch your eye.

“Planting in a post-wild world” West & Rainer

Sunny, dry/average conditions

1. Groundcover layer or “green mulch”: Antennaria plantaginifolia (plantain leaf pussytoes) and Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem)
2. Seasonal color: Amsonia hubrichtii (Hubricht’s bluestar), Asclesias tuberosa (butterfly weed) , Aster laevis (smooth aster) and Pycnanthemum muticum (mountain mint) Baptisia australis (wild blue indigo),
3. Structural layer: Ilex glabra (inkberry) and Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry)
4. Architectural layer: Eryngium yuccifolium (rattlesnake master)

Sunny, moist/wet conditions

1. Groundcover: Chrysogonum virginianum (green and gold), Sedum ternatum (stonecrop), Carex lurida (shallow sedge –which we will NOT have)
2. Seasonal: Allium cernuum (nodding onion), Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed)
3. Structural: Vernonia noveboracensis (NY Ironweed), Ilex verticillata (winterberry)
4. Architectural: Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver’s root) Muhlenbergia capillaris (pink muhly grass)

Shade, dry/average conditions

1. Groundcover: Carex pennsylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge) , Huechera Americana (coral bells), Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
2. Seasonal: Aster divaricatus(White wood aster), Solidago nemoralis (gray goldenrod), Phlox divaricata (woodland phlox),
3. Structural: Hamamelis virginiana (Witch hazel), Ilex verticillata (winterberry)
4. Architectural: Hypericum prolificum (shrubby St John’s wort)

Pt shade/Shade, moist/average conditions

1.  Groundcover: Carex amphibola (creek sedge), Pachysandra procumbens (Allegheny spurge)
2. Seasonal: Chelone glabra (turtlehead),Lobelia siphilitica (blue cardinal flower)
3. Structural: Callicarpa americana (American beauty berry), Ilex verticillata (winterberry)
4. Architectural: Cephalanthus occidentalis (button bush). Osmunda regalis (royal fern)

Please come out Saturday September 17^th 9am-noon in the field behind the field of the CSC Clubhouse (1223 River Bay Rd Annapolis 21409) for all of this and many more great native plants at low, low, LOW prices!  Ask questions and get advice from the many experts we will have on hand.  Find out about how you can get your yard BAYWISE CERTIFIED!!