A Woodland Wildflower Garden (Part One)

In the butterfly garden, we have a small patch of garden for which we have been struggling to find a theme. We finally decided to turn this little corner into a bed for wildflowers gathered from MOSI’s grounds and backwoods. Often overlooked and sometimes considered weeds even when they’re native, these tiny flowers are easy to miss. Up close, they each have their own special charms, and butterflies often agree. This three-part series looks at the wildflowers we’ve added to this woodland bed; for more details on individual wildflowers, click the links. 

A border of Narrowleaf Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) and Annual Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium rosulatum) is serving as the front edge for this bed. This tiny member of the lily family produces beautiful if diminutive flowers. If you check in your own lawn in the spring, you may be able to find some of these tiny wildflowers. Native plant nurseries also have these plants for sale in the spring, as they make attractive additions to a springtime garden.

 

 

Lyre-Leaved Sage (Salvia lyrata) is a native Florida wildflower that can often be found on the edges of woods and wetlands. Forming a low carpet of purple and green foliage, Lyre-Leaved Sage produces lovely pale purple flowers each spring. This is another plant you’ll readily find for sale at native plant nurseries in the spring. Like most salvias, this one is a draw for butterflies.

 

 

Blue Toadflax (Nuttallanthus canadensis) is named for Thomas Nuttall who lived and explored in the North American midwest 1808-1841. The tiny purplish-blue flowers are delicately lovely up close, plus the foliage of natve wildflower is also a host for the Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) butterfly. About this time of year you can see front yards and road edges explode into delicate purple blossoms of toadflax. You may find it for sale at native plant nurseries, but it’s not as common as blue-eyed grass and lyre-leaved sage.

Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) is known as a spring-blooming native wildflower, though here at BioWorks we’ve noticed this plant really tends to blooms year-round, except in the very hottest days of summer. Generally found in the dappled shade of the woodlands, this plant tends to “melt” a little under the hot summer sun. This wildflower is part of a genus of more than 70 plants found in the New World and named for the botanist explorer Tradescant family. Spiderwort is often available for sale at native nurseries and is very easy to grow.

Carolina Wild Petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis) is another native host plant for the Common Buckeye. Once it begins flowering in spring, it continues until a frost kills it back to the ground, though not quite as vigorously in the heat of summer. Wild petunia is readily available at native plant nurseries, though rarely found for sale elsewhere. Do NOT confuse this native Ruellia with the non-native and extremely invasive Ruellia brittonia, generally sold as Mexican Petunia.

Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) is a native wildflower with a fairly aggressive growth habit, leading some to consider it invasive. It spreads underground and can quickly fill an area, even choking out other plants. If you have the room for it, though, it’s a nice way to bring pollinators like bees and small butterflies to the garden. It blooms year-round with tiny bluish-purple flowers. You can buy seeds from the Florida Wildflower Growers Cooperative.

Florida Pennyroyal (Piloblephis rigida) is found only in Florida and a few counties in Georgia, making it practically endemic to the state. This member of the mint family is low-growing and pleasantly scented, and the small but detailed blooms are a draw for small pollinators. Though distantly related to other plants named “Pennyroyal”, it’s not generally used medicinally in the same fashion. You’ll find Florida Pennyroyal at many native plant nurseries, and it makes a wonderful addition to the Florida wildlife garden.