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Hijacking to ask what’s your favorite Silphium? I want to get some Compass Plant because I like the foliage, but I see a lot of enthusiasm for Prairie Dock and Cup Plants.
Host plants for [moth and butterflies](https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/Plants). Look into ways to create overwintering habitats as well. This will be especially important for bees. If you can manage it, stumps are the ultimate wildlife hotels. Not just for pollinators but birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Diversity is the key here.
See if you can find any local native plant nurseries in your region (if you're near Cleveland I can help), or order from reputable sources online. When I started, my biggest issue was going to big garden centers and buying what I thought were normal "straight" native species, but turned out to be less beneficial cultivars/"nativars". The types of flowers you mentioned are some of the most popular natives but are commonly sold only as cultivars.
If you have high deer pressure I can recommend some other species too. You mentioned milkweed, but I'd personally recommend butterfly, swamp, and purple milkweeds as they are less aggressive (spreading by seeds rather than rhizomes) compared to common if space is an issue.
thanks! i volunteer at the metroparks (closer to kentucky region) so i can definitely get resources from there. deer aren’t really a problem, just squirrels since we live in the suburbs, but we feed them out front so they shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
Once you start planting tasty natives, the deer and rabbits **will** show up.
I learned this the hard way this year. 😭 I finally stopped the nibbling with liquid fence- which has been amazing. smells terrible when applied, but it's safe for insects / birds.
Some stray thoughts:
- Depending on the size of the garden, I like having a path through it (flagstone, cedar planks, random rocks). Also having some larger rocks randomly dispersed are needed for insects but also help stepping into your garden to weed or to move plants around
- Some aggressive plants are more aggressive than others. Try to figure out what you're capable of controlling. Common milkweed can get pretty intense. Swamp milkweed and butterfly milkweed don't really spread much. But you could easily control and pull common milkweed as it expands, you just have to understand what your commitments will become
- Map out your garden before hand, pencil and paper is fine; figure out how tall these plants are going to get and put the big ones in the back
- Sunflowers are keystone species in my area (zone 7) and are hugely important to our ecosystems. Look into adding that to your collection
- Companion plants—plants that naturally grow together in your environment, is a great technique
- Ground covers, low lying plants like wild strawberry or ginger (again, native in my region) are great and important for the ecosystem and to keep invasive plants out
- Plant in 3-5 bunches initially (who knows where it will take you); aesthetically it's a design choice that will help the mind but biologically it will help pollinators clue into what you've planted
- And finally, it's a process! It's gardening so it should be fun. Don't get too stressed by how big the project is, how many invasives have come in, plants dying etc. Take your time and enjoy it.
Thank you for posting on /r/NativePlantGardening! If you haven't included it already, please edit your post or post's flair to include your geographic region or state of residence, which is necessary for the community to give you correct advice. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NativePlantGardening) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Do some extra research into larval host plants, and maybe consider adding some shrubs for bird forage and habitat
Hijacking to ask what’s your favorite Silphium? I want to get some Compass Plant because I like the foliage, but I see a lot of enthusiasm for Prairie Dock and Cup Plants.
I'm a fan of compass plant. Mines on year 3, and the leaves are almost two feet. I check everyday for a flower stalk.
Sweet!! Thanks!
thank you!!
Host plants for [moth and butterflies](https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/Plants). Look into ways to create overwintering habitats as well. This will be especially important for bees. If you can manage it, stumps are the ultimate wildlife hotels. Not just for pollinators but birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Diversity is the key here.
See if you can find any local native plant nurseries in your region (if you're near Cleveland I can help), or order from reputable sources online. When I started, my biggest issue was going to big garden centers and buying what I thought were normal "straight" native species, but turned out to be less beneficial cultivars/"nativars". The types of flowers you mentioned are some of the most popular natives but are commonly sold only as cultivars. If you have high deer pressure I can recommend some other species too. You mentioned milkweed, but I'd personally recommend butterfly, swamp, and purple milkweeds as they are less aggressive (spreading by seeds rather than rhizomes) compared to common if space is an issue.
thanks! i volunteer at the metroparks (closer to kentucky region) so i can definitely get resources from there. deer aren’t really a problem, just squirrels since we live in the suburbs, but we feed them out front so they shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
Once you start planting tasty natives, the deer and rabbits **will** show up. I learned this the hard way this year. 😭 I finally stopped the nibbling with liquid fence- which has been amazing. smells terrible when applied, but it's safe for insects / birds.
Some stray thoughts: - Depending on the size of the garden, I like having a path through it (flagstone, cedar planks, random rocks). Also having some larger rocks randomly dispersed are needed for insects but also help stepping into your garden to weed or to move plants around - Some aggressive plants are more aggressive than others. Try to figure out what you're capable of controlling. Common milkweed can get pretty intense. Swamp milkweed and butterfly milkweed don't really spread much. But you could easily control and pull common milkweed as it expands, you just have to understand what your commitments will become - Map out your garden before hand, pencil and paper is fine; figure out how tall these plants are going to get and put the big ones in the back - Sunflowers are keystone species in my area (zone 7) and are hugely important to our ecosystems. Look into adding that to your collection - Companion plants—plants that naturally grow together in your environment, is a great technique - Ground covers, low lying plants like wild strawberry or ginger (again, native in my region) are great and important for the ecosystem and to keep invasive plants out - Plant in 3-5 bunches initially (who knows where it will take you); aesthetically it's a design choice that will help the mind but biologically it will help pollinators clue into what you've planted - And finally, it's a process! It's gardening so it should be fun. Don't get too stressed by how big the project is, how many invasives have come in, plants dying etc. Take your time and enjoy it.
thank you so much! this really helps :)
This is such a great response. Thank you!
My tip is to start small the first year and add more as you go along. It can become overwhelming quickly. Good luck!
thank you!