Combinations in so many ways.
For many people, entirely converting a garden of ornamentals, the plants from far away lands that dominate our residential landscapes, to a garden of natives is not realistic. Just adding that first native plant is a big win. It's like a bag of potato chips. You probably aren't going to want just one!
What about when you are planting a garden or garden bed from scratch though? I typically have thought of that as a golden opportunity to choose all native plants knowing there are native plants to create a formal garden or a meadow and everything in between. More and more though, I think we can encourage more native plantings by celebrating new gardens that incorporate some native plants.
I got to thinking about this when I came across this mix of purple flowers in a garden at Washington D.C.'s National Cathedral. This narrow garden between a building and sidewalk is a simple design and something I can see replicating in a home garden. A dry bed of rocks is bordered by purple flowering perennials interspersed with native shrubs.
One lesson from this planting is how tight the color palette and plant choices are. In late summer, it's all abut the purple. Clumps of purple asters are combined with non-native purple alliums. These plants are not identified but appear to be an ironweed aster (Vernonia angustifolia) and a non-native ornamental onion such as Allium 'Millenium'.
Native plant devotees will note there is a native flowering onion called Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum) which does bloom at this time of year with a pale pink spherical flower. The flower stems and foliage are much looser and the flowers are, as the name suggests, not upright. They do not clump as the non-native allium do. This raises the question about combining natives with non-natives to achieve a different aesthetic.
The bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica) shrubs are dotted throughout the linear border. Repeating the same plants, garden designers tell us creates cohesion in a garden. It definitely works here! These shrubs typically grow larger but can be pruned to maintain the smaller size shown.
This garden design definitely catches your eye and draws you down the path. Do you have combinations of native and ornamental plants that draw you in? Please share your ideas below!
Happy Gardening.
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