SPRING 2003, VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2

NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY

Native Plant to Know

Bottlebrush Buckeye Aesculus parviflora

by Catherine Siddall

Michael Dirr’s tome on woody plants is unlikely bedside reading because of its unwieldy size and dry, point-form style. It is a manual, after all. But by skipping to the Landscape Value listing I am often rewarded with an entertaining insight based on Dirr’s experience with these plants over a considerable period of time. (It can take years, even decades, to learn about how woody plants adapt and grow.) I pay particular attention to his evaluation of North American woody natives because I am convinced of their great untapped potential for use in the built landscape. Aesculus parviflora, bottlebrush buckeye, is featured in glorious golden fall colour on the cover of my paperback copy of Dirr’s Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. The author’s enthusiasm for this plant is evident:“Excellent plant for massing, clumping or placing in shrub borders...even if it didn’t flower it would be a superb shrub for foliage RANTON effect”.Under the Flowers heading he continues, G “In my mind, it is one of the handsomest of all RIGITTE native southeastern flowering shrubs.”After B reading this, I was hooked. I was excited to discover two mature

Continued on page 12 ILLUSTRATION BY Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)

SPRING 2003 1 The Blazing Star is... From the Editor…

The Blazing Star is published quarterly This winter NANPS welcomed four new from others’ experience. Besides, we have fun! (April, August, November, February) by board members. Even the humdrum activities (like stuffing the North American Native Plant Society Eva D’Amico is a preschool teacher who envelopes – always need people for that) (NANPS). Contact [email protected] for tends her native plant garden and watches birds become interesting when you get to chat with editorial deadlines and for advertising in her leisure time. A nature photographer as like-minded people with great gardening rates. The views expressed herein are those well, she searches for giant puffballs with her stories to tell. As for the Plant Sale or the of the authors and not necessarily those of husband. Tom Du brings 10 years of Chinese booths, you may not be able to answer every NANPS. forestry research experience to the question that a passerby throws at you, but The North American Native Plant Society organization. Since coming to North America there will probably be someone around who is dedicated to the study, conservation, he completed a Masters of Forestry program at can – and you will learn from them. cultivation and restoration of North Madison, Wisconsin. His thesis was drought Members living outside the Greater Toronto America’s native flora. resistance in American elms. Emily Zhang is a Area have fewer opportunities to volunteer but web designer who wants to grow beautiful can still make a valuable contribution. For the Spring 2003 native plants in her new backyard. Garden newsletter to be a vibrant mouthpiece for Volume 4, Issue 2 designer Gillian Leitch enjoyed her experience native plant gardeners across the continent we hosting our Canada Blooms booth so much need input from you. Never written an article? Editor: Irene Fedun that she joined the board! Thank you to all. No problem; we’ll coax you through it. Have Production: Bea Paterson It’s encouraging to see more members great photos or illustrations to exhibit? We’d joining the NANPS board of directors. Of love to see them. Have a comment about the © North American Native Plant Society course directorship is not for everybody. But Blazing Star or other aspects of NANPS work? Images © the photographers and don’t let that stop you from becoming Please tell us ([email protected] or (416) 631- illustrators, text © the authors. All rights involved. As a volunteer organization we rely 4438) – we want to know. reserved. on members to get the jobs done. Without a For those who love to communicate dedicated volunteer base NANPS’ Seed electronically, our website Message Board North American Native Plant Society, Exchange, Plant Sale, booths at Canada (www.nanps.org) is a great place to ask and formerly Canadian Wildflower Society, Blooms and other events, newsletter, info answer questions, get a dialogue going, find is a registered charitable society, no. sheets, plant rescues….would never happen. native plant organizations or just learn more 130720824. Donations to the society are Members new to the organization, about plants. tax-deductible in Canada. especially those with limited native plant We’re determined to become a more gardening experience, may be intimidated by member-friendly organization. But we need NANPS Membership: CAN$10/year within the wealth of knowledge exhibited by long- your involvement to do that. Come join us. Canada, US$10 year outside Canada time gardeners. Don’t be. Everyone started Irene Fedun out somewhere, and everyone can benefit Please make cheques and money orders payable to North American Native Plant Volunteers Needed Society and mail to P.O. Box 84, Station D, NANPS biggest fundraising event – our use why not donate them to the Members Etobicoke, Ontario M9A 4X1. annual Plant Sale – is taking place on May 10 Table at the sale? Or dig up some of those Telephone: (416) 631-4438. E-mail: from 10 – 4. We need help setting up the rapacious spreaders such as wild ginger [email protected]. Web: www.nanps.org. plants when they arrive on Friday evening, (Asarum canadense) or mayapple selling the plants on Saturday and helping (Podophyllum peltatum) and bring them Board of Directors: Honorary President: James A. French with the take-down in the afternoon. along. (NANPS searched high and low but we President: Deborah Dale Of course you will want to take time out for simply could not find any ethically grown Vice President: Darcie McKelvey your own purchases. Be prepared; check out Podophyllum to offer for sale this year.) Treasurer: Kathy Edgar some of the plants that will be available for Please join us for this busy and fun sale. Secretary: Bill Kilburn sale by visiting www.nanps.org. As a member Volunteers will be invited to a social event Catherine Crockett you can even order your plants ahead of time. afterwards. Details to be announced. Grif Cunningham If you’re growing native plants from seed Help us make the 2003 NANPS Plant Sale Eva D’Amico and have way more seedlings than you can the best ever. Tom Du Irene Fedun Martin Field A SPECIAL THANKS TO JOE REA FOR JOINING NANPS AS A SUSTAINING MEMBER! Feng Gao Scott Guthrie Know Your NANPS WEBSITE! Gillian Leitch Howard Meadd Website feature this issue: Remember that you can post questions, Erika Thimm http://nanps.org/feature/frame.shtml. offer ideas, find that elusive plant or put Richard Woolger Learn more about outstanding natives up notices on our message board: Emily Zhang from sassafras to sedges. http://nanps.org/board/frame.shtml

2NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY Sowing the Seed by Paul Jenkins

If you stroll through a residential neighborhood these days you are likely to observe a change. Alongside expanses of manicured lawns and formal plantings, you’ll find increasing numbers of gardens filled with native wildflowers and grasses. In rural areas homeowners are installing acres of prairies and meadows. Large corporations are also embracing the concept of environmentally sustainable, low- maintenance landscaping with native plantings at their factories and office buildings. Yet, it was not so long ago that many people considered most native species to be mere weeds. Through our retail store, Wildflower Farm, and our landscaping contracts, my wife and I talk to many gardeners who exhibit a strong desire to learn more about native plants and how to incorporate them into their landscapes. So the question arises: how, when and why did our society come to accept the concept of landscaping with native plants? The movement originated with a few people concerned about the fate of ENKINS endangered native plant communities. J AUL Inspired by their desire to preserve the P genetic diversity found in local plant species, they created "restorations" which became outdoor ecological teaching facilities.

Volunteer groups across North America HOTOGRAPH COURTESY P (the Canadian Wildflower Society which later Echinacea pallida, Asclepias tuberosa, Coreopsis lanceolata, Tradescantia ohiensis are planted with grasses became NANPS, the Society for Ecological Schizachyrium scoparium, Elymus canadensis and Sporobulus heterolepsis in this meadow in Midland, Ontario. Restoration and Wild Ones to name a few) began restoring native plant communities, Hudson’s example as did Cobalt, Ontario. us to make that connection. embarking on endangered plant rescues and Now major centres such as Toronto and Finally, while it is true that people often educating the public. As more people became Ottawa are giving it serious consideration. plant wildflowers (or trees or shrubs) for exposed to native plants the concept of using The advantage of native plants suited to a their own enjoyment or because they want a them as a viable landscaping alternative for given environment is that toxic chemicals flower garden without all the work, many homeowners and businesses alike emerged. become unnecessary. Soil amendments are gardeners are working with native plants as a With the rise in environmental not required either, if plants are correctly way of returning something back to the consciousness in the 1980s gardeners began matched to the existing soil, light and Earth. The process of establishing and to re-examine their use of toxic chemicals in moisture conditions. Native plants offer restoring indigenous plant communities is a the form of herbicides, insecticides and viable solutions for the desperate gardener significant personal act, helping to heal our fungicides. Concerns over the health and working with concrete clay or bone-dry sand increasingly scarred planet. environmental implications of these since many perennials thrive in these difficult By restoring the landscape to what it once preparations finally prompted governments situations in the wild and, once established in might have been we are offering an unselfish act to consider bans on the cosmetic use of our gardens, require little maintenance. of love for the Earth and for all life. This is a quiet pesticides. A notable case was that of Hudson, Another impetus behind native plant revolution that is happening in North America Quebec where chemical companies took the gardening is the innate human need for today, plant by plant, one person at a time. municipality all the way to the Supreme natural spaces in our increasingly hectic lives. Court of Canada to challenge a bylaw Paul Jenkins is co-owner of Wildflower Farm Inc., The desire to connect with plants and animals prohibiting non-essential use of pesticides; a native plant nursery and natural landscaping in a natural setting is deeply rooted in our the municipality won. Over a dozen other company located in Schomberg, Ontario. For genetic code; naturalistic landscaping allows communities in Quebec have since followed more information visit www.wildflowerfarm.com.

SPRING 2003 3 Pits and Mounds

by Mathis Natvik

Have you ever walked into a forest and noticed the forest floor covered in small craters and hills? A wooded area that has never been cleared or ploughed will be blanketed with what forest ecologists call pits and mounds. Clear Creek Forest in the city of Chatham-Kent in Ontario, an old-growth

forest recently acquired by the Nature ATVIK N Conservancy of Canada for protection as a ATHIS

nature reserve, is a fine example of such M topographical features. Pits and mounds are created when large trees are torn from the ground during violent

storms. A fallen tree leaves a large crater HOTOGRAPH COURTESY P where the roots once stood. The root mass of An aerial photo of the Clear Creek Forest bordered by former soybean fields that were recently the doomed tree drags with it a hill of topsoil transformed into a landscape of craters and hills. mixed with subsoil. As the roots rot down over a couple of decades a mound is left Sadly, in most southwestern Ontario Kent. Visit any of these places to discover the beside a pit where the tree once stood. The forests there are few, if any, pits and mounds. fascinating ecology of ancient forests. resulting topography is critical to Most of the original forests were chopped Not all of Clear Creek remains as original maintaining the biodiversity of a forest, down for lumber or cleared for agriculture forest, however. The 333-hectare (800-acre) providing ecological niches for a wide variety during the 19th century. After the stumps property also includes 77 hectares (185 acres) of plants and wildlife. were removed the ground was ploughed of old agricultural fields. This area is flat with Mounds left from fallen trees provide an again and again leaving the land flat with no poor drainage and supports only a limited elevated area above the water table, where micro-topography. Many of the remaining number of species. trees and wildflowers that prefer well-drained forested sites were heavily grazed by cattle In March 2001, as I walked through the soils thrive. Tulip trees (Liriodendron and the mounds all but eroded away filling in forest, I was amazed at the diversity of life in tulipifera), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), the pits. and around the pits and mounds. I thought: many oak and ash species, dozens of shrubs Most of the forests or woodlots we see in why not mimic Nature’s technique in forest and hundreds of herbaceous plants grow in southern Ontario today are secondary growth restoration projects? Clear Creek’s undulating understorey. and, therefore, much smaller than their A literature review revealed that pits and Without the mounds the only trees that could predecessors. Many forests are being mounds had never been used in Canada for survive would be silver maple (Acer selectively logged for their large trees – this purpose. The only reference to this saccharinum), red maple (Acer rubrum), precisely the ones needed to create pits and technique that I found was the work of Bill cottonwood (Populus deltoides), red ash mounds. Mollison of Australia who has used pits and (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) and a few others When a powerful wind hits a small tree the mounds (which he calls swaling) in restoring that can handle wet feet. tree usually snaps, leaving the ground intact. the dryland forests of Australia and the The pits are also biodiversity hotspots. In However, when that same wind hits a giant Sahara in Africa. In his projects the pits would spring they fill with water providing habitat American beech (Fagus grandifolia)it literally trap water in regions where only six inches of for yellow water buttercup (Ranunculus pulls it up by the roots. Southern Ontario's rain fell over two or three days in a year. flabellaris) whose small bright blooms appear forests do not have the tree structure needed Organic material would build up over time. in May and June. Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) to continue producing pits and mounds Enough water accumulated to allow thrives at the water's edge along with cardinal which were created over centuries, even pomegranates and other trees to fruit in four flower (Lobelia cardinalis), marsh marigold millennia, as thousands of storms churned to five years, helping to feed people in dryland (Caltha palustris), various ferns, and skunk up the forest floor. areas of Africa. Mollison has had excellent cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). The pools Such old-growth forests now cover only a success even in extreme desert conditions. I become major breeding locations for spring tiny percentage of Ontario’s landscape. In decided that if it works there, it should peepers, western chorus frogs, wood frogs, addition to Clear Creek, some of the best I’ve certainly work in southern Ontario. I spotted, blue-spotted and Jefferson’s seen are Skunk's Misery in Middlesex County consulted with staff at the Nature salamanders. and Rondeau Provincial Park in Chatham- Conservancy and they were quick to agree to

4NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY a large-scale reforestation effort on the old fields at Clear Creek by creating human-built pits and mounds. In a typical reforestation project in our area, green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. subintegerrima) and silver maple are planted because they are nearly the only deciduous species that perform well in post-agricultural fields. The land is generally so flat that surface water cannot drain away leaving very wet ATVIK spring conditions. By summer the shallow N pool of water has evaporated leaving ATHIS M hardpan, dry, cracked soils. Even though the site may have historically supported a lush and diverse hardwood forest, it is currently incapable of that. I wanted to change that HOTOGRAPH COURTESY situation at Clear Creek. The artificially created pits and mounds at Clear Creek. P I hired a bulldozer operator and took him into the forest to teach him all about pits and mounds. After being enlightened about the we had a downpour. I watched in amazement (where you would think it was tough and benefits, he completed the most artistic job he as stormwater flowed across the ground and dry), while trees on the control plots mostly had ever done, transforming a former soybean pooled in the newly dug pits. By nightfall an died off. The mounds remained moist during field into a landscape of craters and hills (after army of spring peepers, American toads and the entire drought because they drew removing the underlying drainage tiles at the leopard frogs had moved in from the moisture from the adjacent pit that had field outlets). This was just the effect that surrounding forest and filled the night air collected and stored water from spring rains. centuries of storms would have had on an old with a deafening chorus. By morning the In the flat areas, which were devoid of places forest (minus the trees). The project was water-filled pits were teeming with the egg to store water, the ground had dried up and inexpensive at $112 per acre, much cheaper masses of amphibians. cracked. The thin membrane of moisture left than an ash/maple plantation which costs Meanwhile, a 15-year-old green ash from spring rains had been lost to about $1,500 per acre to establish. plantation 500 metres (about 555 yards) away evaporation. Some changes occurred immediately. At on an adjacent property was silent, without a Some pits actually had standing water all the end of that construction day in April 2001 frog's song to be heard. How long will it be summer. They were fascinating to watch before that plantation can support wildlife? during a parched early-August sunset as On Mother's Day, many volunteers joined animals came to get a drink. One by one they Clear Creek Forest us to plant the mounds with tulip trees, came: white-tailed deer, eastern cottontails, And Orford Ridges several oaks (Quercus sp.), black cherries raccoons, opossums and coyotes. Clearly the Native Plants Nursery (Prunus serotina), flowering dogwoods constructed pits and mounds were benefiting Tour (Cornus florida) and many other species. both plant and animal life in the area. Willows (Salix sp.), spicebushes and silky That fall I continued to make observations Join fellow NANPS members on a field dogwoods (Cornus obliqua) were planted on pit and mound ecology. As the oaks, trip to this beautiful old-growth forest along the edge of the pits. Some trees were hickories (Carya sp.)and walnuts (Juglans sp.) and walk among majestic 350-year-old planted in a half-hectare (one-acre) control dropped their nuts, squirrels carried them oaks, beeches and maples that stretch 30 plot that had no pits and mounds. from the forest and buried them in the soft metres (100 feet) into the sky. Touch the By June red maple, black willow (Salix mounds in the field. Have you ever left a pile soil, breathe the air, see the place these nigra), American elm (Ulmus americana) and of compost or cultivated soil exposed and trees have called home for centuries. eastern cottonwood seeds had blown in from noticed how squirrels just love to dig their Experience a thriving forest ecosystem. the neighbouring forest. This natural treasures into the loose ground? Half the nuts This trip is for NANPS members only. regeneration turned out to be more vigorous will be forgotten and many squirrels will lose Find out more on-line at than anything we had planted. their lives to predators over the winter. At http://www.nanps.org/clear/frame.shtml I made many interesting observations Clear Creek this means that hundreds of nuts or to reserve your spot e-mail during the summer drought of 2001. The [email protected] or call 416-631-4438. trees on the constructed mounds thrived Continued on page 6

SPRING 2003 5 In Defence of Native Continued from page 5 Plant Gardens

will grow into trees. The fall winds also blew in the seeds of white ash (Fraxinus americana), black maple (Acer nigrum) and tulip tree. It’s likely that the field was also littered with sassafras seeds as well as various dogwood, cherry and viburnum seeds that have passed through a bird's gut. By spring 2002 many species that had not been planted by human hands were sprouting in the field. We had laid a foundation conducive to regeneration. It became clear to me that natural forces have taken over and will decide the PANGLER

composition of the young forest. The most S ISA

important thing we did was to restore the L hydrology of the site, how water behaves on those former soybean fields. By making pits and mounds we created an ecological niche for all the seeds raining onto the site from HOTOGRAPH COURTESY natural sources. If we wish to restore P southern Ontario’s ancient forests, I feel that Although little is blooming beyond the tall Hesperaloe parviflora (red yucca) and Liatris mucronata (blazing star) in the Spanglers' front yard in mid-summer, their Texas garden still presents a charming picture. restoring the physical pre-European settlement conditions of a site is more "Maintenance – Mowing Needed". The CULTIVATED: "We planted the plants. We important than what we plant. Nature will dreaded notice familiar to native plant care for the plants." follow and put the right species in the right gardeners across the continent arrives in your PRUNED: "We prune the plants regularly. spot. Over the years I will watch these fields mailbox. Your vibrant, low-maintenance, We can supply a list of plants pruned last with fascination, as new species of plants locally adapted garden has failed to meet the month to prove it." colonize them one after another aided by the "neat and tidy" prejudices of municipal FREE OF TRASH: "We pick up our forces of wind, water and wildlife. officials and turf addicts. Now you must fight neighbour’s trash that blows into the garden to protect your beloved landscape. every week." Mathis Natvik is an ecological consultant and Last summer Jason and Lisa Spangler of OTHER UNSIGHTLY MATERIAL: "This owner of Orford Ridges Native Plants Nursery in Austin, Texas received just such a notice from is completely subjective. The front ‘yard’ is all Muirkirk, Ontario. the Springwoods Municipal Utility District garden with no trash heaps or anything like (MUD). The Spanglers had apparently that." EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to an editorial error violated the maintenance clause of the local it was reported in the Winter 2003 issue of bylaw which reads: "Each Owner shall keep Jason went on to say that they were adding the Blazing Star that Clear Creek Forest all shrubs, trees, grass, and plantings of every more rocks to the landscape as well as signs boasts cucumber magnolia trees. In fact kind on such Owner’s Lot cultivated, pruned, for the sidewalk plants. They were also they are not native to that forest and were free of trash, and other unsightly material." moving their Texas Parks and Wildlife and never planted there. The letter threatened legal action if the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) couple failed to "correct" the situation within backyard habitat signs to the front of the 30 days. garden and preparing an information The Spanglers package outlining the environmental decided to marshal advantages of native plants and stating legal their forces. They precedents to support their cause. This done, broadcast an e- they would invite the MUD inspector for a mailed plea for tour and a chat. If this approach failed, they advice to Native would have to fight. Plant Society of Botanist/horticulturalist Monique Reed Texas (NPSOT) responded to their letter praising the members. As Jason Spanglers for the steps taken to demonstrate noted in the that they had created a habitat. Her additional message, their suggestions (edited for space) follow: garden met all the • Be able to prove that you are scrupulously stated requirements: diligent in eradicating "noxious weeds".

6NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY In Texas this means giant ragweed • Put in a bench, arbour, (Ambrosia trifida) or poison ivy (Rhus birdbath or other feature that radicans) or just about anything with says "garden". stinging hairs, burrs or highly allergenic • Solicit letters of support from pollen. neighbours, native plant • Keep a gardening journal to demonstrate societies, schools, that you are actively maintaining your museums… garden. • Screen some of the wilder • Mow any areas that could be seen as lawn places from street view with a or make them look like intentional lattice or fence. plantings. • Tidy away finished annuals • Find a competent botanist to make a and cut down spent good list of what you have and write a perennials that you are not PANGLER "To Whom it May Concern" letter stating allowing to set seed. Tie the S ISA that your plants are valuable natives, not seed-setting perennials into L unkempt weeds. neat bundles – this says: "A • Respect any city right-of-way by-laws or gardener has been here." ordinances regulating height of • At inspection time bite the HOTOGRAPH COURTESY

vegetation at driveway/street junctions. bullet and water your natives P

• Try not to put the city in the position of so that they look their best. The trellised gate leading into the Spanglers' backyard is steadily having to make an all-or-nothing being overtaken by Lonicera sempervirens (coral honeysuckle). The decision. They may get all and you may Felder Rushing of the colourfully named bird pepper or Chile pequin (Capsicum annuum get nothing. Mississippi Native Plant Society var. glabriusculum) lines the path in front of the gate. • Show that most of your plants are suggested that getting published asked to explain face-to-face and in writing perennials just like the traditional garden in a gardening magazine, newspaper or what their expectations were in issuing the plants. Offer photographic evidence of technical journal is a distinct plus. He also notice. Having a knowledgeable how the "green stuff" looks in flower. stressed the value of hard features such as botanist/wildscaper present is a good idea, not • Clump non-lawn grasses instead of benches and signs or "badges" (like the NWF to challenge the official but to act as a witness scattering them among showy flowers. It sign). and to ask pertinent questions. Every exchange looks less "weedy". Bill Seaman, a local horticulturalist, with the municipal authorities should be • Keep a few well-maintained, edged paths recommended an on-site meeting with the recorded. Seaman insisted that, above all, that lay out the garden in beds. person who issued the notice. He/she should be anyone dealing with such a maddening situation should remain cool and be nice. For those forced to present their case before a municipal board, the Spanglers had a few more suggestions (also edited for space):

• Present the officials with a bouquet of flowers and grasses from your garden. • Briefly state your case – orally and in writing. Stress that your garden does not violate the rules (always come back to this point, especially when the discussion veers towards aesthetics or conformity). • Bring copies of the professionally prepared plant list. Emphasize that no noxious weeds PANGLER

S were found in the plant list. ISA

L • State your goal: that your landscape be found to be in accordance with municipal bylaws. • Argue your case reasonably and calmly, even in the face of overwhelming HOTOGRAPH COURTESY P Under the shade of several Quercus virginiana (live oaks), a row of Yucca rupicola (twist-leaf yucca) lines the right side of the Spanglers' limestone and granite path. Continued on page 8

SPRING 2003 7 Pasque Flowers of all Denominations

Continued from page 7 by David Zahrt apologized for it, telling him that pasque flowers were only supposed to come out at criticism. A year ago Glenn Pollock reported seeing pasque Easter. He responded that the weekend we • Obtain official minutes of the meeting flowers (Anemone patens) at Preparation Park were hiking was the Eastern Orthodox Easter. when they become available. (12 miles or 19 kilometres south of my So now we have identified three home in Turin, Iowa) in the middle different varieties of pasque flower. After two months of phone calls, letters, of March. The alarming thing is that when inspections and a MUD board meeting the I immediately emailed I went out over the hill Spanglers won their case. In the end a him back and told him yesterday I discovered that landscape consultant hired by the board that they must be the Unitarian pasque visited their property, complimented them on theologically illiterate flowers had started to their garden and, at a subsequent MUD pasque flowers since the invade our hills. meeting, informed the directors that the word 'pasque' is Obviously they don’t landscape was a valid xeriscape and native associated with Easter know that we subscribe to plant garden. The directors grumbled a bit but and they are supposed to a different religion! eventually ruled that the Spanglers’ garden come out at Easter. Glenn was not in violation of the restrictive wrote back to say that he had David Zahrt and his wife Lin operate covenants. positively identified these as a bed and breakfast in Turin, Iowa where they maintain stewardship over a loess prairie. This article was adapted from an account of their Unitarian pasque flowers. David believes "The pasque flower is a experience posted by the Spanglers at At Easter that same year I went out into my representative of God no matter which religious http://jasons.wumple.com/Interests/Nature/Weed native prairie and, lo and behold!, all my faith one claims. The pasque flower is a prairie Laws/Welcome.html. Visit this site for further pasque flowers were out. pioneer at its best in an interdependent details. A few weeks later (end of April) I entertained Bill Witt as a visitor and on our community of plants that all support each other hike we discovered a pasque flower. I and take care of Mother Earth."

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8NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY New & Noted

Rare Vascular Plants of Alberta continental prairie tour we’ve always dreamed While habitat loss has been long recognized Edited by the Alberta Native Plant Council of doing. Our shelves and filing cabinets sag as the major threat to biodiversity, it is only (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, under the weight of prairie books and recently that attention has been focused on a 2001. 484 pages, p.b., $29.95 CDN, ISBN 0- clippings and little slips of paper with notes to second threat: invasive species. Ecologist 88864-319-5) ourselves like "go see prairie smoke in bloom David Pimentel estimates that in the United on Manitoulin Island next spring." Well, we States alone invasive species cause $137 This book manages to include an astonishing can now retire the filing system and just buy a billion per year in losses, damage and control amount of information in a user-friendly, copy of Charlotte Adelman and Bernard expenses. relatively compact and thoroughly enjoyable Schwartz’s indispensable book, Prairie A Plague of Rats and Rubber Vines is a recent package. The editors (who were assisted by Directory of North America. entry into the growing literature on the more than 100 individuals and groups in The authors have done what every prairie fan subject and it is a worthy addition. Taking a information collection) and the Alberta Native secretly wants to do: compile a list of almost all global approach, Montana-based science Plant Council should be commended for public prairie and savanna sites (remnants, writer Yvonne Baskin looks at the causes and putting together this informative guide to the restorations and public gardens) in North the ecological and economic consequences of rare vascular plants of Alberta. The America into one handy reference guide. "high-input newcomers," taking readers on a introductory material outlines the six natural Divided alphabetically into 32 states and four tour of grasslands, gardens, waterways and regions (boreal forest, Rocky Mountain, provinces, then further sectioned into forests. She profiles individuals and foothills, Canadian Shield, parkland, counties, this guide will be of interest even if organizations working to protect biodiversity grassland) and 20 subregions of Alberta, you’re not planning that prairie tour any time and she provides useful suggestions of what providing a useful thumbnail sketch of the vast soon. I learned, for example, that there are individuals can do to help. Readers will no patchwork of habitats that makes up this large isolated prairies in Florida (not known as a doubt be chilled to learn that few places on diverse province. Of the 1,800 species of prairie state) that evolved during the earth have been untouched by invasives: vascular plants in Alberta, the 485 species Pleistocene Ice Age. And the introductory "Even in the Antarctic, seals have been classified as rare are covered in the book. section of the book, which provides a short exposed to cattle diseases and penguins to Divided into four sections (woody, herbs, history of the prairie, is one of the best short poultry virus." grass-like and ferns and fern allies) and then sketches of this landscape type I’ve read. The into families, this guide has an entry for each listings give enough detail about each site to plant that includes all the relevant whet the appetite, but not so much that the identification information along with guide becomes unwieldy. descriptive text, a colour photo and a line Reviewed by Lorraine Johnson drawing. Each entry also includes two Sticklers for detail will cringe at some of the distribution maps, one showing Alberta and typographic and fact-checking errors (Lauren the other showing North America. A Brown is the author of Grasslands, not Loren particularly appealing feature of the book: Brown), but such mistakes are almost Celebrating Wildflowers although the reader knows that top-notch impossible to avoid when compiling this kind scientific information (and what the editors of directory and they certainly don’t diminish call "intensive hands-and-knees ground its usefulness. Contact information for the Plant Conservation Alliance’s Celebrating surveys") informs the text, technical terms are listed sites is provided, so you can check Wildflowers 2003 calendar of events is now kept to a minimum. For example, the editors opening times and directions. online. The year-long program promotes the say "tufted" instead of "caespitose," making importance of conservation and This book is clearly a labour of love for the this book not the least bit intimidating for the management of native plants and habitats. authors (retired lawyers who have transformed novice. Celebrating Wildflowers emphasizes the their backyard into an urban prairie) and aesthetic, recreational, biological, medicinal they’ve done a great service for prairie fans and economic values of our native flora, with everywhere. Order a copy (Lawndale over 15,000 species recognized from the Enterprises, P.O. Box 561, Wilmette IL 60091- Prairie Directory of North America United States and Canada. Guided walks, 0561; www.lawndaleenterprises.com) and By Charlotte Adelman and Bernard L. displays, presentations and a host of other start planning that trip! Schwartz (Wilmette, Illinois: Lawndale events are featured. To list your own event e- Enterprises, 2002. 354 pages, p.b., $19.95 US, mail [email protected]. To open children’s eyes to the wonders of $31.90 CDN, ISBN 0-9715096-0-3) wildflowers help them explore the In my experience people who are ardent fans Celebrating Wildflowers On-Line Coloring A Plague of Rats and Rubber Vines: The of prairies—backyard and wild—tend to be Books which illustrate over 500 native plants Growing Threat of Species Invasions fanatics. (And I mean this in a good way!) We from the Northwest and Texas Hill Country. By Yvonne Baskin (Washington, D.C.: horde every available reference to far-flung Visit http://www.nps.gov/plants/ to Island Press, 2002. 372 pages, h.c., ISBN natural prairie areas in the hopes that, one day, discover everything PCA has to offer. 1-55963-876-1) we’ll load up the trailer and go on that

SPRING 2003 9 Members’ Questions

"I am concerned that when my fellow Gardening author and Globe and deep green leaves hang on for most of the naturalists and I visit a pristine site we Mail columnist Marjorie Harris winter. Shepherdia (buffaloberry) is a shrub I introduce alien species, innocently and responds: admire greatly. It has gorgeous silver leaves quite by accident. What measures can we Silver maples are both gorgeous trees and all that stay gorgeous in just about any take to ensure this does not happen?" wrong for the city (of Toronto, Ontario) but temperature. Gillenia trifoliata (also known - a question that many NANPS members many of us are stuck with them. They were by the botanical names Porteranthus ask hauled out of the forests where they belong trifoliatus and Spiraea trifoliata, and the and stuck as close to our sewer systems as common name mountain Indian-physic) is a NANPS resident tree authority possible. Not good for plant or house. They favourite perennial that does very well in Tom Atkinson responds: have shallow feeder roots so keep this in mind these circumstances producing lovely starry The first rule is to avoid such places or when you choose what to plant near them. flowers which go on for weeks. minimize visits. If you do go, have a second My solution: create 12-inch raised beds There are dozens of other plants that pair of shoes or boots along that you can put and feed both tree and plants with lots and would work but in my experience these are on when entering the area. Before leaving lots of compost several times a year. [Editor’s among the best natives to cope with a silver your house, make sure that the soles have note: be careful not to build the soil up too maple. been scrubbed clean with water and the high around a tree base as this is not healthy upper surfaces have been brushed off. Check for the tree.] Make sure not to add plants too Tom Atkinson adds: your clothing for seed "passengers" too. These close to the flare of the trunk. Use plants that I suggest naturalizing around the tree by steps are easy to remember and carry out. The have shallow roots themselves and respond allowing goldenrod, asters and other native pristine areas will thank you. well to high light shade. seeds to take hold. We have leatherwood I have had success with most of these (Dirca palustris), bottlebrush buckeye plants (in zone 6A). Chasmanthium latifolium (Aesculus parviflora) and black cherry (Prunus serotina) growing happily within the "What native plants can I grow under my or northern sea oats is a glorious native grass drip line of silver maples. big silver maple? The soil is very poor and but it’s also a cheerful spreader. Myrica dry at that corner (northeast) of my house." pensylvanica (bayberry) is a wonderful shrub - Gao Luyun, Mississauga, Ontario that comes out very late in spring but the

10 NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY Calendar of Events

The NANPS on-line Message Board (www.nanps.org) now lists events. Please e-mail information about your native plant events to [email protected]. For events occuring within two months post them directly on the Message Board.

May 1-4, 2003 May 10, 2003 July 15-18 and July 21-25, 2003 WILDFLOWER WEEKEND BITTERSWEET VINES: INVASIVE WILLOW AND LICHEN WORKSHOPS Natural Bridge State Resort Park SPECIES OF TURKEY POINT IN JASPER NATIONAL PARK Slade, Kentucky A Volunteer for Nature event where participants Jasper, Alberta Visit http://www.naturalbridgepark.com. tackle invasives such as Oriental bittersweet, Contact the Prairie and Northern Plant garlic mustard and Scots pine to protect a rare Diversity Centre at [email protected]. May 4-10, 2003 oak savannah. For more information about this 15TH ANNUAL NATIONAL WILDFLOWER WEEK event or other volunteer opportunities contact September 13-14, 2003 Visit www.nationalwildflowerweek.com the Federation of Ontario Naturalists at WILD ONES 2003 NATIONAL CONFERENCE for details. [email protected] or 416-444-8419. Shaw Nature Reserve St. Louis, Missouri May 5, 2003 May 10, June 14 and June 21, 2003 Further info: www.for-wild.org or ONTARIO URBAN FOREST COUNCIL BOTANIZING THE SAN JUAN [email protected] or 614-939-9273. WORKSHOP ISLANDS – A SERIES Focuses on incorporating native trees into San Juan Nature Institute September 14-18, 2003 our gardens and keeping them healthy. Friday Harbor, Washington 17TH BIENNIAL CONFERENCE OF THE Civic Garden Centre, 7-9:30pm. Visit www.sjnature.org for details. ESTUARINE RESEARCH FEDERATION Toronto, Ontario Seattle, Washington Contact [email protected] May 16-18, 2003 Visit their website at http://www.erf.org. or 416-397-1340 for details. RARE PLANTS OF THE CAROLINAS South Carolina Native Plant Society Sixth September 17-20, 2003 May 8-10, 2003 Annual Symposium, Winthrop College 2003 NATIONAL URBAN PROTECTED AREAS AND WATERSHED Rock Hill, South Carolina FOREST CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT San Antonio, Texas University of Western Ontario May 18, 2003 Visit http://www.americanforests.org/ London, Ontario TORONTO WILDFLOWER SOCIETY graytogreen/conference. E-mail [email protected] WILDFLOWER GARDEN TOUR for more information. Visits to nine native plant September 24-27, 2003 gardens around the city. NATURAL AREAS CONFERENCE May 9-10, 2003 Toronto, Ontario Defining a Natural Areas Land Ethic CALIFORNIA NATIVE GRASS To obtain a ticket (a booklet describing Madison, Wisconsin ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING the gardens and offering detailed maps of Contact information: (608) 266-0394 or Seaside, California how to find them) phone Carolyn King at [email protected]. Contact [email protected]. 416-222-5736 or e-mail [email protected]. October 4, 2003 May 10, 2003 July 3-6, 2003 NANPS AGM NANPS PLANT SALE STEWARDSHIP AND CONSERVATION Civic Garden Centre Civic Garden Centre IN CANADA CONFERENCE Toronto, Ontario Toronto, Ontario Victoria, British Columbia Details to be announced in next See www.stewardship2003.ca issue of the Blazing Star. for conference details.

By appointment

SPRING 2003 11 Continued from page 1 about two metres or seven feet high situations. (bottlebrush buckeyes can get much taller in Some experts suggest that bottlebrush bottlebrush buckeyes on the way home from warmer climates) excluding the foot-long buckeye grows too large for a small garden; my daughter’s school near Ossington and flowering panicles resembling the they even recommend cutting it to the ground Davenport in Toronto, Ontario. These shrubs bottlebrushes that give this shrub its common if this becomes a problem. I think that with were massed with overgrown yews tight against name. The showy upright spikes are bedecked some allowances for its eventual wide girth the shady west side of a yellow brick house. Not with small white-petalled flowers whose (perhaps as much as twice its height), it can the most inspiring specimens, but a clear curving stamens are tipped with dark red happily be sited in many cultivated and indication that this native of South Carolina anthers. This particular specimen, planted in a naturalized settings. and Alabama is hardy and living in difficult shrub border under a canopy of mature The only problem I have had with this plant conditions up here. (Various sources report hemlocks (Tsuga sp.) and white pines (Pinus is acquiring decent-sized specimens. My Aesculus parviflora as hardy to USDA zone 4.) strobus), flowers gloriously at the same time as limited experience would indicate the When I asked Wendy Woodworth, trumpet lilies when no other woody plants are bottlebrush buckeye is difficult and slow- Horticulturalist for the Toronto Museums, blooming. Since I am often too busy working growing when starting it from seed. Even when about this plant she directed me to observe the flowers for long, I have not seen the suckering growth is used to produce new to one she had planted the many species of butterflies and insects that plants - a much faster method - I have found several years ago in reportedly visit them frequently. The that the resulting plants are often a bit pricey at a shady back flowers must be successful in attracting nurseries. This confirms the investment in

RANTON border at pollinators since this plant has little time made by growers. G Spadina difficulty producing seeds. When purchasing Aesculus parviflora check RIGITTE

B Historic Bottlebrush buckeye has that it was grown in your area to ensure House. lustrous, large, dark green, hardiness there. Many marginally hardy and Although I had palmately compound leaves hard-to-source plants are imported from missed its blooms, I typical of the chestnut distant nurseries (bottlebrush buckeyes among ILLUSTRATION BY could see that seeds were family. Unlike the exotic them). Plants from Carolina may not be hardy beginning to form on this buckeye. Consulting horsechestnut, Aesculus in the Toronto region but local stock would. Dirr again I read that he had “not noticed hippocastanum, it appears immune to the The addition of a bottlebrush buckeye to abundant fruit set in northern states possibly many pests and diseases that discolour and your garden or woodland will repay you with because of shortness of growing season”.He ruin the leaves of other plants of this genus. In many seasons of pleasure. cautioned that seeds not be allowed to dry out fall the leaves turn a clear yellow before but be planted as soon as they were collected. dropping to reveal the elegant curving branch Catherine Siddall designs, builds and maintains There was a good supply of light brown structure that will grace the winter garden. gardens. She is a long-time member of the Toronto smooth seeds produced by the Spadina plant This shrub is suitable for even the most and Parkdale Horticultural Societies and NANPS. and I carefully collected a few when they had difficult growing situation - under the dreaded Catherine is also a partner in Siddall and Cope attained a size between one and two inches. I Norway maple (Acer platanoides). With a little which offers services to groups wanting to establish planted them in containers filled with rich soil irrigation and occasional top dressings of community gardens or naturalization projects. She and sank the containers into the ground in my compost several bottlebrush buckeyes I know can be reached at (416) 531-2253 or rows of perennial divisions next to my are doing well under these common Toronto [email protected]. compost bins. It was close to the Spadina residential trees. In deep shade they do not Gardens Plant Sale in May when I thought of produce as many flowers as they would in sun, EDITOR’S NOTE: It is not NANPS’ policy them again, as I helped to haul the perennials but the shape, leaves and carefree nature of this to advocate the planting of native species out of their holding beds in preparation for the plant more than recommend it for difficult outside their natural range. sale. I was excited to see that most of the bottlebrush buckeye seeds had germinated and JOIN NANPS were sending up new growth. I carefully potted all but one of the seedlings and found new ___ $10 / 1 calendar year (Jan.–Dec.) homes for them through the plant sale. The ___ $20 / 2 years last one has been struggling along under my ___ $30 / 3 years ( ___ send me a free copy of Growing Canada’s Floral Emblems mature apple tree ever since; it’s now up to 16”. as a bonus for my 3-year membership) A few years later, having planted some ___ $250 Sustaining Membership (includes a Canadian tax credit for $150 bottlebrush buckeyes on clients’ properties, I and a 10-year membership) harvested seeds once more and planted them in small pots, sinking them in the ground. This NAME: ______time none germinated. Even though I put ADDRESS: ______netting around the pots to protect them from ______marauding squirrels, my early success PHONE: ______germinating these seeds was not repeated. FAX: ______The most magnificent bottlebrush buckeye EMAIL: ______

I know is on a well-treed property north of Please make cheque payable to the NANPS and mail to Box 84, Station D, Toronto in gardens that I maintain. It stands Etobicoke, Ontario M9A 4X1. For info, call (416) 631-4438; e-mail [email protected].

12 NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY