Rock Gardening With Native Plants - Page 4 - Wildlife Gardeners

06-09-2009, 04:16 PM
Porterbrook Salamander Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Racine, Ohio along the Ohio River	Rock Gardening With Native Plants ROCK GARDENING WITH NATIVE PLANTS By Frank W. Porter ... Click here to read the entire garden article

#30

By dapjwy on 11-09-2011, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarliM

I swear I didn't know what to do with the names. I'm rescued.

Thank you much Libby and dapjwy.

No problem. Hopefully I'll post some more links before too long. Glad they helped. I *LOVE* your smiley icon--so cool (and I'm really not too "into" all of those smileys!).

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarliM

My driveway is sunny. I have grass in the middle of the gravel for the tires and grass on the sides. Can i plant pussytoes, phlox, moss pinks, petunias, and iris together with that stonecrop in the middle so is I can dress it up? What can I plant by tomatoes so is to dress those up?

So cool to see your listing the common names (I'm assuming you know what these names refer to--or if you didn't before, you've put a "name to a face" with the pictures from the links). Some day, you might even be using a scientific name or two--if not, don't worry about it.

I would think you could get those all to grow together...I'm gonna let someone else answer that for sure...you may need to amend the soil to help some of them do well there. I'm also thinking some (like stonecrop) may need a bit more shade. Wait for someone else to give you a more detailed reply than mine.

I'm sure someone will.

#31

By will-o-wisp on 11-10-2011, 04:04 AM

Pussytoes,( I have Antennaria plantaginifolia), will love the sunny gravel area but I find they don't like too much competition from other plants. I had to keep the area they were growing in weeded. Thyme infiltrated the area from the remnants of the nearby herb garden and caused a little die out of a nice large patch I had growing. BTW the pussytoes had lots of rolled leaves and eggs from the American Lady butterfly they are the host plant for.

Moss phlox, Phlox subulata, is easy to grow in sunny gravely spots, and spreads well.
The sedum I have is S. ternata and it seems to like a little more shade.
I'm not sure about iris cristata, I also have it only in partial sun.
Salvia lyrata spreads well and has basal clumps and it is a rather aggressive seeder but I am using it in my gravel driveway area with wood sorrel.
Experiment with some of the plants Porterbrook suggested, I tried many of the plants he so kindly suggested, and see what works together.
I like a tapestry of groundcovers look but it is tricky to find out what plants play well together. I'm still working on it.

#32

By dapjwy on 11-10-2011, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by will-o-wisp

BTW the pussytoes had lots of rolled leaves and eggs from the American Lady butterfly they are the host plant for.

Great point, will-o!

That is one of the greatest thing about gardening with natives...it takes it to another dimension; instead of just enjoying the plants, we get to enjoy what they attract. Watching the lifecycle of butterflies (and other critters) more than doubles the (substantial) enjoyment we get from the plant-life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by will-o-wisp

I like a tapestry of groundcovers look but it is tricky to find out what plants play well together. I'm still working on it.

I like how you think. I've often called it a mosaic of ground covers.

I remember stopping on Skyline Drive YEARS ago and spotting three native wildflowers that seemed to grow well in one rugged area: pussytoes, bird's foot violet, and Potentilla simplex. Along with these were some lichens and
haircap moss (Polytrichum)...and probably that short curly grass whose name escapes me.

I'm sure there are a lot more natural combinations/companion plants. To me, seeing a community of plants has a synergistic effect, creating more beauty than the individuals...then add the faunal associations. What more can one ask for--I'm really starting to see my being drawn so strongly to gardening with natives.

--I've said it before and I'll say it again: I *love* this site!

#33

By dapjwy on 11-11-2011, 05:19 PM

KarliM (and anyone else interested),

I got around to collecting some more threads. I love Hepatica (and its common name is the same as its scientific name). They do grow in rocky outcroppings...but they are a woodland wildflower, so the would not do well in your gravelly, full-sun site. They'd be wonderful to add to another location if you have the right situation for them--or if you can create it.

Same with the violet wood sorrel--it would need more shade and woodsy soil. ...there is, however another sorrel (Oxalis) that should work in your site. (I just thought of it so I just looked it up for you too: Yellow Wood Sorrel (Oxalis stricta)

And here is another suggestion I made:
Potentilla simplex Common Cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex)

Here are the other links:

-Oxalis violacea
Violet Woodsorrel
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=OXVI
http://www.missouriplants.com/Blueal...acea_page.html
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/...lt_sorrelx.htm
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.o...-violacea.aspx
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/...xalisviol.html

-Hepatica americana (Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa)
Roundlobe Hepatica
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HENOO
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pla..._nobilis.shtml
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/res...id_plant=HENOO
http://www.paghat.com/hepatica2.html

-Hepatica acuminata (Hepatica nobilis var. acuta)
Sharplobe Herpatica
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HENOA
http://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake/plant/289.htm
http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?s...patica+nobilis
http://easywildflowers.com/quality/hepatica.htm
http://www.paghat.com/hepatica.html

Last edited by TheLorax; 12-15-2011 at 10:17 AM.. Reason: spacing between entries

#34

By Equilibrium on 11-11-2011, 11:19 PM

"My driveway is sunny. I have grass in the middle of the gravel for the tires and grass on the sides." You've got an environmentally friendly driveway!!! It's all gravel!!! No concrete and no asphalt! You're really lucky. I'm thinking willo's on the right track coming out the gate recommending, "Pussytoes,( I have Antennaria plantaginifolia), will love the sunny gravel area" then recommending "Moss phlox, Phlox subulata, is easy to grow in sunny gravely spots, and spreads well." Here's some more ideas to toss around for alongside your sunny gravelly driveway,
Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa)
Black eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium)
Butterfly Weed (Asclepia tuberosa)
Flowering spurge (Euphorbia corolatta)
Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Rose verbena (Verbena canadensis)
Tall Blazing Star (Liatris aspera)
White prairie clover (Dalea candida)
Wild Basil (Pycnanthemum incanum)
The milkweed above is DIFFERENT than the milkweed you were sent. The Asclepias variegata plants are for the EAST side of your house where they'll have protection from afternoon sun and your idea of spreading out and building up that area by adding some compost and top soil before planting anything is perfect!!! You go girl!!! Just remember to spread out cardboard before mounding up... those plants won't like the gravel on that side of the house and they'll do better if they don't have to compete with the weeds you've been "growing" over there.

The cardboard will smother the weeds so don't worry about them sucking up resources your new plants will need. A. variegata is more of a woodland plant like Hepatica and the iris and the hairy petunias you were interested in from his list and none of them will do well planted anywhere near your driveway in full sun.

#35

By will-o-wisp on 11-12-2011, 06:30 AM

The birds foot violet, Viola pedata, dapjwy recommended is a lovely special violet with very different looking leaves. I would like to try growing this from seeds.
The 1 plant I have rebloomed for me last week! I would have whole areas of this plant and recommend it highly karli.
I will try it next year with the pussytoes. Thanks for the reminder dapjwy.
It's the yellow wood sorrel I have growing in the gravel. It kindly appeared on it's own this year.

If you are willing to go with a slightly taller plant the butterfly weed recommended by Equil is an excellent choice and the blue eyed grass is pretty also planted with it. I have this grouping with the pusssytoes growing
in the front streetside garden which is dry and hot.
I also have Penstemon that forms basal clumps seeding itself in the gravel
as does anise hyssop, but both of those are taller plants when in bloom.

#36

By dapjwy on 11-12-2011, 09:52 AM

Great comments and suggestions, will-o!

You make me want to have huge patches of birdsfoot violet, too. I had one plant that I'd kept alive for years while we rented (I had container gradens then), but when we moved here, I finally put it in the ground...it was at the base of a quaking aspen underplanted with lowbush blueberry and a Penstemon canescens among other things. They did fine growing together in the pot, but I foolishly planted them in a field with too much competition. I lost the birdsfoot violet. I should've known better.

When I get it again, I'll make sure I plant it in a location that much more closely matches where it is found in nature. It can grow well with appropriate companion plants and probably even thin grasses (sparsely growing native grasses, not the thick rhizome grasses used in lawns).

I had thought about blue-eyed grass too. (Karli, this is not a true grass, but a plant that is related to irises.) I wasn't sure how much moisture it needs, but I guess I do have it growing in full sun areas in well drained soil...it has yet to form a colony in these situations, but it has come up year after year.

I think this penestemon would look great in a rock garden like situation:
Penstemon canescens

...but the Penestemon digitalis Penstemon digitalis page would look good too--providing a bit of height compared to the shorter plants we've been suggesting. If things have to be kept low in some areas, they can blend into taller plants on the edges...like the P. digitalis and buttefly weed would look great with little bluestem grass (Stout Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium))
I think all of these plants could create quite a natural community. The Potentilla simplex I suggested in an earlier post can grow in the bare spots between the grass...as can the pussytoes and birdsfoot violet. [One warning: don't fertilize, these plants do well in the natural --and perhaps impoverished-- soil. I've planted Potentilla simplex in rich soil and it grows much more thickly than it does in poorer soils...in rich soil (or with added fertilizer) it might out compete some of the other plants and would grow a good bit taller than desired in a rockgarden like setting.]

Great to hear that you are enjoying the yellow wood sorrel that volunteered for you, will-o.

Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling. So I'll stop for now.

Great thread BTW, thanks for all of the additional input. I hope more members will share there personal experiences and observations of nature.

Quote:

Originally Posted by will-o-wisp

Last edited by dapjwy; 11-12-2011 at 09:57 AM.. Reason: improved readability

#37

By KarliM on 11-28-2011, 09:26 PM

How do I highlight?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dapjwy

KarliM,

I'm not sure what browser you use or your computer capabilities, but if you can highlight the botanical name, and right click, you can click "search Google" or some other browser. That is the quickest way that I've found.

If that doesn't work, then again, highlight the name, right click, copy, then paste in Google or your favorite browser. The search results will show information about the plant (and if you click on Images, you can quickly see what the plant looks like).

#38

By KarliM on 11-28-2011, 09:48 PM

I'm picking pussytoes, phlox, birds violet, bee balms, black eyed susans, blue eyes grass, the other milkweed, penestemon so far. what does that blazing star look like?

#39

By dapjwy on 11-28-2011, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarliM

How do I highlight?

This might be hard to explain, but I'll try...and I even have a visual aid.

Here goes: Use your mouse to hover over the words you want to highlight. Use your index finger to left click (press the left button on your mouse--sorry, but I don't know home much you know

)...hold the button down while you move the mouse to the left this will highlight the text. Let go of the left mouse button, and click the right mouse button (should be under your middle finger). You should see options such as "copy", "select all", "print preview" and others...Hopefully you have something like "search with Google" (mine shows "search with Bing"). Scroll down (move mouse toward you/toward edge of desk), when "search with Google" is highlighted, click the left mouse button. This should open a new webpage with information about the words you highlighted (in this case the botanical names of the plants you want to know more about).

I hope this helps. Look at the picture below for a visual aid. (Uh oh, I see that originally I told you to "right click", it should be LEFT CLICK. The directions above are right, but not the ones in the picture.)

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