Earliest Blooms for Bees
Despite the still chill temperatures, there are actually several plants/trees that grace us with blooms by around March first (some even coming into bloom late Feburary), making them the earliest bloomers for the season. In addition to being beautiful and jump-starting the emerging color in nature, they are vital to the bees emerging from hibernation in search of food. Don’t sleep on these plants!
Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
The extract of the wood and bark can be used as an astringent. It is also known to be deer resistant.
2. Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas)
It produces an edible fruit that turns red as it ripens. This tree is not a cherry, but rather a dogwood.
3. Okame Cherry (Prunus x incam)
The Okame Cherry was developed by crossing Prunus campanulata and Prunus incisa to achieve a tree that had both the bright pink flower and was more cold resistant.
4. Crocus
Saffron is a product of a particular species of crocus, C. sativus specifically. Crocuses in general have a waxy cuticle covering their leaves and petals helping insulate them.
5. Hellebore or Lenten Rose (Helleborus)
They got their common name because they bloom during Lent and are not actually in the rose family. The “petals” are actually sepals, or protective coverings for the flower inside.
6. Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera)
An excellent choice for hillsides as they can help prevent erosion. It is also effective for smothering weeds.
7. Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
Despite their name, not all bluebells are blue, sometimes they can be white or pink. Their emerging foliage is usually a deep purple quickly turning a bright green.
8. Mahonia japonica
It sports pinate, holly-like leaves, and a nice blue fruit that is considered a bonus in addition to its blooms. Highly fragrant.
9. Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles)
Hard to see at first glance, flowering quince actually has thorns interspersed along their branches. Their blooms come in several colors, and they are members of the rose family.
10. Bonus flowers! Leave the dandelions and ground violets so that the bees can enjoy the flowers.
Even though this is not an exhaustive list, this is a good start on things we can put, or temporarily keep, in our garden beds for our little pollinator friends, and make a spot that is all the buzz!
- Naomi Phillips
Invasive vs. Aggressive
Invasive, aggressive, non-native – the general gardening public (and even many horticulture professionals!) love to throw these terms around when talking about plants. Over the years, I’ve noticed that many tend to use these accusatory words willy-nilly with little consideration given to the true implication. Too many times I’ve listened with horror as folks have confidently and incorrectly labelled their plants as “invasive”, giving certain, undeserving plants a bad reputation! I want to set the record straight. What are you really saying when you classify a plant as “invasive” or “aggressive”?
An invasive species is, according to the US Forest Service, “a species that is 1. Non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration; and, 2. Whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.” So, there you have it. Invasive means non-native AND causing harm to the local environment. The obvious examples of this in our region are English Ivy and Kudzu. Not only are they non-native, but they quickly choke out native species and dominate tree canopies. Other identified invasive species on the East Coast include Ailanthus (Tree-of-Heaven), Japanese stilt grass, Chinese wisteria, etc., etc... Even if you yourself cannot see the effects of an invasive species, it is always there. One time, I spoke with a lady who insisted her Chinese wisteria wasn’t invasive in her yard – and I hated to break it to her that just because it’s vining gently on her trellis and not getting tangled up in other plants didn’t mean that the seeds weren’t travelling into the nearby woods to run rampant. She couldn’t seem to grasp the idea that invasive really does means harmful even though she couldn’t see how her plant was contributing to ecological disaster.
Chinese wisteria taking over a forest. Our native, American wisteria doesn’t act this way in its natural setting.
There are plenty of non-native species that do not wreak ecological havoc, such as peony, boxwood, roses, iris, azaleas, etc. You can plant these in your yard, and the plants will, for the most part, stay put. They will not smother surrounding plants, they will not send out crazy runners to overtake the entire yard, and birds and animals will not spread the seed all over the woods. These plants may not necessarily provide any ecological benefit, but they won’t cause any real problems either. You can think of this group as true neutrals. And for the record, I love and cherish lots of non-native, non-invasive plants! Tulips are one of my must-grow plants, and while they mostly just provide value to us humans as cut flowers, that’s still worth something.
Tulips. Not native, not invasive, just pretty :)
And then there are native plants that are often referred to as “invasive.” Physostegia or “Obedient Plant” commonly comes under fire for being invasive when that could not be further from the truth. Physotegia is a North American perennial, its native distribution ranging from Quebec to Northern Mexico. Because the plant spreads vigorously via stolon (and guess what, it’s in the mint family), many gardeners don’t like it because it takes over their bed. It’s an aggressive native, and it’s a great choice of plant for a large, moist area, where it can freely cover lots of ground. But don’t plant this in your garden expecting it to play nicely and stay put, and then wrongly accuse it of being invasive. It’s an important source of nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds. And it can easily be pulled out and maintained if you’ve already planted it somewhere you don’t want it.
Physostegia or Obedient Plant spreads aggressively, is highly beneficial, and beautiful!
Another native plant that gets a bad rap is Chasmanthium latifolium, or Northern Sea Oats. This grass spreads aggressively by both rhizome and seed, so even many native gardeners avoid it at all costs. But for the right location, it’s highly worth considering – it’s a larval host for skippers, has great winter interest, and makes a great alternative to Pampas grass, bamboo, miscanthus, and lawn. It’s tempting to call it invasive when it’s popping up everywhere you don’t want it in your quarter acre yard, but it’s truly an ecological gem.
Chasmanthium has attractive seed heads that are great in dried arrangements.
The next time you’re mad about pulling some terrible plant out of your yard, don’t jump to calling it invasive, unless it truly is. And make sure you refer to our spreading East Coast natives as aggressive, because you don’t want to give a good plant a bad press!