Reimagining a Front Walkway Planting: Could it be Native?

7 hours ago

Winter Interest, Winter Welcome.

plants and sidewalk — Front Garden Bed with 'Introduced Plants' in January

This sidewalk garden bed in part sun flanks both sides of a brick path leading straight to the front door. The simple and stunning planting stands out year round thanks to tremendous texture contrast and all year interest. This garden bed features just three plants, each of which are 'introduced' here. The plants are native to areas far from the Chesapeake Bay watershed. It is quite feasible to recreate this garden bed using plants native to the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Let's take a look!

The evergreen shrubs anchoring these beds are cherry laurel (Prunus ‘Otto Luyken’) native to Europe and Asia. The ferns are likely autumn ferns (Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance'), native to Asia. The grass like plant is liriope or lilyturf (Liriope muscari), also native to Asia. These three plants are extremely common in our landscapes.

close-up of three green plants — Front Garden Bed with 'Introduced Plants' Close-up

The broad leaves of the laurel combined with the grassy texture of liriope and the added extra interesting foliage of the ferns creates contrast in color, shape and habit. This is a superb trio of different textures and easy to replicate with native plants.

Substitute Inkberry for Cherry Laurel

I chose inkberry (Ilex glabra) as the evergreen shrub for its versatility in growing in different soil conditions, the ease with which it retains a neat shape and availability at garden centers and native plant nurseries. The leaves are smaller than those of the laurel but have the similar deep green color.

Inkberry is an all around strong evergreen shrub. The straight species grows to 5 to 6 feet tall and wide. A number of smaller cultivars are also available. Inkberry can be grown as a hedge, foundation plant or a specimen plant. Inkberry grows in full sun or part shade in average moisture.

If your garden area has more acidic soil and tends towards shade, you could substitute mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), another native evergreen with leaves shaped more like the cherry laurel. If the area is consistently moist, another native option is drooping laurel (Leucothoe fontanesiana), also called dog hobble. This small evergreen shrub grows well in shady, moist areas and acidic soils.

Substitute Christmas Fern for Autumn Fern

Christmas ferns (Polystichum acrostichoides) are the strongest evergreen fern in our area. While the fronds are a bit narrower than the autumn ferns in the featured garden bed, Christmas ferns are fairly versatile, adapt to drier conditions and grow in part sun to full shade. Christmas ferns will not do well in consistently wet soil or in the heaviest of clay soils. Christmas ferns are widely available.

Substitute Blue Wood Sedge for Liriope

Blue wood sedge (Carex flaccosperma), adds the exact same strappy foliage as the liriope and adds blue color. This evergreen carex grows best in shade or part shade in a range of soils. Unlike liriope, it does not flower in late summer but the point of this planting is texture and foliage rather than flowers.

Another option is seersucker sedge (Carex plantaginea). This semi-evergreen sedge spreads once established. It grows in full and part shade in average moisture soils. Once established, the clumps grow and spread. These sedges are fairly easy to find.

Do you have more options for reimagining this planting? Please do add! Your home's entry, balcony, or window box is always elevated with a native plant adding a winter welcome!

Happy gardening.