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suMMer 2015 • VoluMe 31, nuMber 4
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contents
FEATURES
12 Alien Invaders
how invasive plants get the upper hand and how not to let them. By Karen Bussolini
20 Dry & Mighty
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a dry garden doesn’t have to be drab. Make yours dazzle even in summer. By Pam Penick
On The Cover
blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) is a star of the drought-tolerant garden, helping the driest gardens shine. phoTo by bruce leander
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DEPARTMENTS
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2 3 4 5
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On The Back Cover
The invasive yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) forms dense, robust stands in wet soils. It is known for
escaping cultivation and taking over wetlands and water edges. phoTo by Karen bussolInI
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From the Editor Letters From the Executive Director Field Notes The latest notes and news from the Wildflower Center 5 IN DEPTH • Wildflower Center’s new license plate supports conservation 7 FROM THE FIELD • Wildflower Center news 11 FIELD SAMPLER • Products from the Center’s store In Bloom Up-to-date news about native plants in your world 26 FEATURED NATIVE PLANTS • Silphiums 28 ROOT OF THE MATTER • How to control invasive plants by eating them 30 NATIVE PEOPLE • Colleene Sweeney 31 FOR EVERY SEASON • Native lilies Wild Life White House Conference on Natural Beauty anniversary
WIldFloWer • suMMer 2015
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{ from the editor
Community Through nature “ONE TOUCH OF NATURE makes the whole world kin,” wrote William Shakespeare. At the Wildflower Center, we believe in this idea that the natural world brings people together. Even though native plants are by definition local, we know that people who care about their local plants in Texas share values in common with those who care about the local
EDITOR
Christina Kosta Procopiou
CREATIVE DIRECTION/COPYEDITING
Yo!Media Inc. www.yomediainc.com HORTICULTURE EDITORS
Andrea DeLong-Amaya, Julie Marcus SCIENCE EDITORS
Joseph Marcus; Mark Simmons, Ph.D. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Julie Bawden-Davis, Karen Bussolini, Sheryl DeVore, Melissa Gaskill, Shannon C. Harris, Pam Penick, Barbra A. Rodriguez CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Valerie Bugh, Karen Bussolini, John Clark, Bruce Leander, Pam Penick, Steven Schwartzman
plants of New York or elsewhere. Over the past year, we have made great progress in building that community – most notably through social media. Nearly 500 people follow us on Twitter, more than 780 on Instagram. There are now 31,000 Facebook fans of the Wildflower Center. If you read the Facebook comment threads on our fan page, often someone will comment, “Oh, how I wish I lived near the Center,” in response to one of our picture posts. This sparks conversation from those who live near and far. Another online program that helps us build community is our annual photo competition. This year’s event is different in that there will be no private judging in addition to the public voting. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Highway Beautification Act, we welcome photos of roadside native plants – be they wildflowers, trees or shrubs – taken in any season. The contest begins June 1. Learn more at www.wildflower.org/photocontest. As always, this issue of Wildflower was created to speak to topics that matter to those of us who care about native plants, wherever we live. Karen Bussolini’s “Alien Invaders” (page 12) talks about how invasive plants get their grip on landscapes. Pam Penick’s “Dry & Mighty” (page 20) is a testament to how xeric gardens can be beautiful too. If you haven’t done so before, please consider participating in our photo competition or join the conversation about native plants at www.facebook.com/wildflowercenter, www.instagram.com/wildflowercenter or twitter.com/WildflowerCtr. Enjoy your summer and your magazine. a — CHRISTINA KOSTA PROCOPIOU
FOUNDERS
Lady Bird Johnson & Helen Hayes ADVISoRY CoUnCIL
Jeffrey Howell Jeanie Wyatt SECRETARY Alexandra Prentice Saenz CHAIR ELECT Chris Caudill CHAIR
VICE CHAIR
INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Mike Abkowitz
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Lee Clippard
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Robin Murphy
DIRECTOR, ECOSYSTEM DESIGN GROUP
Mark Simmons, Ph.D.
& OPERATIONS Mike Abkowitz
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
DIRECTOR OF HORTICULTURE
Andrea DeLong-Amaya
& VISITOR SERVICES Lori Bockstanz
DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP
Materials are chosen for the printing and distribution of Wildflower magazine with respect for the environ-
ment. Wildflower is printed in the United States by Times Printing, Random Lake, WI.
The Wildflower Center is a member of Earth Share of Texas.
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DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MARKETING
Joseph Hammer
VOLUNTEER SERVICES MANAGER
Carrie McDonald
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{ reader mail The article about senseless roadside mowing in the Spring issue of Wildflower was spot-on! Wild (and now cultivated) wildflowers don’t stand a chance. They just began to grow and the so-called landscape crew (99 percent of whom know zilch about plants) are out with weed whackers (the worst machine ever invented) or poison spray to destroy them. There are no untouched borders between properties any longer – all is mown weekly. Sometimes I think it is best to give up and live in the concrete city where all is totally wrecked. Instead of birds and singing insects, there’ll be traffic and other racket that is far less painful than chainsaws and choppers and weed machines. MERRY BAKER KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE I just read your pocket prairie article on the website and loved it. I have done something similar in my front and back yards. Part is Habiturf®, and the rest is landscaped. I did this mostly for wildlife purposes, as I’m a bird lover – and I have lots of great birds that stop by, especially during migration, that normally are more prairietype than yard-type birds. In fact, on Friday I had a grasshopper sparrow hopping around in the bushes – a bird more likely to be found at Commons Ford Ranch Metropolitan Park or Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. ADRIAN JOHNSON AUSTIN, TEXAS
WE’RE GETTING LOTS OF LOVE!
Some of our Instagram followers recently had this to say: Drippingspringsollas: A morning spent at the @wildflowercenter is a morning spent well indeed! Greatjoyshouts: @wildflowercenter you’ve become a regular educational backdrop to our hikes! AND FROM OUR FACEBOOK FANS:
Lisa Maria: I so enjoy the work you all do there. I appreciate all of you! Kathleen Yoder: We spent all afternoon on the Savanna Trail at the Wildflower Center yesterday and it was magic! Every inch was in bloom. It was like carpet in fairyland. I had to be dragged away! Susan Glidden: Every time I see the flowers people have planted near my home, I think of Lady Bird.
FOLLOW US:
facebook.com/wildflowercenter @WildflowerCtr
instagram.com/wildflowercenter
Wildflower (ISSN 1936-9646) is published quarterly by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, 4801 La Crosse Avenue,
Austin, Texas 78739. Telephone: 512.232.0100; www.wildflower.org; E-mail: cprocop@wildflower.org. Copyright ©2015 by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written consent of the
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and requests to reprint material appearing in Wildflower must be made in writing.
Members of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center receive a subscription to Wildflower as a benefit of member-
ship. If you are interested in becoming a member, or have a question about an existing membership, please contact the membership office Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (Central) at 512.232.0137 or 512.232.0163. You may also e-mail members@wildflower.org. Single issues may be ordered for $5 (U.S. residents).
Change of Address: Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Wildflower, 4801 La Crosse Avenue, Austin, TX
78739-1702. 512.232.0100. Members: Please notify us of your address in advance of your move (the post office does not ordinarily forward magazines) and include your old address. The opinions expressed herein may not necessarily reflect
those held by the Wildflower Center. Wildflower is printed by Times Printing, Random Lake, WI. Please direct any inquiries or letters to cprocop@wildflower.org
WILDFLOWER • SUMMER 2015
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{ from the executive director
Planting People WE HAVE EMERGED FROM an astounding spring wildflower season across Texas and at the Wildflower Center. If you live here or visited during spring, you were treated to fields blanketed with our state’s iconic flowers, such as bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush, and even some of our lesser-known flowers, like stork’s bill and foxglove. In Central Texas, the historic eightyear drought continues, but there was just enough rain in the fall and winter to surround us with such beauty. Just as the Wildflower Center plants seeds and native plants to create healthy landscapes, we also – in a way – plant people. Many of our former staff have moved on to become leaders in the sustainable landscape movement as directors of other gardens, landscape architects, educators and program managers. Through these people the Wildflower Center increases its impact, and Mrs. Johnson’s message continues to reach all corners of the United States. This spring, we saw two of our senior staff members move on to new adventures, and I would like to take a moment to recognize them for their impact. Susan Rieff, our Susan Rieff at our Texas former executive direcArboretum opening tor, has joined The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture as a senior research fellow in sustainability. Susan leaves a lasting legacy. She joined the Center in 2004 and led its transition from a nonprofit organization to a research unit of The University of Texas at Austin. She also spearheaded programs that helped build the Center’s reputation as a national leader in landscape sustainabil-
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Damon Waitt with Lady Bird Johnson
ity and plant conservation. Namely, Susan shepherded the development of the Sustainable Sites Initiative™ (SITES™) rating system, the country’s most comprehensive rating system for sustainable landscapes. Damon Waitt, our former senior director and senior botanist, has joined the North Carolina Botanic Garden as its executive director. Among many accomplishments during his 13 years here, Damon oversaw the creation of our Luci and Ian Family Garden and the Texas Arboretum. He began the Texas Invasives program and developed our Go Native U certificate programs and Landscape for Life™, an online sustainable gardening curriculum that has a national reach. Damon also built our Native Plant Information Network, the biggest searchable online native plant database of its kind, which is used by people across the country. I’m proud to have had Susan and Damon as colleagues, and the Center is much better for their time here. Strong organizations are like healthy bodies and healthy landscapes: they are dynamic systems that exhibit resiliency during times of change. We are such an organization. I look forward to serving you, our members and friends during this time of transition. a — MIKE ABKOWITZ, INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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field notes FROM THE WILDFLOWER CENTER
Road Show
The Wildflower Center gets its own wildflower license plate WRITTEN by CHRISTINA PROCOPIOU PHOTOGRAPHy by JOHN CLARK
W
ITH THE WAY THAT Lady Bird Johnson is associated with roadsides, you’d think it natural for her namesake organization to have its own license plate. And now it does! This spring, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles will begin offering motorists a specialty license plate with proceeds that support the Wildflower Center. Now the Center’s conservation and restoration work stands to benefit greatly since the organization will receive
$22 for every $30 plate sold. Longtime Wildflower Center director of product marketing Joe Hammer first looked into a Center-sponsored plate nearly two decades ago. When former senior director and botanist Damon Waitt picked up the project about 18 months ago, he approached Colleene Sweeney, who had been illustrating plants for the Center for some time, with the opportunity to create the design for the plate. Once the illustration was complete and
ABOVE The Wildflower Center now has its very own specialty license plate. Proceeds benefit Center programs, such as plant conservation and invasive species research.
the design was decided upon, Sweeney used a template on the TxDMV website. The plate had to meet legibility, reflectivity and design standards to be approved. (See related article on page 30.) This won’t be the first Texas specialty plate to feature wildflowers. Texans’ beloved bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) has long taken center stage on a plate sponsored by Texas Parks & Wildlife, according to Waitt. “But as the Wildflower Center, we WILDFLOWER • SUMMER 2015
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field notes }
wanted to celebrate Texas wildflowers in general, not just the bluebonnet as our state flower,” he says. So it seemed right to combine the bluebonnet with other very familiar Texas wildflowers that are spread geographically across the state: pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa) and Indian blanket (Gaillardia pulchella). There’s one of each on the plate, carefully depicted to be visible at high speeds.
“As the Wildflower Center, we wanted to celebrate Texas wildflowers in general, not just the bluebonnet as our state flower.”— Damon Waitt The Department of Motor Vehicles sought online feedback from the public about this and other potential specialty plates last fall – with this Texas Wildflowers plate garnering the most “yes” votes. Waitt’s job wasn’t over until that public vote met DMV board approval. After he shared with the board some history about Lady Bird Johnson and wildflowers, Waitt says a board director said, “I think voting against this would be like voting against Mom and apple pie!” Organizations such as the Florida Wildflower Foundation benefit from some 13,000 plates sold annually. “We’re thrilled by the early interest Texans have shown in this plate,” says Robin Murphy, the Center’s development director. “We have many projects these funds could support that benefit landscapes that are part of our state’s natural heritage.” a TOP The delicate and beautiful pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa) is one of four wildflowers featured on the Center’s new Texas Wildflowers license plate. BOTTOM The Center has big hopes for the Texas wildflower plate since $22 of each $30 plate helps support Center conservation and research efforts.
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Support the Wildflower Center with the purchase of the Texas Wildflowers license plate. Visit wildflower.org/wildflower_plate to learn more.
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FROM THE FIELD
{ field notes
Family Time
PHOTO BY ALYsHA RAInwATERs
In march, the wildflower Center’s Family Garden was rewarded for meeting rigorous standards for environmental design and performance when it and 11 other sites became the last projects certified using a pilot version of the Sustainable Sites InitiativeTM (sITEs™) program’s rating system. Forty-five projects across 20 states have achieved certification for voluntarily applying the sITEs™ system to incorporate sustainability into their planning, design, construction and maintenance. sustainable practices are part of the fabric of the Family Garden and include plants that were salvaged pre-construction and replanted along with a rainwater harvesting system and rain gardens to demonstrate water conservation.
Royal Watch
PHOTO FROm wILdFLOwER CEnTER ARCHIVEs
PHOTO BY VALERIE BUGH
wildflower Center conservationists will participate in a project funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help reverse monarch decline. For some time now, the service has been considering Texas’ state insect for a place on the endangered species list since its numbers have fallen by 90 percent over the past two decades. The wildflower Center will lend expertise of seed collection, growing requirements and commercial production of regionally appropriate species of milkweed (Asclepias spp.), the plant monarchs require in their larval stage that have been lost to urban development and pesticide use in agriculture.
Heart and Soul
did you know that 800 volunteers give 34,000 hours of time each year to keep our gardens growing, our tours in operation and much, much more? Over the past year, two volunteers even completed 6,000 hours of total service to the Center. Paul Reinartz was the first to do so. He began volunteering by helping prepare the Center’s current site in southwest Austin for opening in 1995. Barbara Medford also completed 6,000 hours of service. she is known for answering thousands of questions asked by people from all across the country for our Mr. Smarty Plants online feature. Learn more about that at www.widlflower.org/expert.
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T H E L A DY B I R D S O C I E T Y
JOIN A GROWING CIRCLE of individuals and companies dedicated to continuing the vision of Lady Bird Johnson and the mission of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Lady Bird Society members sustain the Wildflower Center by pledging unrestricted annual gifts at one of four levels for three years, providing a stable source of funding for key programs and services. Members of the Lady Bird Society receive exclusive benefits including invitations to special events and recognition in Wildflower Center publications.
For more information or to join the Lady Bird Society, contact Robin Murphy at 512-232-0121 or rmurphy@wildflower.org
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Bugging Out
COMMUNAL GARDEN
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{ field notes
Team of volunteers records insect and animal life at the Wildflower Center WRITTEN BY CHRISTINA PROCOPIOU • PHOTOGRAPHY BY VALERIE BUGH
eFore VAlerie Bugh retired from
a 30-year career in music education, she says she never expected to one day volunteer in any way.
that’s hard to believe since her volunteer work has made such an impact at the Wildflower Center. in the spring issue of Wildflower, we reported that the Center is home to 1,800 insect species including at least 93 butterfly species. We know this because Valerie and a team of volunteers she assembled have crept around each thursday morning for the past five years surveying this non-plant life in the Center’s gardens and natural areas. Valerie was visiting on her own for about four years before she organized other volunteers to start what we now know as the Fauna Project. each January Bugh donates about 1,000 images of critters she’s photographed during the previous year. the Center’s Collections Manager Joe Marcus now has 8,500 pictures of fauna taken at the Wildflower Center that do a lot to help us understand flora-fauna interactions. Marcus says, “We don’t believe you can understand native plants or any other segment of a natural community without understanding all of the other constituents – both living and non-living – of that community. Since faunal interactions are so important to flora, it is essential for us to understand all we can about those interactions. Basic to that understanding are simple surveys of just what is there and what it’s doing. Val’s Fauna Project is making essential contributions to that understanding.” Bugh is modest, though. “We like to play outside. More seriously, we almost always find something that we've never seen before; we're all lifetime learners so each new discovery is exciting,” she says. “Personally, i like to know my world and understand how the ecosystem works at different levels. Familiarity with all the common insects and other creatures around us certainly makes us more relaxed in our environment. We don't panic at the sight of the myriad harmless animals, but we also know those few that can bite and sting so we keep our distance!” a
TOP Imperial moth (Eacles imperialis) photographed by Valerie Bugh at the Wildflower Center as part of the Fauna Project. BOTTOM A green anole (Anolis carolinensis) is a welcome sight at the Wildflower Center.
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FOR THE PICKING
field notes }
On The Road
PHOTO BY ARINA P. HABICH/SHUTTERSTOCK
PHOTO BY SERGIOBOCCARDO/SHUTTERSTOCK
PHOTO BY TREKANDSHOOT/SHUTTERSTOCK
PHOTO BY DONOVAN REESE/GETTY
LADY BIRD JOHNSON BELIEVED THAT landscapes along roadsides could help lift the human spirit and restore human interaction with nature that had been relegated to a weekend role. This June, the Wildflower Center hosts its Beautiful Roadsides photography competition. We will accept entries on our website at www.wildflower.org/photocontest.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT Texas bluebonnets by the roadside. • Yucca plants by the road in California’s Sequoia National Park. • Wildflowers in bloom in the mountains. • California poppies are known for making an appearance along roadsides when conditions are good.
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the
Store
@ The WildfloWer CenTer
Beetle Pin $109.95 (Members $98.96)
Jewelry designer Sarah Cavender uses brass mesh to create her one-of-a-kind jewelry. The inch-wide metal cuff bracelet features a dragonfly with mesh wings. The 2.5-inch beetle and the 2.75-inch grasshopper pins are also designed with her signature metal mesh.
Dragonfly Cuff Bracelet $139.95 (Members $125.96)
Grasshopper Pin $109.95 (Members $98.96)
Porcelain Room Diffuser $34.95 (Members $31.46) The decorative porcelain top is inserted into the bottle, where it begins to draw the oil and diffuse fragrance into the room. Attractively gift-boxed. light, elegant fragrance. • Shoulder Tote $34.95 (Members $31.46) Casual simplicity in a natural jute shoulder tote. Zipper top with a colorful all-over pattern and fully lined with an inside zip pocket. Tote measures 18” wide and is 12” deep. Web strapping handles. • Hummingbird Bridge Card Gift Set $22.95 (Members $20.66) A fabulous gift for the bridge players in your life. each set contains two 50-page scorecards and two decks of bridge-size cards. Beautifully packaged and decorated with a hummingbird print. • Bee’s Wrap Assorted 3 Pack $18.95 (Members $17.06) The new alternative to plastic wrap. Keeps food fresh naturally. Made with beeswax and cloth. reusable, biodegradable and compostable. Set contains three sizes: small (7” x 8”), medium (10” x 11”) and large (13” x 14”). not recommended for meat. To order these products or others from the Center’s store, call toll-free 877-WILDFLR (877.945.3357) or shop online at www.wildflower.org.
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Alien How invasive plants take hold and take over gardens and natural landscapes Writing and PhotograPhy by KAREN BUSSOLINI
THIS PAGE the elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta) now clogging wetlands and stream banks throughout the Southeast were planted as a substitute for potatoes in 1910. ACROSS Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) spreads vegetatively, with rhizomes so vigorous they can penetrate asphalt, forming difficult-to-remove monocultures. it is often seen along roadsides, where its rhizomes are transported by construction equipment.
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Invaders WILDFLOWER • SUMMER 2015
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Plants with celestial-sounding names like “Tree of Heaven” and “Heavenly Bamboo” suggest a garden paradise. But in many parts of North America, these two invasive woody plants – Ailanthus altissima and Nandina domestica – are among the many bad actors that evoke a more diabolical place. By definition under federal Executive Order 13112, an invasive species is one that is non-native to the ecosystem under consideration “and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.” The USDA’s Invasive Species Information Center notes that human actions are the primary means of introduction. Invasive plants aren’t simple garden thugs. They displace native plants in natural and untended areas and can alter growing conditions – available light, nutrients, soil hydrology and fire regime – and harm agricultural crops. Think of any native ecosystem as a densely woven tapestry. Each element, from microbial life in the soil up to the treetops, is an integral part of a fabric woven with many complex patterns and connections. Organisms that evolved together have figured out how to coexist by using energy efficiently. They limit direct, exclusionary competition for the same resources by occupying diverse specialized niches, keep each other in check and interact in numerous ways, such as enabling nutrient exchange or trading food for seed dispersal. Jerry Jenkins, director of the Northern Forest Atlas Project for the Wildlife Conservation Society, notes that invasive plants are more likely to take over land that has been farmed than poorer, undisturbed soils. Disturbance by tilling, construction equipment, snowplows, erosion, deer and invasive Asian earthworms (Amynthas agrestis) churning the soil, off-road vehicles, or even hordes of hikers – tears that fabric. Superb opportunists, invasives quickly fill vacant niches – a clumsy patch of monoculture in an intricate fabric. If unchecked, they degrade that fabric until it all comes unraveled. HOW DO THEY DO IT? Try to keep in mind, when faced with a backyard full of vine-choked trees and prickly, tick-harboring barberry, that alien invasive plants aren’t inherently evil. They co-evolved –
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somewhere else – with diseases, herbivores and competitors keeping them in check. Released from those limitations, some become super-competitors. These aliens aren’t usually eaten by local insects, which haven’t had time to adapt to the plants’ chemical defenses, and may not be prone to diseases in the new land. This impacts birds that depend upon protein-rich insects. In the race for space, native plants – slower, more specialized, and inhibited by local diseases and herbivores – are literally left in the dust. With invasion, complex and stable self-organized systems become simple, unstable and impoverished. Certain traits give them an edge. They are often generalists that grow just about anywhere, are salt- or shade-tolerant, or are exceptionally resistant to drought or moisture, enabling them to to thrive in arid or riparian regions. Invasives grow fast and often seed like crazy. Many are self-pollinating and have a long flowering and seed-viability time. Mile-a-minute vine (Polygonum perfoliatum) can grow 6 inches a day, allowing a single plant to blanket an area 30 feet in diameter and produce more than 2,000 seeds that stay viable for five or six years. Lightweight seeds disperse by wind or water. Berries exist solely to entice wildlife to eat them and spread their seed far and wide. Some invasives spread vegetatively. Nutgrass (Cyperus rotundus), for instance, forms a complex underground system of basal bulbs, rhizomes and tubers, any piece of which will regenerate. Golden bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) spreads via tenacious woody rhizomes. Giant reed (Arundo donax) dominates warmer areas, where it blocks irrigation and navigation channels, suppressing and excluding lower-growing native plants.
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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Fall foliage in the understory of deciduous woods reveals the extent of barberry invasion near the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut • Multiflora rose hips (Rosa multiflora). • A wetland overtaken by purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an ecosystem game changer.
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How To Deal With Invasive Plants
InvasIves are addressed – or not – in a patchwork of local, state and federal regulations, watchlists, laws, suggestions and voluntary actions by the nursery industry. Many prohibit noxious weeds from being sold or moved, but having them is legal. an online search for invasive plants by state will bring up a wealth of reliable websites, as well as chatroom misinformation and vendors touting “fastgrowing, pest-free” plants without mentioning invasiveness. The University of Georgia’s Center for Invasive species and ecosystem Health, in cooperation with several other organizations, has the most comprehensive website, at www.invasive.org. The seeds of many bachelor’s buttons, fennel and nasturtiums that charmingly self-sow in some gardens are prohibited from being shipped to certain states where they have legal status as invasive plants. Where there is no law, there is no prohibition, so buyer beware. Prevention is the best cure. soils imported from other sites can carry a wealth of propagules – plant parts and seeds – so do everything you can to use the soil you have. Bulk mulch can also be a big problem. Local sources seem like an environmentally sound recycling/carbon emission-reducing solution, but not if the mulch is made from grinding up yard waste, especially if delivery to the facility is unsupervised. You really don’t want to find out the hard way that knotweed or bamboo rhizomes are in the mix. and if you are doing construction, your contractor will think you’re crazy, but do insist that vehicles and equipment treads are cleaned before entering your property. These precautions will save a lot of big headaches. You can’t control a plant without understanding its biology and replacing it with something. Tactics include physical removal, depletion of stored resources, smothering, burning and poisoning. If a flowering plant is prevented from flowering or pruned after flowering, it can’t set seed. annuals pulled up before flowering can be left to dry out and used as mulch or composted. If they’re surrounded by desirable natives, it’s even better to simply clip them at the base to avoid disturbing the soil, which only brings more seeds to light. Colonies of annuals like Japanese stiltgrass can be mowed repeatedly to prevent seed-set or cut very close to the ground with a string trimmer. since there are likely seeds in the
Continued On Page 18
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A life cycle out of sync aids invasion. Deciduous invasives tend to leaf out earlier than natives in spring, shading out the competition and hogging resources. They may remain green longer in fall or are evergreen, grabbing more energy by photosynthesizing longer. This enables formation of dense populations that deprive other plants of light, water and nutrients. Some conduct chemical warfare or alter soil chemistry. Allelopathic plants exude substances that suppress growth or germination of other plants, affect soil biology and impact animal life. Their unpalatability to browsers increases herbivory on natives. Bernd Blossey, an experimental ecologist at Cornell University’s Ecology and Management of Invasive Plants Program, found more damage to native plants where Japanese stiltgrass dominates a woodland because deer avoid the grass and eat whatever else emerges. GAME CHANGERS Invasives employing multiple strategies can become ecosystem changers. Wetland habitats throughout the country are compromised by the lovely perennial purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). A prolific seeder (one plant can produce 2 million seeds a season), its built-up detritus alters water levels, impacts drainage and navigation channels, and blocks access to water’s edge. Insects, birds and animals that depend on marsh plants are deprived of food and preferred habitat when loosestrife is on the loose; few make use of it. A single biennial garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) plant, selfor insect-pollinated, can produce up to 7,900 seeds that are spread by wind, water, wildlife and people. The evergreen is allelopathic, suppressing nearby plants and crucial mycorrhizal fungi. Several butterfly species get the chemical signal to lay eggs on garlic mustard, but the hatched larvae die because they cannot eat the leaves – nor do other herbivores partake (although it is delectable to humans, which explains how it got here in the first place). Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) got a foothold in overgrazed rangeland in the dry West. With its extremely flammable dry foliage, cheatgrass now covers millions of acres and has dramatically shortened the wildfire return interval (from decades to less than five years in southern Idaho). It quickly dominates burned sites and is able to switch from self- to cross-pollinating, producing plants with hybrid vigor. It increases soil temperatures and disrupts water and nutrient cycles on a scale large enough to stand out in satellite data. Where invasives come from matters. The temperate Pacific Northwest is plagued by English ivy and Scotch broom, from similar climates. Fly into Seattle when broom’s abloom and you’ll see masses of yellow from the air. But in coastal Massachusetts, although broom seeds along roadsides, it is widely sold and not listed as invasive in most places. Gardeners complain that it’s not reliably hardy. LOOKING FOR TROUBLE It’s easy to simply not see the problem. Scientists call it “plant blindness.” Damon Waitt, former Wildflower Center senior
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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: When periwinkle (Vinca minor), a ubiquitous low-maintenance groundcover, escapes from the garden or is dumped with garden debris, it spreads throughout woodlands by stolons. • For one week per year, multiflora roses boast masses of dainty blossoms that suffuse the early summer air with a heady cinnamon-rose scent – and are a thorny nightmare overtaking fields, woodlands and wetlands the rest of the year • Japanese knotweed is able to weave its way through a stone wall, as it did here. • Purple loosestrife is attractive to bees, which enable cross-pollination with garden varieties erroneously marketed as sterile cultivars.
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soil seedbank, covering with cardboard or wood chips and planting a cover crop will diminish reseeding. Blooming garlic mustard will ripen seed even if uprooted, but cutting bloom stalks at the base as they flower (string trimmers can handle big populations) disrupts their life cycle. It’s tempting to try to pull berrying vines like bittersweet and porcelainberry down from trees, but they’re usually too intertwined; just cutting them before they can fruit will at least prevent another year’s reproductive success. When digging out shrubs and vines, make sure to tamp down disturbed soil and cover with leaf litter or plant something and monitor for subsequent seed germination. Plants that invade by vegetative means are especially difficult to eliminate. Tilling just increases them, as they sprout anew from broken pieces. Repeated cutting or mowing over time can be effective in depleting underground resources, especially if combined with smothering. Vigorously resprouting shrubs like barberry and honeysuckle can be cut back and allowed to expend some energy resprouting. Then it’s time to hit them with a high-powered propane torch (on a damp day with a hose standing by), or stems can be cut a second time and painted with herbicide. Shrubs will resprout if cut neatly but rarely do when ground down to soil level and smashed to smithereens by a lowimpact, high-precision forest mower. And of course you can try just digging them up, but you’ll have to keep at it. Always try the least-toxic method first – targeted application of the correct systemic herbicide is sometimes the only way, but herbicides aren’t for amateurs. Timing is important. Noticing and taking care of invasive plants when they are tiny saves a lot of work. Small plants can be pulled, doused with organic (nonsystemic) vinegar-based herbicides or burned with a torch. Mow annuals or biennials too early and they will rebloom. Woody plants translocate their resources down into the roots in fall, so that’s the time to try to knock them back, especially if you use systemic herbicides. Herbaceous plants use a lot of energy bursting forth in spring, so tackle them then. And proper disposal is a must; those propagules – seeds and vegetative parts – will reproduce if you toss them on the compost or over the back fence, so dispose in a landfill or burn them. Spring and fall are good times to notice what doesn’t belong – those invasive plants that leaf out earlier or stay in leaf later than the natives. And as the Texas Invasives website advises, “If you don’t know it, don’t grow it.”
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CloCkwise from top: Norway maples (Acer platanoides) form dense
stands that shade out other plants and are easy to distinguish from native maples in autumn, as their yellow leaves are last to fall. • Several Asian honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.) trick birds into spreading their seeds by offering sweet berries. When migrating birds consume honeysuckle berries, they’re like runners trying to fuel a marathon by eating jellybeans – the sugars can’t sustain the journey. • Highly fertile genotypes of mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) seed aggressively along roadsides and waste places in many parts of the country.
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Citizen Watch
As A pArtner in the invaders of texas program, the Wildflower Center trains citizen-scientists throughout the state to identify and report invasive plants. At texasinvasives.org, the program outlines several steps that gardeners, hikers and boaters should take to avoid spreading invasive species throughout and outside of their regions. Other regional programs exist nationwide that also train citizenscientists and educate people about specific actions to take or not take that are relevant in their areas.
director and botanist who is now the director of the North Carolina Botanic Garden and a member of the National Invasive Species Advisory Committee, observes, “For a lot of people, plants are the green backdrop to life. When driving down the highway, they’re unable to distinguish between what’s supposed to be there and what isn’t.” Gardeners, homeowners, birders and others who enjoy the outdoors play an important role by being “plant aware.” New plants and new genotypes pop up all the time, but we notice the pretty ones first. When showy flowering plants that look like something from a garden suddenly show up in a stream corridor, they probably are from a garden and will keep moving downstream. We don’t catch on so fast with “background” roadside plants like mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), although once we “see” them, they’re everywhere. Widely reported to be infertile in the U.S., it began proliferating out of the blue in western Connecticut yards and byways in recent years, showing its seeds to be fertile indeed. Roadways, rail lines, pipelines, and other disturbed and neglected places on public and private land are corridors for invasion. Budgets seldom allow for effective maintenance, and access can be difficult, denied or dangerous, which is why organizations with resources, volunteer labor and credibility are so important. Justin Bush, with Washington’s King County Noxious Weed Control program, says, “When it comes to invasives, success requires a commitment to maintain and follow up over time – you’re not going to eliminate it all in one pass. There’s likely a seedbank or an opening that allowed for invasion in the first place.” As for those openings – fill them with the thoughtfully chosen regionally native plants that belong there, hold their ground, and invisibly restore the threads and patterns of a precious native tapestry. a Karen Bussolini is an eco-friendly garden coach, garden photographer and widely traveled speaker who can spot an invasive at 65 mph.
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Dry & THIS PAGE The bold leaves of Havard’s agave (Agave havardiana) add welcome evergreen structure to a dry garden. ACROSS Contrasting forms breaks up the masses of fine texture dry gardens are prone to, as in this combo of spineless prickly pear (Opuntia elliisana), zexmenia (Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida) and Texas sacahuista (Nolina texana).
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Mighty Think your dry garden has to look drab? Think again. PHOTOS BY PAM PENICK
WRITTEN BY PAM PENICK
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If gravel accented with a few lonely cacti and a cow skull is all that comes to mind when you think of a dry garden, it’s time to update this dusty Old West vision. Drought across the western U.S. and widespread interest in gardening more sustainably, with less water, are inspiring a renewed appreciation of dry gardens. These are, quite simply, gardens that thrive on rainfall alone or an occasional deep watering but can do without regular irrigation. Dry gardens can be surprisingly lush, layered with plants adapted to sparse rainfall, tolerant of periods of drought, and stoic in harsh conditions that make thirstier plants shrivel their toes and droop in protest.
PHOTO BY STEVE SCHWARTZMAN
“Water is a finite resource. It’s a common sense thing to do,” says Julie Marcus, senior horticulturist at the Wildflower Center. “Also, people’s lives are busy. They don’t want to have to spend a lot of time on their yard, but they want it to look good. Plant selection is important in those cases.” Native plants, uniquely adapted to local climate, are a logical choice for dry gardens, so long as you choose those that naturally grow in dry soil, rather than along moist stream banks. (Save those for rain gardens.) But how do you make a garden with the endurance of a camel look attractive year-round? Many dry gardens are showiest in spring, when abundant rain and pleasantly warm days entice even the most rugged plants into colorful bloom. Come summer, however, when the heat kicks in, rain clouds vanish, and spring-flowering annuals and perennials go dormant, you’ll still want your dry garden to look good. Evergreen plants are key players in a dry garden, providing greenery and structure that comes to the forefront when spring flowers fade. Shrubs like agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata), with its handsome, holly-like leaves, or grassy mounds of red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) enliven the quieter seasons. And layering in lushness from sky to soil conquers the underplanted
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PHOTOS BY STEVE SCHWARTZMAN
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ACROSS: Weave in ribbons of ornamental grasses, like Gulf muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris), to evoke watery movement. LEFT: Like winking eyelashes, the seedheads of hairy grama (Bouteloua hirsuta) add touchable texture and seasonal interest. BELOW: Native shrub agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata) offers four seasons of interest, with evergreen leaves, summer berries, and fragrant spring flowers. The flowers and berries also attract bees and birds, respectively.
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HOW TO CREATE YOUR XERIC GARDEN
Growing Dry
PHOTO BY PAM PENICK
“YOur gArdEN sHOuld NOT dIE when the power or water is shut off,” says Phoenix landscape architect steve Martino. using dry-adapted native plants is key to creating a garden that isn’t tethered to the hose, but you can’t just plant them and walk away. Even tough natives need some TlC when they’re getting established. To ensure their success, follow these guidelines when making your dry garden.
Trees don’t have to be huge to provide waterconserving shade for smaller plants. Although airy, desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) casts a bit of light shade, plus it flowers beautifully all summer.
MATCH PLANTS TO PLACE Being “native” does not necessarily make a plant suitable for a dry garden; seek out natives from your region that require good drainage or grow naturally on dry, rocky slopes and that prefer the same sun or shade conditions as your garden offers. If your yard is consistently moist, forget about making a dry garden except in containers. Plant needs must match the site. Minor soil amendments can be useful, however. If your soil contains a lot of clay, add compost and decomposed granite to loosen soil and give your plants better drainage.
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PLANT ON BERMS OR IN BASINS dry-loving plants can be susceptible to rot during periods of heavy rain if they lack sharp drainage such as they’d enjoy on a slope or in rocky soil. To keep their crowns dry, try planting on berms built up with gravelly soil. shape a berm so that it curves in a gentle arc and merge it with the larger garden in order to avoid the “burial mound” look of a berm plopped in the middle of a lawn. In drier climates, where rot is seldom a concern but thirst is, harness rainwater by planting in broad, shallow basins. such basins collect rainwater, preventing it from simply running off the surface and allowing it to soak deeply into the soil, nourishing plants’ roots.
KNOW WHEN TO PLANT Plant shrubs and trees in autumn rather than in spring. They can grow their roots all fall and winter (in mild climates) without the stress of summer heat and drought. By the time warmer weather does roll around, they’ll be primed to put on new top growth. Most native perennials can be planted in fall too. some, however, like blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum), dislike winter moisture and may rot if they aren’t well-established; plant these in spring. Of course, climate varies considerably across the country, so follow appropriate planting instructions for your region and your particular plants.
WATER REGULARLY TO ESTABLISH A common mistake in dry gardening is thinking you can plant it and forget it. But even the most xeric – i.e., dryloving – plant needs regular water to get established. Horticulturist Julie Marcus agrees. “I’ve heard people say [after losing a plant], ‘I thought that was supposed to be one of those zero plants.’ But it has to be established before it can be xeric.” she advises watering trees and shrubs regularly for the first two years after planting; perennials for one year. Over time, lessen the frequency of irrigation, giving an occasional deep soaking only during unusually hot, dry periods. In dry-summer, wet-winter Mediterranean climates like the West Coast, established natives prefer to receive moisture during winter, not summer. FINISH WITH MULCH Bare soil dries out quickly, stressing plants. give your dry garden a leg up by mulching to preserve soil moisture. An inch of mineral mulch or one to two inches of wood mulch keeps soil cooler and roots moist. Mineral mulches like decomposed granite and pea gravel look best in sunny gardens that don’t get a lot of leaf litter, and they helpfully drain moisture away from the rot-prone crowns of certain plants. However, gravel is a perfect nursery for weed seeds, so regular weeding is essential. For dry shade gardens, pecan shell mulch looks natural and suppresses weeds too.
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dry garden stereotype. Start with the upper layer. The shade of a tree, even an airy ornamental like desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), cools surrounding plants and soil, preserving precious moisture. Trees also make good windbreaks. A staggered row of Arizona cypress (Hesperocyparis arizonica), for example, disrupts desiccating winds and shelters plants on the leeward side. Fill the mid-level with shrubs, perennials and ornamental grasses like pine muhly (Muhlenbergia dubia) for touchable texture and a long season of interest. Below this, diminutive plants like four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa) and Texas sedge (Carex texensis) can be used en masse to carpet the garden floor – or at least make a few nice “throw rugs.” One of the biggest challenges in designing a dry garden is battling the dreaded little-leaf syndrome. Supremely drought-tolerant plants like cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens) tend to have tiny leaves with gray-green or silver-blue coloring, a survival mechanism that reduces water loss and reflects sunlight. An entire garden of such plants blurs into an undifferentiated scrim of fine texture. For the cure, seek out drought-tolerant plants with bold foliage for contrast. The oval, flat pads of spineless prickly pear (Opuntia ellisiana) and sword-shaped leaves of Havard agave (Agave havardiana) stand out amid fine-textured plants, each com-
plementing the other. For an even bigger pop, choose a bold-leaf plant with colorful foliage, like yellow-striped Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’. A dry garden benefits, perhaps more than any other style, from creatively evoking the idea of water with plants and rocks. A silvery pool of wooly stemodia (Stemodia lanata) visually cools the garden, while an undulating river of ornamental grasses – try ‘Blonde Ambition’ blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) – creates a sense of watery movement. On slopes, a cascade of half-buried boulders and flat ledgestones becomes a dry waterfall; on flatter ground, a meandering shallow trench filled with varying sizes of river rock makes a convincing streambed. Evoking water without using any is a drygarden sleight of hand that goes all the way back to the Japanese zen garden tradition, and it’s just as magical in today’s dry gardens. Let your creativity flow instead of the hose. A dry garden filled with carefully chosen, hard-working plants can be as beautiful as a more-pampered garden. And in making one you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’re saving water for a rainy day. a Pam Penick is the author of “Lawn Gone!” and the forthcoming “The Water-Saving Garden” (February 2016).
PHOTOS BY STEVE SCHWARTZMAN
LEFT: The ruffled, exotic-looking flowers of desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) belie the toughness of this dry-garden tree. BELOW: The hairy, furled bracts of four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa) open to reveal sunny disks. Mass low-growing, xeric groundcovers like this to give your dry garden a lush look.
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FEATURED NATIVE PLANTS
Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum) is a tall, coarse sunflower-like perennial. The author has been test-growing the plants – like this one – in small backyard plots.
Flower Power WRITTEN BY SHERYL DEVORE
PHOTO BY SHERYL DEVORE
Silphiums are hardy plants of the prairie and gardens
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EMOANING THE LOSS OF the North American prairie, author Aldo Leopold wrote, “What a thousand acres of silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered…” Silphiums were among the many new plants the European settlers encountered when they came to North America. Among the 8-foot-tall grasses, they discovered equally as tall plants with stems and leaves as rough as sandpaper that yielded copious
yellow blooms – the silphiums. As prairies became degraded, grazed and built upon, the populations of silphiums as well as other grassland plants declined. But silphiums are staging a comeback – not only in restored prairies but also in home gardens. Gardeners favor silphiums because they are native, fairly easy to grow and filled with blooms sometimes for a month or more beginning in late spring through early autumn, depending on location.
BELOW CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: White rosinweed (Silphium albiflorum) is a good choice for gardeners who want to use less water. • The author has grown cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) in her Illinois yard. • Whole-leaf rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium) reaches as much as 6 feet tall and blooms into September.
PHOTO BY R.W. SMITH
PHOTO BY PETER LOOS
PHOTO BYSALLY AND ANDY WASOWSKI
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FEATURED NATIVE PLANT
“Silphiums are good, solid, long-lived perennials,” says Andrea DeLong-Amaya, director of horticulture at the Wildflower Center. “They are a sign of a healthy prairie.” They also benefit wildlife, including native bees, butterflies, other insects and birds. As with sunflowers, the central disk in silphiums surrounded by the many yellow “petals” consists of multiple tiny flowers. Fifteen native species of silphiums grow in North America, from Ontario south to Texas and Florida and from the East Coast west to New Mexico. A few species are rare and confined to small regions, such as white compass plant (Silphium albiflorum), which is native only to Texas and the only member of the genus with white flowers. Silphium’s common names can get confusing. For example, S. terebinthinaceum has been called prairie dock as well as prairie rosinweed. Other silphiums are sometimes simply called rosinweeds because of the
resinous sap on stems when they’re in bloom. Pioneers chewed the resin like gum. Some silphium species including prairie dock and compass plant (S. laciniatum) have deep tap roots, where moisture and nutrients are stored, helping the plant withstand drought, says DeLong-Amaya. Compass plant is one of the most widespread silphiums, and its name refers to the north-south orientation of the leaves, according to Ken Robertson, plant systematist emeritus for the Illinois Natural History Survey. Its deeply incised leaves make the plant look almost fern-like. Compass plants can live to 100 years, he says. Other silphiums also have unique leaves. Prairie dock has large elephant earshaped basal leaves, and cup plant (S. perfoliatum) has leaves that join at the stem, creating a natural cup where water gathers, attracting birds to drink. Local native garden centers or online catalogs often sell seeds and potted plants of silphiums. Gardeners also collect seed
from local prairies or other gardens, if given permission. Most silphium seeds need cold, moist storage for several weeks, or they can be planted in soil where it’s cold in winter, with hopes the birds don’t eat them all. It can take several years for some silphiums, including compass plant and prairie dock, to flower. Cup plant (S. perfoliatum) and others flower sooner and self-seed more readily. “If you collect wild seed and grow silphium in your garden, some of them may get tall and leggy and fall over,” Robertson said. “I have to stake my compass plant up in the fall.” He doesn’t cut back his silphiums after they stop blooming, because the big stems attract native insects to overwinter, he says. “And my wife loves watching the goldfinches eat the seeds.” a Sheryl DeVore writes about birds and plants for the Chicago Tribune and other national publications.
Growing silphiums at home
PHOTO BY SHERYL DEVORE
S. laciniatum
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FOR THE PaST DEcaDE, at our Illinois home my husband and I have been growing four silphium species in two small backyard prairie plots, roughly 10 x 15 feet and 4 x 8 feet. We’ve learned a few lessons along the way. For example, don’t try to dig up a prairie dock (S. terebinthinaceum) for transplanting – its tap roots are so deep, you may never get it out of the soil. We finally did but were exhausted, and then we had to dig a hole deep enough to plant it and cover it with soil and then water it profusely. It did eventually bloom. We later discovered the Grand Prairie Friends, who grow and sell native plants. We purchased and transplanted several prairie dock and compass plants (S. laciniatum), and they bloomed within a year or two. We’ve learned that these species need lots of sun, so we’re considering trimming some trees to reduce the shade. In addition, a native goldenrod is crowding out the compass plant, so we thin out the intruders annually. We also grow cup plant (S. perfoliatum), which likes our yard – perhaps too much; it’s spreading and doesn’t seem to care about partial shade. Its roots, like those of rosinweed (S. integrifolium), which we also grow, are shallower than those of compass plant and prairie dock. Silphiums bring copious blooms beginning in mid-summer and lasting even past the first frost, casting a golden glow in our northern Illinois yard and complementing the purple hues of ironweed and New England aster.
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ROOT OF THE MATTER
What’s For Dinner PUBliC awaReness is CRUCial in the war against invasive species, says invasive species advisory Committee member Damon waitt – and a movement to eat the invaders may be a promising new weapon. Talking about eating invasive species can be a way to educate people about the problem and, perhaps, prevent the next invasion. invasivore.org, a blog established by then-Michigan state doctoral student andy Deines, Texas Tech University assistant professor Matthew Barnes and several other colleagues, does just that, with articles and recipes aimed at encouraging people to eat invasive species and, more importantly, talk about the problem. The institute for applied ecology, a nonprofit organization in Oregon, has a website, sells a cookbook and stages invasive species cook-offs to increase public awareness. executive director Tom Kaye believes invasivory – eating invasive plants – could be a useful tool in reducing the abundance of some species. But he, too, sees the movement as primarily about education and awareness. There are some legitimate concerns about invasivory. One risk is creating enough demand for an invasive plant that its economic value outweighs its environmental harm, according to waitt. That could lead people to grow the plant on purpose. Harvesting plants in the wild can potentially bring people into contact with toxic or poisonous plants or those that have been sprayed with chemicals. Harvest could also actually contribute to the spread of an invasive. But local harvest and consumption not only can boost awareness of the invasive problem, it can contribute to the control of some species. The best candidates are plants that are easily identified, found without significant effort, and present little risk to health or safety. examples include:
• Dandelions. The leaves can be used to make salads, the flowers fried or used to make wine. • Purslane. This succulent is good in stir-fry. • Garlic mustard and bastard cabbage. These have slightly spicy leaves good in salads or pesto sauce. • Himalayan blackberries. Use these as you would any berries: in pies, cobblers and smoothies. • Kudzu. eat leaves raw like spinach, chopped up and baked in
WRITTEN BY MELISSA GASKILL
PHOTO BY elena elisseeva/sHUTTeRsTOCK
Want to control invasive plants? Put them on the menu
{ in bloom
Dandelion greens and flowers ready for serving
quiches, cooked like collards or deep-fried. Blossoms can make jelly, syrup and wine. Dry and grind the large roots and use to coat fried foods or to thicken sauces. • Phragmites. Boil the shoots or sauté with butter and salt.
For maximum effect, pull up the entire plant even if you plan to use only berries or leaves. Consult a local naturalist or a field guide for accurate identification of plants. Don’t take invasive plants outside of the area where they were harvested. and carefully dispose of any unused part of the plant. “introduced species are one of the leading causes of global biodiversity loss,” says Barnes. “People have a long history of eating or hunting things to extinction, so there is the possibility that eating invasive species might achieve some level of control.” a Melissa Gaskill is an Austin-based science and travel writer.
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NATIVE PEOPLE
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Stepping Up to the Plate Wildflower Center volunteer designs license plate WHAT’S THE RESPONSE when you ask an artist and nature lover to illustrate a state license plate? When the artist is Colleene Sweeney and the plate will support a favored conservation organization, it is yes. “I felt extremely honored to be asked to design it,” says the retired Texan about being approached because of her botanical illustration skills to develop a plate for the Wildflower Center in fall 2013. “I said, ‘I just want to do this for fun!’” Sweeney first began to create black-and-white botanical illustrations for the Center in 2011. A master gardener with degrees in fine arts and technical illustration, she met with the Center’s former plant conservation director about drawing atrisk plants and more and signed up to volunteer once a week. “I had lunch with Flo Oxley, who’s a dynamo, and I’ve been here ever since.” That said, a career as an industrial designer at IBM and developing icons and images for computer software wasn’t an exact fit. “I hadn’t done pen-and-ink drawings since I got out of college,” she notes. Sweeney has since provided nearly 200 draw-
WRITTEN BY BARBRA A. RODRIGUEZ
ings to help the Center illustrate natives using minute details that photos can’t always replicate. ON A ROLL For the specialty Texas Wildflowers license plate, she depicted a Texas bluebonnet, pink evening primrose, Indian paintbrush and Indian blanket to be recognizable at high speeds. How long she worked on several variations, she can’t recall. “When I get involved in my art,” she says, “I essentially lose time.” Her favorite time sink? Drawing the texture and other details of seeds from plants such as Carolina snailseed (Cocculus carolinus) and bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum). Some drawings require three visits to the Center to observe the plant, but she doesn’t mind. “I am just absolutely fascinated with the design of some of them – how beautiful and bizarre they are, like from an alien planet.” Another favorite: depicting the sometimes-varying leaves on the same ash tree. Millions of ash trees in Texas are at risk of being killed if emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) continues spreading westward, making it especially important for the Center to correctly identify these trees. That is done before freezing ash seeds (for storage) in case there is a need and a way to resurrect their populations. Sweeney’s drawings that depict those diverse leaf shapes on individual trees have helped with ash species identification.
PHOTO BY JOHN CLARK
HITTING THE ROAD Hearing about threats to native plants has left its own mark on Sweeney. She has made seed collections for the Wildflower Center, whose staff can’t always gain permission to enter privately owned landscapes. The collections have included a copper lily (Habranthus tubispathus) at her family’s ancestral home near Waco and the uncommon Williamson County winecup (Callirhoe involucrata var. lineariloba) at a friend’s place near her home. Sweeney sowed spare seeds of this winecup in her yard to do even more. “I’m really seriously collecting seeds now for my property and focusing in on our natives, especially pollinators. This work has made me intensely conservation-minded – and much more knowledgeable about native plants.” a Barbra A. Rodriguez is the media relations manager for the Wildflower Center.
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FOR EvERY sEasON
{ in bloom
Going Willy Lily IF YOU HAVE A POND or water garden, make the experience even more enjoyable for you and wildlife this summer by growing North American native water lilies (Nymphaea). The eye-catching aquatic plants sporting fragrant white or pink flowers feature round, floating leaves on which beneficial insects rest. “Water lily pads are a great place to watch bees line up for a drink of water on a hot summer day,” says Kathy Jentz, editor of The Water Garden Journal, the official publication of the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society (IWGS.org). “Native water lilies also attract dragonflies and other beneficial insects to your garden that may not otherwise visit.” In addition to providing habitat for wildlife, native water lilies like N. odorata, N. mexicana and N. tetragona are easy to grow, because they’ve evolved to thrive in their respective climates, says Tamara Kilbane, Senior Horticulturist – Aquatics at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Ensure your water lilies thrive by following these recommendations. PROvIdE gROWINg sPacE. “You don’t need a large pond to grow native water lilies,” says Lentz. “Start by adding one water lily to a small container water garden in a waterproof trough or half whiskey barrel.” If you grow native water lilies in a pond, consider that N. odorata has long, quickly spreading rhizomes that require frequent dividing to avoid dense growth, notes Kilbane. PLaNT IN FuLL suN. To flower, native water lilies generally require six to
WRITTEN BY JuLIE BaWdEN-davIs
eight hours of sun a day. add NuTRIENTs. If you have fish in the pond, their waste provides water lilies with sufficient nutrients. Otherwise, add aquatic fertilizer tabs to the water in spring. OvERWINTERINg BasIcs. Most native water lilies go dormant and survive in the deepest waters of your pond over winter. If you live in a northern climate, bring N. mexicana inside. a
Fragrant Water Lily Flower (Nymphaea odorata)
Julie Bawden-Davis is the author of seven books, including “Fairy Gardening.”
PHOTO BY BRIAN LASENBY/SHUTTERSTOCK
Enhance your aquatic garden with lilies
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{ wild life
Natural Beauty Endures How beautification matters today •
PHOTO COURTESY LBJ LIBRARY/FRANK WOLFE
LADY BIRD JOHNSON WAS AN UNLIKELY HEROINE for a small-town girl of the 1970s, but she was mine. It began when my parents took me to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. I don’t remember anything about the exhibits except what I learned about Mrs. Johnson’s environmental work and the beautification movement it inspired. My family often drove past a fertilizer plant near the Trinity River in East Texas where I grew up. Over the course of a few years, a halfmile radius around the plant was completely transformed. What once had been a green oasis of thick trees in the bottomland near the river was covered with a white dust. Bare skeletons of massive oaks were visible above a field of dead, dust-covered grass. Like Lady Bird Johnson did as a child, I spent time exploring the exceptionally pretty woods near my home. I knew what I saw was not good for the earth, and I wanted to do something about it. The information in the library about Lady Bird’s endeavors demonstrated to me how a girl from East Texas could make a positive environmental difference. I’m back on the university campus now pursuing a graduate degree in sustainable design and researching Mrs. Johnson’s work. May 2015 is the 50th anniversary of a seminal event related to her achievements. The White House Conference on Natural Beauty launched Mrs. Johnson and her actions into the national spotlight. The principles of sustainable design would not have reached their current level of awareness without her vision. Programs like mine at universities and colleges would not exist without the understanding and passion she brought to conservation. In 1965,
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SUMMER 2015 • WILDFLOWER
WRITTEN BY SHANNON C. HARRIS
her ideas, though not entirely new, were not publicly well-known. Through her platform, Mrs. Johnson championed natural beauty as an inducement to social stability and healing in cities, a timely notion in the turbulent mid-1960s. She reached audiences from small-town garden clubs to environmental pioneers such as Ian McHarg, designer for the ecologically innovative Lady Bird Johnson in 1981 at a Woodlands development meeting held at her husband’s presidential library. near Houston. Mrs. Johnson possessed an innate ability to relate to people across the social spectrum, and through this strength, her ideas spread. Her vision was simple though profound: Natural beauty satisfies something deep within the soul, and it is an indispensable component of our collective health – economic, social and ecological. As a movement, beautification was more than planting flowers. It was important enough to devote an entire White House Conference to in 1965. The program expanded the rhetoric about the benefits of beauty. Its ideas are echoed in today’s principles of sustainability. The land around the abandoned fertilizer plant has recovered. Ironically, only the man-made relics from long ago stand deteriorating in the elements. It is a privilege and an honor to research the accomplishments of a woman who inspired me years ago and whose vision I admire. Lady Bird Johnson knew about the healing power of the earth, and her program established a guiding ecological ethic for the nation. a Shannon C. Harris is a native Texan researching how planning groups will meet the 20 percent conservation and reuse set aside in the SWIFT legislation. She also compares beautification policies begun by Lady Bird Johnson with dynamic green city planning initiatives.
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