Here Are The Best Native Plants For Crofton Gardens

CROFTON, MD -- Planting season, as Crofton gardeners know, is officially upon us. And before you dig out those dusty trowels and gloves, take note of the plants that naturally grow in the area. We’re talking about native plants, which grew here long before Europeans started building settlements. They’re the foundation of the region’s biodiversity, and provide key food sources and shelter to birds.

Fortunately the folks at the National Audubon Society have done all the hard work to ensure gardeners have what they need to find the best native plants. The group has a database that includes perennials, shrubs, grasses, succulents, trees, vines and evergreens. Each entry also details what types of birds the plants attract.

The database allows users to filter results by plant type, resources and bird species they attract.

Regional Audubon experts hand-select the “best results” for each. In Crofton, some of the best flowers to grow this season include Frost Grape, Narrow-Leaf Fireweed and Smooth Blue American-Aster.

Here’s a roundup of some other great local options:

• Farewell-Summer
  • Also known as Calico Aster and Side-flowering Aster, this perennial herb grows about 1 to 3 feet tall, branching occasionally. Its stems are light green or reddish brown with lines of white hairs. It produces numerous, small, pale-colored flowers with centers that change from yellow to reddish purple at maturity. This plant does well in full sun to partial shade and moist soils, tolerating occasional flooding.
  • Birds they attract: Orioles, vireos, cardinals, grosbeaks, chickadees, crows, jays, mockingbirds, thrashers
• Frost Grape
  • Frost Grape, or Fox Grape, is a perennial, deciduous, and woody climbing vine with simple leaves that fall during the winter. The vine grows yellowish-green flowers followed by dark grapes that ripen from September to October. This vine can stretch up to 60 feet long in full sun to light shade and moist soils, occasionally branching and aggressively climbing over shrubs and small trees.
  • Birds they attract: Cardinals, wrens, grosbeaks, chickadees, wood warblers, nuthatches, mockingbirds, thrashers
• Narrow-Leaf Fireweed
  • Also known as Willow Herb or simply as Fireweed, this showy, perennial wildflower has willow-like leaves and red stems like other plants in its genus, but its magenta blossoms make it unique. Its seeds are spread by rhizomes, and its flowers bloom from June to September, attracting hummingbirds as well as bees and moths. This plant grows in full sun to partial shade, and tolerates shallow, rocky soil.
  • Birds they attract: Hummingbirds, wood warblers, orioles, vireos, sparrows, mockingbirds, thrashers
• Smooth Blue American-Aster
  • This robust, upright, perennial plant with arching stems typically grows to 3 feet tall. It has smooth, blue-green foliage and produces loose clusters of violet-blue flowers with yellow centers from September to October. It grows in full sun, and in rocky or dry soil, and attracts native bees and butterflies.
  • Birds they attract: Finches, wrens, waxwings, nuthatches, chickadees, mockingbirds, thrashers
• Spotted Beebalm
  • Also called Spotted Horsemint or simply Horsemint, this aromatic perennial grows up to 3 feet tall and attracts pollinators such as bees and butterflies. A central stem produces two or more dense whorls of yellowish, purple-spotted flowers with purplish bracts in the upper portion of each plant. It is drought tolerant, growing in full sun, and in dry, sandy soils.
  • Birds they attract: Woodpeckers, thrushes, waxwings, wrens, orioles, mockingbirds, thrashers

These plants are key resources for birds and are relatively easy to grow. Perhaps just as importantly, many are available at local native plant nurseries, which the organization also lists.

Americans spent a record $47.8 billion on lawn and garden retail sales in 2017, according to the National Gardening Survey. The average household spent more than $500 on gardening. And while older adults accounted for 35 percent of all gardeners, millennials were getting their hands and knees dirty at all-time high levels. Adults 18-34 accounted for 29 percent of all gardeners, the survey found.

Among the recent trends — more people are investing in raised beds as opposed to digging holes, and they’re spending money on apps rather than glossy gardening books.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.