Beautiful, North American Native Plants: A Springtime Garden, Gone Wild . . .

Lindera_benzoin_North_American_Native_Spicebush_michaela_medina_harlow_thegardenerseden.comGolden droplets of wild wonder: Lindera benzoin. Read about the sunny Spicebush here.

Although my garden contains a wide variety of plants from many different parts of the world, come springtime, native plants usually steal the spotlight. The earliest blooming shrubs and trees, as well as many of the flowering ground covers and springtime ephemerals, are North Americans. I believe that it’s important to create gardens in the spirit of place. This point of view is particularly relevant when gardening in rural locations; where the use of native plants not only helps to establish design context, but also helps to protect the native habitat by avoiding the inclusion of aggressive foreign, and potentially invasive species. When it comes to designing gardens, I think it’s lovely to go a little wild . . .

Viola-labradorica-ⓒ-michaela-thegardenerseden Lovely in flower and leaf, the Labrador Violet (Viola labradorica), is one of my favorite, native ground covers. Read more about this beauty here.

With so many gorgeous, North American plants to choose from, it’s possible to create a dynamic, four season design without using any foreign plants at all. However, a gardener needn’t be a purist to both protect and enjoy native plants and wild habitat. I like to combine both native and non-native (but of course non-invasive and non-aggressive), species in my garden designs. Pictured in this post are three of my favorite, early spring bloomers; all garden-worthy, North American natives: Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) and Labrador Violet  (Viola labradorica). I’ve profiled the lovely, Labrador Violet, as well as the season-spanning Spicebush, our beautiful, North American Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), and other, native, spring-bloomers before. Click back to my previous post on ephemeral, woodland wildflowers (here), for more wild favorites and some great resources for planning a native garden of your own . . .

Sanguinaria_canadensis_North_American_Bloodroot_michaela_medina_harlow_thegardenerseden.com White stars adrift on the garden floor: Sanguinaria canadensis. Beautiful Bloodroot. Click here for more information.

Photography & Text â“’ Michaela Medina Harlow/The Gardener’s Eden. All images, articles and content on this site (with noted exceptions), are the original, copyrighted property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be reposted, reproduced or used in any way without prior written consent. Contact information is in the left side bar. Please do not take my photographs without asking first. Thank you! 

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