For those in need of ideas for companion plants, I will show a few other native species growing together with Zigadenus elegans ssp. glaucus in my garden bed. You can attempt to grow them from seeds or source the plants from a specialized plant nursery.
Garden bed containing various native species that enjoy relatively moist situations – view from last year. Due to the drought, some species (especially L. cardinalis seem affected) are not flowering so abundant this year
The garden bed has a natural grading which allows the water to sit at the edging area when it rains. The substrate at depth is clay and in years with normal rainfalls, it remains a rather moist area with little additional watering; sun to part-shade.
Most of the following species will actually adapt to various moisture levels; some will remain shorter in height and flower less if it gets too dry, like it has happened this year, but they will get by.
Eupatorium perfoliatum (Boneset) with its white, fragrant inflorescences of small white flowers is attracting various pollinators,
Great Golden Digger Wasp on Eupatorium perfoliatum
especially solitary wasps that otherwise are not usually seen in the garden.
Lobelia siphilitica (Great blue Lobelia) and *Lobelia cardinalis.
*Geum rivale (Nodding avens), Iris versicolor and Iris hookeri
*Clinopodium arkansanum (Limestone calamint) is also crawling somewhere toward the edge; you know it is here every time a wonderful minty whiff comes into air. Although an alvars dweller, Clinopodium adapts very well to garden cultivation.
*Viola nephrophylla grows with abandon at the edge (self -sown seedlings appear all the time) and there are even few skunk cabbage seedlings! in need of rescuing this coming fall.
And I almost forgot to mention: *Houstonia caerulea, *Primula mistassinica and *Sisyrinchium mucronatum. Plus, *Parnassia glauca (Marsh grass-of-Parnassus) which makes for an excellent late summer bloomer.
Erythranthe guttata and Iris versicolor
One year *Erythranthe guttata, the Monkey flower, bloomed wonderfully at the edge, but it didn’t manage to reseed successfully (on the account on work done to enlarge the bed).
Talking grasses: *Carex grayi and Deschampsia caespitosa.
* – It means the plant was grown from seeds; more pictures and descriptions for each on the shop pages (seeds are not available for all species every year). We must be patient, some of these species mature their seeds in late September/October.
You can create micro-habitats in your garden by using the existent conditions and planting species which naturally grow in a similar habitat. I like this simplified definition of a habitat:
“A habitat is a place where an organism makes its home”.
Maybe you have a similar place, a woodland bed, or a sun baked area? There are species suitable for all situations – offer them a home!
