By Sandra Pella
For landscapers, choosing the right plants for a garden has never been more important. Aside from the right-plant-right-place criteria, they need to be able to adapt to withstand unpredictable weather patterns. Whether that means extended periods of drought or rain, cold or heat, today’s climate has a serious impact on the success of a client’s garden. Consider this: the same way one is affected by the elements, so too are plants.
Wherever the homeowner lives (this author resides in Toronto), habitat loss can be added to the mix, which in turn comes a reduced number of pollinators. The surrounding natural landscape has surely been affected; therefore, it is more important than ever to plant something somewhere—in the ground or in a container—to create, add to, or facilitate habitat corridors for pollinators. Native bees, butterflies, moths, bats, birds, toads, and other mammals and insects, now often rely on the connecting highway of plants in the urban landscape for food and shelter. Therefore, a homeowner’s garden instantly qualifies.
Getting past the plant selection dilemma
Before making any final plant choices, a landscaper/gardener should consider the following criteria: type of soil, sun or shade, watering needs, and which direction the garden faces (i.e. north, south, east, or west). There does have to be some balance, as every homeowner wants flowers in their garden. The longer they last the better, and a succession of flowers is important. Flowers are not only attractive in terms of colour, shape, and length of blooming time, but they must provide food, nectar, pollen, and everything else mentioned previously. The foliage must be long lasting, stand up well to the elements, change colour with the seasons, and provide habitat and shelter for critters, insects, and pollinators.
One should also consider what follows flowering (e.g. seedpods, seed heads, and seed). For instance, what are their advantages and to who are the benefactors? Not only are they good for bugs, but they are attractive to look at and provide further interest in the changing garden. The right plants will also attract beneficial insects; therefore, it is a good idea to extend the garden’s interest across all seasons, as it has, or will, likely become a habit. That said, it should be left up, and resist deadheading (i.e. pruning dead flowerheads for esthetics, to promote blooming, and to prevent seeding), at least select plants, and removing all the brown, so-called spent stems and foliage from the garden—especially come fall.
Soil can support a lot of plant life
By planting in layers with bulbs, it is possible to add another dimension to a client’s garden, not only extending the season of interest, but also providing an early season meal for pollinators. There are bulbs for all seasons and for every space.
Spring is the most popular for Narcissus (daffodils) and tulips. Along with these, a few others can be used to extend the flowering season in the garden and to provide nectar to pollinators. For example, Iris reticulata ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ (reticulate iris) is a very early flowering bulbous iris, planted no more than 51 mm (2 in.) below soil level in the fall, and flowering in March often through snow. These plants are a welcome addition to the late-winter landscape border, as the cooler the weather is, the longer they will last.
While flowering tulips are popular in spring, it is important for landscapers to rethink which variety they are planting. Smaller botanical and species tulips will naturalize over time, as they are true perennials, returning and multiplying year after year. This is not to say one should not plant species such as Darwin and Triumphs, the Single and Double Early, or the Parrot and Double Late. However, it is important to add plants to the garden palate that are not only attractive to the human eye, but also to insects.
More often than not, pollinators cannot get into the hybridized tulips with the big bold flowers of endless colours. However, they can get into the smaller, single-flowered tulips that bloom early, well before the bolder display begins. Tulipa sylvestris (the woodland tulip), T. clusiana var. chrysantha ‘Tubergen’s Gem’ (Botanical tulip), and T. clusiana ‘Lady Jane’ (Botanical tulip) are all gorgeous plants and can add a touch of class to a garden.
Galanthus nivalis or G. elwesii (snowdrops) can be difficult to grow and establish. Instead, the Leucojum aestivum ‘Gravetye Giant’ (summer snowflake), while much taller and flowering later, and much longer, is a suitable replacement—especially amongst perennials in the landscape border or as a clump on its own. Bees also admire this plant.
