Aromatic Aster

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Brad Guhr

One of my favorite prairie wildflower species has to be aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium). Aromatic asters are hardy, drought-tolerant forbs that bloom toward the end of the growing season. Their leaves have an herbal scent when crushed. Aster species are host plants for caterpillars of butterflies including painted ladies, pearl crescents, and silvery checkerspots as well as many species of moths. In the late summer and fall, aromatic aster flowers delight the human need for color and provide nectar for many insects, most notably, butterflies, bees, wasps, flies and beetles.

*Aromatic aster var. ‘Raydon’s Favorite’*

According to Mike Haddock at Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses, aromatic aster is found across almost the entire state of Kansas on dry, open prairies. In our Dyck Arboretum reconstructed prairie, aromatic aster (seed collected from the Smoky Hills ~30 miles north of Hesston) is just about finished flowering. Its purple hues popped a couple of weeks ago among the reddish-brown colors of senescing warm-season grasses.

A Star in the Prairie Garden

In our native plant gardens, aromatic aster is the star of a show that we have been looking forward to all growing season. Aromatic aster fills garden spaces between other plants nicely where its dense, low 1′-2′ foliage crowds out weeds and lends above-ground support to neighboring plants. But its late-season flowers are the main reason that this species is a dominant part of our featured Butterfly Garden.

*Educational signage in our Dyck Arboretum Butterfly Garden bed (line drawings by Lorna Harder)*

While I enjoy observing all prairie flowers throughout the growing season and the pollinators they attract, aromatic asters just seem to take the human entertainment value to a higher level. Given the high number of flowers on each plant and the lack of anything else blooming this time of the year, this species usually seems to put on the greatest show of the year as it plays host to a busy array of insect pollinators.

The two varieties of aromatic aster in our Butterfly Garden are ‘October Skies’ and ‘Raydon’s Favorite’. They bloom at different times and in nice succession for a long season of attracting pollinators. I seem to usually observe the former blooming from late September to mid October and the latter from mid October to early November.

*Comparison of aromatic aster varieties ‘Raydon’s Favorite’ on left and ‘October Skies’ on right (Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock)*

Whether I’m walking with elementary schoolers, college students or retired master gardeners, this Butterfly Garden spot on a sunny afternoon is always a regular stop. The flowering spectacle by aromatic aster in this time of the year is one of my favorite flower/pollinator interactions in the prairie garden.

When trying to capture the jaw-dropping wow factor of a landscape scene like the Flint Hills or a Kansas sunset, a photo or video never conveys the inspiring scene I want. Nevertheless, here is a video of the super busy pollinator scene I witnessed yesterday (10/22/24).

13 Butterfly Species Observed

The butterflies I observed nectaring on the flowers of aromatic aster var. ‘Raydon’s Favorite’ yesterday included the following species: checkered white, sachem, common checkered skipper, fiery skipper, dainty sulphur, clouded sulphur, orange sulphur, eastern tailed blue, common buckeye, monarch, pearl crescent, Melissa blue, and American lady (not all species were visible in the video). Various species of bees (audibly busy), flies, beetles and moths were also abundant.

Stop by and see our Butterfly Garden before the aromatic aster finishes its show in the next week or two. Better yet, add different varieties of aromatic aster to a sunny spot in your landscape where you can enjoy a similar show for years to come.

For a broader review of asters in general, see my colleague’s great past posts, Asters: Autumn’s Crescendo and All About Asters.

Believing in Plants

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Scott Vogt

With every new year comes a renewed sense of optimism about a whole host of things like fitness and health, relationships with loved ones and friends, your occupation, and maybe your garden. In the book The Earth is Enough by Harry Middleton, there is a paragraph that resonated with me, as a horticulturist and a lover of plants, about the struggles of gardening, but also the hope we have in plants. Here it is:

Emerson (one of the old men) believed in plants, though he never completely trusted them. After all, nothing could turn on a man with such cold, merciless indifference as a plant. A curious blight, a virulent plague, a sudden storm, an unyielding march of insects could sour a man’s agricultural fortunes with woeful abruptness, lance his emotions, eviscerate his always desperate accounts.
Harry Middleton

Gardeners need to be eternal optimists. We garden hoping to get something from our efforts, be it a vegetable to eat, beauty to enjoy or shade to rest in. Sometimes that happens but sometimes we fail. As we approach spring (yes, it is coming) and we start thinking about our own native plant gardens, I know that there will be holes to fill in our landscapes because of struggling or underperforming plants. We try to make perfect plant choices for our landscapes, but we are not always successful. Plants have so much to offer to us and the environment around us. Just because there are a few plants that succumb to our harsh climate or pests doesn’t mean we stop planting and believing in plants.

In particular, I believe in plants that are native to Kansas, because they:

beautify the landscape – with careful design, your garden can have flowers year round
nurture pollinators and other wildlife
provide food and shelter for birds, hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators
save water
thrive in our local climate if properly matched to a site
are adapted to our natural cycles, responding to cool, wet winters with lush growth and slowing down during the hot, dry summers
prefer our soils or can grow in just about any soil type
do well in our native soils and do not require soil amendments or fertilizers
reduce pesticide use
typically have fewer pest problems than non-natives because they have co-evolved with native insects (unless there is a new introduced predator or pest)
minimize your carbon footprint
reduce maintenance over time in a well-designed garden
can easily be started with smaller sized plants, saving on installation costs
cool the environment
play an active role in the water cycle, adding cooling moisture to the atmosphere
harmonize with diverse garden styles
create a sense of place within our prairie state

Gray-headed coneflower with *Bearer of the Ammonite by Paul Friesen. Photo Courtesy of Jen LeFevre*

Just Keep Planting

Some plants are going to let us down. Or maybe we let them down by trying them in an ill-suited location in the first place. Whatever the case may be, keep believing in plants. They are good for you and the environment. Try to find joy in the beauty around you even though it is not always perfect or ideal.

Each and every year, we struggle with plants here at the Arboretum just like you do. But we are rewarded by our imperfect efforts time and time again. The journey of tending a garden is not an easy, straight line. It is a winding road of highs and lows. Keep believing in plants anyway.

The Importance of Diversifying Landscapes

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Scott Vogt

When you look at a virgin prairie (one that has never been tilled), you quickly discover a tremendous diversity of plants. Each square foot has many different species vying for sunlight, moisture, and space. Species change throughout the prairie as well from high to low, wet to dry, sun to shade, and vary even with soils. This diversity contributes significantly to the overall health and sustainability of the prairie landscape.

*Prairie Window Project in September 2017*. *Photo by Brad Guhr.*

One of the keys to successfully creating a prairie garden is including a diversity of plants suited to your site. Time of bloom and aesthetics are often considered first, but including variety is an essential element in the process too. It’s also important to think about diversifying trees and shrubs. Let’s look at some reasons why diversifying our home landscapes to include more species is so relevant.

A Diverse Landscape is a Resilient Landscape

While each landscape is different, they all face an array of environmental pressures, such as drought, floods, pests, and diseases. A diverse landscape is more adaptable and resilient, able to endure these environmental hazards. We have all seen shelter belts and monocultures decimated by drought, pests or disease-leaving large holes in the landscape. If you think about it, single species or similar species landscapes are vulnerable to eradication in ways that diverse landscapes are not.

A Diverse Landscape Attracts Diverse Wildlife

Building season long blooms benefits wildlife. Plants coming into bloom and going out of bloom mimics the prairie ecosystem. If you watch any prairie throughout the year, there are always a new set of plants blooming every few weeks throughout the growing season. Beyond building resilience, a diversity of plants attracts a diversity of pollinators and wildlife allowing them to complete their lifecycles. This is so crucial for their survival. Patchwork prairies can serve as harbors, offering food and shelter to a broad range of wildlife.

*Butterflyweed with pale purple coneflowers and common milkweed*

A Diverse Landscape is Visually Interesting

As I said earlier, often our first consideration when choosing plants is aesthetics or ornamental characteristics. I don’t want to downplay this step in the process, but I do want to encourage you to try many different types of plant species. By varying plant species, you provide visual interest, which adds character to your landscape. Some of the most inviting spaces have diverse colors, shapes, blooms, textures, layers, and heights of plants.

A Diverse Landscape is a Dynamic Plant Community

A diverse plant palette suited for your site can look formal, but it generally requires more effort on our part to keep it looking kempt. However, an informal planting can be just as attractive. It depends on your maintenance style and preference. No matter how you want your landscape to look over time, we must prioritize the careful selection and planting of diverse prairie species.

It can’t be overstated – diversifying landscapes in the urban setting is so important. Diversity in the plants you include in your landscape attracts diversity to your landscape. This thoughtful approach to design not only enhances the beauty of our gardens but also strengthens their resilience in the face of environmental challenges. It also promotes sustainability, conservation of natural resources, and enriches our experiences with nature.

Plant Profile: Pink Muhly Grass

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Scott Vogt

Fall is the best time of year to admire the beautiful regalia of native grasses. During the spring and summer, these grasses blend into their surroundings. As autumn deepens, the wonderful fall color and attractive seed heads of these grasses are on full display.

One of the most talked about grasses this fall has to be pink muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris). A few years ago on the sidewalk in the northwest corner of the Arboretum, we established a couple groupings of these plants. This year, these swaths are topped with vibrant pink blooms.

Pink muhly with Wichita Mountains goldenrod

Pink muhly grass is not only a beautiful ornamental grass, but it is also low-maintenance. We have not done much to keep these grasses going this growing season. It gives you the best of both worlds, a showy plant that doesn’t require much time and attention.

These plants establish relatively quickly, either planted in the spring or in the fall. If you are planting in the fall, plan ahead by getting them in the ground at least a month before the expected initial frost. They are a warm season grass that needs soil at least 60 degrees to continue rooting.

In the spring and summer, the rounded, slender, long shoots of grass are dark green in color. As fall approaches, the plant produces soft, fuzzy flowers in pink or pinkish-red hues, with an appearance resembling cotton candy. As winter grows near, the flowers lose their color, but the dried plumes are still attractive.

Muhlenbergia capillaris grows well in sandy or rocky woods and clearings with good drainage. It is native to Kansas and states south and east. We grow the straight species, but the cultivar ‘Regal Mist’ is another popular variety. Other beautiful cultivars include ‘Pink Flamingo’ and ‘White Cloud’. Planting in large drifts is breathtaking.

While not as well-known as some of the other native grasses, it should be used more in landscapes because of its tolerance to poor soil and dry conditions. It needs good drainage especially during the winter, but is quite adaptable once fully established. As the clumps develop excessive thatch after three or four years, division may be helpful. Perfect for slopes; great in a container; beautiful when tucked into cut-flower arrangements.

Sunlight on pink muhly grass with side oats grama in the foreground.

For next spring, put this grass on your bucket list. You will not be disappointed. The soft watercolor effect will stop you in your tracks.

Plant Profile: Pitcher Sage, Salvia azurea

Posted on September 21, 2023 by Scott Vogt

During the doldrums of late summer, light blue flower spikes thrusting skyward along Kansas roadsides and prairies provide welcome contrast to the yellows of the state’s many sunflowers. Pitcher sage, also known as blue sage or pitcher plant, is a delicate looking prairie native with ironclad constitution.

**Salvia azurea**, also known as blue sage, is a member of the MINT FAMILY.

Pitcher sage is a somewhat common plant in the rocky areas of the tall and mixed grass prairies. This plant is an erect, hairy perennial ranging in height from one and a half to four feet with short, thick rhizomes (horizontal underground stems). Very adaptable to garden situations, it prefers drier soil in full sun. In sandy sites it has been known to self-seed, but this is seldom a problem in clay loams. The crowns can slowly broaden from rhizomes as the plant matures.

Pitcher sage blooms from late July to early October, although peak bloom is early September in most years. It is blooming right now in our Prairie Window Project in the south part of the Arboretum. The light blue flower color is common in prairies around south central Kansas. There is a cultivated variety, Salvia azurea “Grandiflora,” that displays an intense deep blue flower. Once established, it requires water only during extended dry periods.

Besides the unique light blue coloration, the flowers possess an unusual mechanism to ensure cross-pollination. The corolla is lobed with a narrow concave lip covering the style (female) and the anthers (male) which mature at different times in the same flower. The lower lip is broad and protruding, providing a landing pad for visiting honey bees, bumble bees and other pollinators. The bee grasps the platform, thrusts its head down into the throat of the flower and pushes its sucking mouth parts into the nectar glands. By this action, the bee is simultaneously pushing down on the structure at the base of the stamens. This causes them to descend from the upper lip spreading pollen on the bee’s back. As the bee visits other flowers, it spreads pollen to receptive styles.

The Arboretum grows pitcher sage for its late summer color and the bee activity it provides. The plant is a bee magnet in full bloom. It is always entertaining to watch lumbering, black and yellow bumble bees wrestle their way into the flowers in search of nectar while unwittingly carrying the promise of another seed crop on their striped backs.

Garden Spotlight: Matrix Planting in Austria

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Janelle Flory Schrock

I can’t seem to go on vacation nowadays without being stopped in my tracks when I see examples of habitat gardening. I don’t know if it’s just a result of working at the Dyck Arboretum for over ten years, or a function of having been bit by the native plant bug (pun intended). Either way, I want to share with you an excellent example of drought-tolerant, wildlife-friendly plants being utilized in an urban setting.

This summer I visited Vienna, Austria and the surrounding areas, and was struck by several really well-designed perennial gardens. For example, while waiting for a bus, a matrix planting along a hospital accessibility entrance ramp caught my attention.

*I was delighted to see a matrix planting utilizing familiar (to me) perennials outside a clinic in Donaustadt, Austria.*

In the 10 minutes we were at the bus stop, my mind (and my camera) took in as much as they could. I immediately set out to identify how the landscape architect had successfully employed the design principles I’ve heard repeated time and again by my co-workers in their Native Plant School classes.

If you’re not familiar with matrix planting, it’s a landscape design style, popularized by Dutch landscape architect Piet Oudolf. Famous North American gardens using matrix planting include public garden spaces such as “The High Line” in New York City and Lurie Garden in Chicago.

In this particular landscape, I could easily identify the three layers of the matrix: the structural layer, the seasonal interest layer and the ground cover layer. In the structural layer, several small shade trees and a few larger perennials anchored the corners of the planting and in some cases softened particularly sharp edges of the hardscaping.

*Black-eyed susan and aster blooms provided a nice complementary color scheme.*

The seasonal interest layer included repeated blocks of switchgrass, feather reed grass, black-eyed susan, yarrow, asters, ornamental onion, tickseed, and others. Groundcover plants were interspersed throughout for weed management, particularly along the edges of the walkway.

*Repeated patterns along the walkway provided both visual and sensory stability.*

In addition to its visual impact, I also couldn’t ignore the sensory and emotional function that this garden was fulfilling. As my friends and I waited for the bus, we couldn’t help but walk over to feel the softness of the grasses. This planting certainly engaged multiple senses of passersby – providing a welcome contrast to the hardness of the concrete structures that surround it.

*The layers of plants soften the edges of this walkway, but also give patrons of the clinic something interesting to look at and feel as they enter and exit the building.*

There was also a rooftop garden that I imagine is a spacious area for visitors and patients to relax and connect with nature. I didn’t have enough time to run up to it, but I was able to identify switchgrass and Mexican feathergrass from below.

*A rooftop garden was also visible from the street.*

I was so very encouraged by my habitat garden sighting in Vienna. It’s a wonderful feeling to travel and see examples where someone, at some point, must have had the courage to speak up and say “Why don’t we plant a habitat garden here?” It will have a positive impact on our public and our neighborhood, but also on the environment.

We continue to receive more inquiries here at the Arboretum from all sorts of places: not only homeowners and homeowners associations, but also from for profit and not for profit business entities, and from churches, libraries and schools. The collective impact you are making in your communities is awe-inspiring. Keep it up and continue to share with us your habitat gardening challenges and successes!

Know Your Garden Priorities and Purpose

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Katie Schmidt

Portions of this article can also be found in our Summer 2023 issue of the Prairie Window Newsletter.

Having a summer intern here at the Arboretum is a lot of fun. Not only because I have someone to commiserate with when the temperatures are unbearable, or someone to laugh with when everything goes wrong, but also because they always ask “why?”

*The island garden here at the Arboretum features an evolving prairie planting from seed. We manage this area with annual prescribed burns.*

Why did we cut it by hand instead of mowing? Why did we move those leaves or add mulch? Why do we maintain this garden different from the next one?

The answers to these questions almost always center around priorities and purpose. To curate an Arboretum, we manipulate our natural environment in different ways, with goals in mind for each specific area.

Is the purpose of this garden to attract butterflies? Then we don’t do any trimming during peak caterpillar hatching time.
Are we hoping to encourage lightning bugs to nest here? Don’t rake away the leaf litter.
Is the goal of this space to be symmetrical, patterned, or have a certain color palette? Then we weed more frequently and stick closely to the original design.

Knowing your priorities and the purpose of a space easily guides your decisions.

*Plantings at our neighboring retirement community make use of drought tolerant plants with a more traditional approach to design.*

Evolving Priorities

Traditional landscaping has one job: to look pretty. We started creating ornamental gardens at castles and estates to signify wealth and create beauty. Several hundred years of horticulture practice have passed with little change. These human-centric values still have a stronghold on the landscaping industry. The typical shrubs, trees, and perennials installed around a newly built home in an American suburb are purely ornamental, with no relation to wildlife, climate, or geographic region.

Their purpose? Purely aesthetic. And so all the future decisions must serve that goal. Heavy chemical use to maintain the green lawn? Yes, to preserve the aesthetic. Constant trimming and shaping of shrubs? Yes, to make them look different from their natural shape. Overuse of water to keep non-native species green in a climate they did not evolve in? Of course. This is not a sustainable option, and at its worst is an outdated practice steeped in vanity and classism. Thankfully these priorities are beginning to shift to a more sustainable model of landscaping.

Find Your Purpose

Everybody has to decide for themselves, and for each unique space, what the purpose and priorities are. If the goal is to teach students about native plants, then we should prioritize plant labels. spacing, and good organization in the garden. If the purpose is to increase habitat, then prioritize ecosystem function — high plant diversity, dense, layered planting, less structure.

This sign garden at Schowalter Villa’s Prairie Lakes begins to move in the direction of building plant communities by planting more densely, but still prioritizes traditional aesthetics over ecological function.

There is no “one way” to successfully use native plants. Some of our members are looking to decrease water usage, but keep their landscaping looking traditional and tidy. In this case, we might suggest using some cultivated varieties of natives that don’t spread or seed out much, but are very drought tolerant. For folks hoping to restore a prairie plot for conservation purposes, we would recommend straight species only and help them find an appropriate ratio of grasses and flower species native to their region, or even their county.

Liatris pycnostachya, or prairie blazing star

The plants chosen for each new project should be chosen with clear purpose in mind. A few years in, when you are adding new plants to the garden or making tough decisions, remembering your purpose and priorities will help keep you on track!

A big thanks to our grounds interns present and past, who have all asked excellent questions and contributed their talents to the Arboretum. You challenge us to always think critically about our priorities and purpose!

A review of “Bicycling with Butterflies”

Posted on June 22, 2023 by arboretum-admin

I’m a part of the Nature Book Club through the Dyck Arboretum. One of the books we read this last month was Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201 mile journey following the Monarch Migration by Sara Dykman.

I loved this book and we had a great discussion on it. A young woman rides her bike from the monarch refuges in Mexico, up through the United States and into Canada, and back to Mexico again. She follows the same path as the monarchs, gives school programs and talks to anyone who will listen about the importance of the Monarch, the importance of growing milkweed as their food, and supporting them any way that we can.

I’d like to share a few of the most poignant excerpts from this wonderful book.

Dykman writes about the value in riding a bike rather than driving because… “blurred by the pace of human velocity is a whole world crunching, crawling, wriggling, slithering, budding, branching, mating, living, dying, and migrating through a realm most of us look at but rarely see…Milkweed is the sole food source of the monarch caterpillar. There are more than 100 species of milkweed, seventy native to the U.S.”

*Monarch caterpillar on common milkweed, **Asclepias syriaca**. Photo by Brad Guhr.*

“Most of us learn the basics of this transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly in grade school, but as adults, we stop truly looking, assuming there is nothing new to see. It is when I really look, with all my senses, at the feat of an egg becoming a butterfly that I find God”…“I can’t imagine the amount of ice cream I would need to eat to grow from 150 pounds to 300,000 pounds in just two weeks. We often overlook the grandness of small things.”

She also talks about being a native Kansan.

In my home state, once a galaxy of grass, the tallgrass prairie now barely clings to its soil. Once present from Canada through Texas, now just 1 percent of the historic tallgrass prairie remains, making it one of the most rare and endangered ecosystems in the world…
Sara Dykman

She discusses the interconnectedness of all life forms and the impact of our actions.

“Each of the 2 million tagged monarchs forms a connection to humanity. Every milkweed planted in the 28,210 way stations connects a gardener to the earth. With action comes solution. With action comes connections – connections to a team that is growing bigger every year, and to a migration that is growing smaller but that we will not give up on… You can’t protect just one aspect of a traveler’s journey; to protect the traveler, you must protect their every step, every wing beat. Migrating animals need safe habitat from here to there, in the summer, spring, winter, and fall…

*Monarch butterfly on swamp milkweed, **Asclepias incarnata**, at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains in late August. Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock*.

“Current farming practices don’t leave room for native plants like they once did…Monarchs require milkweed. Without milkweed, there can be no monarchs. We have to change how we farm…There were once billions of monarchs.. now there are millions. There had been millions of Eskimo curlews, billions of passenger pigeons, and trillions of Rocky Mountain locusts–now there are zero…

I began to see the monarch as a symbol of compassion…we recognize the monarch’s struggle. We rally, fight, cry, get angry, and do something.
Sara Dykman

“We are told that manicured lawns are beautiful, that we must control nature in order to live with it, but that is a lie. Beauty is the give and take between plants and animals. Beauty is milkweed ripe with exploding purple blooms, feeding the shaggy maned tussock moths and bees and monarchs. How can we possibly judge so much life as unworthy?”

Seven Lessons I Have Learned About Native Plants

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Scott Vogt

Over the 26 years that I have been at the Arboretum, I have made my share of mistakes. Some examples include planting prairie dock in a formal garden design, starting a garden too fast, and/or not knowing my site. I had book knowledge about horticulture, but I had not learned much about native plants. Through trial and error – mostly error – I learned some hard lessons and even killed a few plants along the way. I am still learning, but here are seven lessons I believe are essential for a successful prairie garden.

1. Perennial and annual weed control

I have made this mistake too often. In a rush to plant, I don’t get problem weeds like bindweed and Bermudagrass under control before planting. I am still fighting this issue to this day in some of these landscape settings. However, when I take the time to properly eradicate these weeds, the overall long-term success of the garden increases and the work to maintain it decreases. A little work at the beginning will save you many headaches down the road.

2. Plants should match your site.

This is the most important principle to follow in developing a successful landscape. Take a critical look at the area you want to landscape with native plants. Is it sunny? It is shaded for part of the day? What type of soil do you have? Is there a microclimate? Is it exposed to wind? All these factors will guide you as you select plants for your site. This step requires some research and time as you familiarize yourself with the qualities and environmental needs of native plants.

*Spiderwort (purple), coreopsis (yellow) and penstemon (white) in spring bloom*

3. Succession of Bloom

There are no Wave Petunias in the prairie. If you visit a prairie landscape like the Konza Prairie every two to three weeks throughout the year, you will observe plants beginning to bloom, in full bloom or going out of bloom. That is how you need to design your native landscape. Include plants that bloom in every season of the year and then strategically add grasses for movement and texture in the winter months. Take time to acquaint yourself with the life cycles of wildflowers and grasses.

4. Plan your garden for all seasons of the year

This lesson took the longest to learn, because it meant becoming familiar with the complete life cycle of each native plant. I needed to learn all about them – their bloom times, soil conditions they need to thrive, mature height and what they look like when not blooming, including seedheads and forms. Most of these characteristics had to be experienced over several years. That information is vital to planning and developing a prairie garden.

5. Be Patient

A prairie garden does not magically appear overnight. I know this goes counter to our “instant everything” culture, but prairie plants don’t work that way. It takes time for those transplants or seedlings to develop root systems that will sustain them during the dry periods of the year. I remember visiting a prairie reconstruction in Wisconsin several years ago. It had been established from seed 20 years earlier and the prairie manager said it was just then really maturing into a true prairie. I have found that if you are patient, you will be rewarded by beautiful, strong and adapted native plants.

6. Start Small

Planting too much too soon – I have made this mistake many times. My eyes get bigger than I can manage. I like too many of these native plants and rather than working at a project in stages, I plant the whole area. I then spend the rest of the summer maintaining a planting that is too big for the time I can give it. It has a tendency to get out of hand in a hurry if I don’t keep up with it on at least a weekly basis. Plant an area that you can handle with your schedule.

7. Remember Why!

Most times we create something for our own enjoyment. A properly designed native garden can be very attractive to you aesthetically. What we often forget, but are quickly reminded of, is that native plants attract many different pollinators and other wildlife to our landscapes. If you plant them they will come.

Pollinators and wildflowers have a symbiotic relationship. Pollinators seek out the wildflowers they need and utilize them throughout the year. Monarch populations are declining. They need milkweed, and since we have milkweed in the Arboretum, they show up. Also, just like the monarchs, songbird populations are declining. They need prairie habitat for survival along with wildflower seeds to feed overwintering birds.

Obviously I have not figured everything out. Learn from my mistakes and maybe a few of your own. Gardening is not an exact science. What works for you may not work for me. Your site may be totally different from mine. The key is to keep learning. Try plants you believe will work in your landscape.

Besides learning lessons the hard way remember to connect with your WHY! The “WHY we do something” gets lost in the tasks of creating something new. I need to be reminded “WHY” from time to time to reset my focus. We each have our own unique perspective and motivation, but reconnecting with your “WHY” will move you ever closer to your native plant gardening goals.

Stumped: Reimagining a garden after tree loss

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Janelle Flory Schrock

Ten years ago, my spouse and I purchased our first home in Central Kansas. The backyard was dominated by a large American Elm tree that had miraculously, and with a lot of help from a local arborist, survived the bout of Dutch Elm Disease that had taken nearly all of the American Elms in town in the 1990s.

*In June of 2013, an aged American Elm tree beautifully shaded our backyard.*

What this meant was that, like many Kansas homeowners, we had a large area of dry shade to contend with. Informed by my spouse’s childhood experiences growing up in the bush of South Sudan, we were not inclined to water our lawn just to maintain the status quo. So, the challenge was, how do we increase biodiversity in this backyard without using supplemental watering? We were stumped.

We tried a few things in the deep shade of the tree – transplanted spiderwort, river oats and columbine from a friend. And although these species hung in there pretty well, they certainly did not thrive. Ideally, they would have liked a little more sun and a lot more rain.

Here at the Arboretum, in our list of frequently asked questions at FloraKansas Native Plant Days events, “Which Kansas native plants will grow well in dry shade?” rises to the top. Unfortunately, the answer is “Hardly any.”

In a prairie ecosystem, trees will only flourish along creekbanks or near another water source. The garden condition “dry shade” is a human-created environment that simply does not exist in nature. For humans, and particularly for those of us who are relatively new to gardening with native plants, this is often a difficult reality to process and to accept.

*Over the years, several major ice storms and wind events have weakened the structure of the tree. The final blow came in August of 2021.* *It was time to have the tree removed.*

Another reality that was difficult for us to accept was that the elm tree was in an irreversible decline. The health of the tree had been compromised by an ice storm in 2007. Slowly over time, the rotting that had begun after that first injury made the elm more susceptible to being damaged again. As it became clear to us that this tree was in a death process, we focused our efforts on developing the front yard and enjoyed the shade while we could.

*After the tree had been removed, we needed to reimagine what our backyard was going to be.*

In the fall of 2021, we finally admitted to ourselves that the tree needed to be removed. We allowed ourselves a year to sit with the new reality of a full sun back yard. We left the stump and planted it with yarrow, little bluestem and soapwort. We have also contemplated growing mushrooms in the stump. Over time, we will watch the stump disintegrate and return to the earth. For now, it provides a lovely focal point.

In the raised rock garden beds surrounding the stump and along the south fence, we have filled in with plants that prefer well-drained soil, including butterfly milkweed, Missouri evening primrose, blue flax, soapwort, and several adaptable creeping groundcovers. Also, I couldn’t help but try my guilty pleasure plant that would prefer to be at higher elevations, pineleaf penstemon.

Missouri evening primrose (*Oenathera macrocarpa)*

In a test area that was formerly in deep shade, we have seeded buffalograss and encouraged it to spread. In retrospect, I wish we had done this to the whole lawn area right away, because this spring, much of the former fescue lawn has mostly been populated by dandelions, wild lettuce, henbit, clover and spurge. Nevertheless, we are motivated to continue to populate the back yard with sun loving prairie plants.

The lawn is currently a polyculture of warm season grasses and annual weeds (please don’t judge!), but we are on our way to establishing buffalograss and determining where we would like to plant native perennials.

I know there are likely many things we could have done so much better. Do I have regrets? Definitely. Could we have saved that elm tree by trimming it every year? Probably. In stewarding this small piece of the land, we are far from perfect. But honestly, in this process, I’ve learned that the land is more forgiving than humans are, as long as you don’t try to bend it to your own will. If you listen and observe your garden, over time, it will tell you how it wants to be. It will allow you to make mistakes, and then correct them. It will teach you to view the cycle of life in new ways. And if you can hold back from trying to control it too much, you will be rewarded by new and unexpected discoveries on a daily basis.