By Clare Martin | Online Exclusive
Photo by Judith Tankard
When luminaries of Arts & Crafts garden design such as William Morris, Gertrude Jekyll, and William Robinson promoted the use of native plants, their purpose for doing so was primarily aesthetic. Plants that belonged with the landscape embodied the values of “honesty and simplicity” that were the hallmarks of the movement, and contributed to a uniqueness of character that Morris and others feared was being eroded by the showy, exotic blooms popular in gardens the Victorian era.
Fast-forward more than a century, and you’ll find that today, the same idea has been embraced anew by environmental enthusiasts, but for a very different reason. Because native plants have adapted to grow in a particular region, they require very little watering or other maintenance, requiring less of a strain on natural resources.
All of this adds up to good news for those looking to create an ideal Arts & Crafts garden—not only will you adhere to the principles of the movement by using native plants, but you’ll also do something good for the Earth, and (perhaps most important) save yourself a bit of time and money on maintenance, too. Check out our charts of some common native plants in each region of the country, and start planning a garden that complements your home and its setting. (Note: For a more complete list by state, go to www.plantnative.org or www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rdsduse.)
| Southeast | ||
| Trees | Shrubs | Perennials |
| Ash (White, Green) Beech (American, Blue) Birch (River, Yellow, Sweet) Cedar (Eastern Red) Cherry (Black, Pin) Cypress (Pond, Bald) Dogwood (Flowering, Pagoda, Swamp, Silky) Elm (Winged, Cedar) Hemlock (Canadian, Carolina) Hickory (Bitternut, Pignut) Holly (American, Cassine, Deciduous, Possumhaw, Bigleaf Gallberry, Winterberry) Magnolia (Southern, Sweet Bay) Maple (Florida, Red, Sugar, Chalk) Oak (White, Red, Post, Cherrybark, Swamp Chestnut, Nuttall, Willow, Live, Laurel, Willow) Persimmon Pine (Spruce, Longleaf, Shortleaf, Loblolly) Redbud Serviceberry (Downy) Silverbell (Carolina, Two-Winged) Tulip Tree Viburnum (Blackhaw, Rusty Black) |
Azalea (Sweet, Flame, Pinxter, Pinkshell, Piedmont, Yellow Native, Honeysuckle, Summer, Swamp) Beautyberry (American) Blueberry (Lowbush, Highbush, Elliot’s) Chokeberry (Red, Black) Elderberry Hazelnut Honeysuckle (Bush) Huckleberry (Dwarf) Hydrangea (Snowhill, Wild, Oak Leaf) Leucothoe (Drooping) Mountain Laurel New Jersey Tea Rhododendron (Carolina, Rosebay) Rose (Carolina, Swamp) Shrubby St. John’s Wort Strawberry Bush Sumac (Smooth, Fragrant, Staghorn, Shining) Sweetspire Viburnum (Maple Leaf, Witherod, Arrowwood) |
Allegheny Spurge American Wisteria Aster (White Wood, Late Purple, Golden, Frost) Blazing Star Blue Star Butterfly Weed Cardinal Flower Coreopsis (Mouse-eared, Tall) Dwarf Crested Iris False Indigo Green-and-Gold Goat’s Beard Goldenrod (Wrinkle-leaf, Wreath, Sweet) Ironweed Jack-in-the-Pulpit Lady Slipper (Pink, Yellow) Lily (Bead, Spider, Yellow Bell, Turks Cap, Trout) Lily of the Valley Oconee Bells Phlox (Woodland, Summer, Chalice, Carolina, Wild Blue, Garden, Creeping) Shooting Star Violet (Blue, Birdsfoot) Wild Ginger Wild Strawberry |
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| Mid-Atlantic | ||
| Trees | Shrubs | Perennials |
| Ash (White, Green) Basswood (American) Beech (American) Birch (Yellow, Black, River, Gray) Blackgum Cedar (Atlantic White, Eastern Red) Cherry (Black) Dogwood (Silky, Flowering, Redosier, Gray) Fringetree Hickory (Pignut, Shagbark, Bitternut) Magnolia (Sweetbay) Maple (Red, Sugar, Silver) Oak (White, Swamp White, Scarlet, Southern Red, Pin, Willow, Northern Red, Post, Black, Chestnut) Pine (Shortleaf, Loblolly, Virginia) Redbud (Eastern) Sassafras Sweetgum Sycamore Tulip Tree Willow (Black, Silky, Virginia) |
Alder (Speckled, Smooth, Common) Bayberry (Northern, Southern) Blueberry (Highbush, Lowbush) Buttonbush Chokeberry (Red, Black) Elderberry Marsh Elder Mountain Laurel Plum (Beach, American) Rose (Swamp, Pasture) Spicebush Sumac (Fragrant, Dwarf-winged, Smooth, Staghorn) Sweet Pepperbush Viburnum (Arrowwood, Possumhaw, Blackhaw, Maple-Leaf) Virginia Sweetspire Wax Myrtle Winterberry Witch Hazel |
Anemone (Canada, Virginia) Aster (White Wood, New England, Heart-Leaved, New York, Maryland Golden) Beardtongue Blueflag Iris Boneset (Common, Blue) Cohosh (Black, Blue) Coneflower (Cutleaf, Pale, Purple) Dutchman’s Breeches Goldenrod (White, Bluestem, Sweet, Roughstem, Seaside, Grassleaf) Monkeyflower New York Ironweed Solomon’s Seal Tickseed Turtlehead (White, Pink) Virginia Bluebells |
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| New England | ||
| Trees | Shrubs | Perennials |
| American Mountain-ash Ash (White, Green, Black) Aspen (Bigtooth, Quaking) Basswood Birch (Yellow, Black, Paper, Gray, Cherry) Blackgum Cedar (Northern White, Atlantic White, Eastern Red) Cherry (Pin, Black, Choke) Eastern Hemlock Elm (American, Red, Slippery) Hawthorne (Champlain, Round-Leaved, Frosted, Dotted, Fleshy) Hophornbeam (American, Eastern) Maple (Black, Red, Mountain, Sugar, Silver, Striped) Oak (White, Red, Swamp White, Scarlet) Pine (Red, Eastern White, Jack, Pitch) Spruce (White, Black, Red) Tamarack Willow (Black) |
American Elder American Filbert Azalea (Swamp) Black Chokeberry Blueberry (Highbush) Bush Cinquefoil Buttonbush Canada Yew Carolina Rose Chokecherry Dogwood (Gray, Redosier, Pagoda, Swamp, Silky) Hobblebush Juniper (Common) Mountain Laurel Nannyberry New Jersey Tea Serviceberry (Downy, Shadblow, Allegheny) Sumac (Staghorn, Shining, Smooth, Dwarf) Viburnum (Maple-Leaf, Arrowwood) Wild Honeysuckle Winterberry Witch Hazel |
Aster (New England, New York, White Wood, Bushy, Heath, Smooth, Frost, Red-Stem) Bloodroot Blue Cohosh Blue Flag Boneset Cinquefoil (Silvery, Common, White) Jack-in-the-Pulpit Lily (Blue-Bead, Trout) Marsh Marigold Milkweed (Swamp, Whorled, Common) Solomon’s Seal Turtlehead Violet (Downy Yellow, Common Blue, Birdfoot, American Dog) |
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| Midwest | ||
| Trees | Shrubs | Perennials |
| American Hornbeam Ash (White, Green) Birch (River) Cherry (Black) Hickory (Shagbark, Pignut) Maple (Red, Sugar, Silver) Oak (Pin, White, Bur, Red, Swamp) Ohio Buckeye Pawpaw Pine (Short-Leaf, Eastern White) Sycamore (American) |
American Beautyberry Buckeye (American, Red) Buttonbush Elderberry Holly (Winterberry) Hydrangea (Wild, Oak-Leaf) Sweetshrub Viburnum (Maple-Leaf, Arrowwood) Witch Hazel |
Aster (New England, Arrow-Leaved, Heath, Smooth) Butterfly Weed Flowering Spurge Iris (Crested, Copper, Yellow Water) Jacob’s Ladder Marsh Marigold Milkweed (Common, Swamp) Sweet William Trillium Turtlehead Wild Ginger |
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| Great Plains | ||
| Trees | Shrubs | Perennials |
| Ash (White, Green) Basswood Black Walnut Downy Hawthorn Eastern Cottonwood Hackberry Ironwood Maple (Silver, Sugar) Oak (White, Bur, Red) Wild Plum |
American Hazelnut Chokecherry Dogwood (Gray, Redosier, Swamp) Elderberry Juniper Leadplant Rose (Early Wild, Illinois) Smooth Sumac |
Aster (Heath, New England, Sky Blue, Smooth, Silky) Blazing Star (Rough, Prairie) Blue Verbena Canada Anemone Cup Plant Goldenrod (Gray, Stiff) Jack-in-the-Pulpit Milkweed (Swamp, Whorled) Mountain Mint Prairie Clover (White, Purple) Prairie Coneflower Prairie Larkspur Prairie Phlox Red Baneberry Sneezeweed Sunflower (Ox-Eye, Stiff ) Tick-trefoil Wild Bergamot Wild Garlic |
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| West | ||
| Trees | Shrubs | Perennials |
| Ash (Green, Western Mountain, Rocky Mountain) Big Tooth Maple Birch (Paper, Water) Cottonwood (Narrowleaf, Black, Plains) Douglas Fir Hackberry (Common, Netleaf) Pine (Limber, Western White, Ponderosa) Quaking Aspen Spruce (Blue, Colorado) |
Buffaloberry (Silver, Canada, Russet) Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany Four-wing Saltbush Golden Currant Ninebark Redosier Dogwood Rubber Rabbitbrush Sagebrush (Big, Silver, Fringed) Shrubby Cinquefoil Snowberry Sumac (Skunkbush, Staghorn, Smooth, Oakleaf) Winterfat Woods’ Rose |
Blanket Flower Buckwheat (Sulphur, Snow, Wyeth) Flax (Blue, Lewis) Geranium (Sticky, Wild) Globemallow (Scarlet, Desert, Orange) Lupine (Silver) Pearly Everlasting Penstemon (Wasatch, Firecracker, Palmer, Rocky Mountain) Prairie Clover Pussytoes (Little, Rosy) Sunflower (Wooly, Western, Maximilian) Yarrow (Common, Western) Yucca (Soapweed, Texas Red) |
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| Southwest (West Texas, Arizona, NM, Nevada) | ||
| Trees | Shrubs | Perennials |
| Ash (Arizona, Flowering) Box Elder Fir (Western White, Subalpine, Douglas) Juniper (Alligator, Utah, Rocky Mountain) Maple (Rocky Mountain, Bigtooth) Mountain Birch Netleaf Hackberry Oak (Gambel’s, Gray, Canyon Live, Arizona White) Pine (Pinyon, Bristlecone, Limber, Ponderosa) Quaking Aspen Spruce (Engelmann, Blue) Sweet Acacia Sycamore (Arizona) Tornillo Walnut (Arizona, Texas) Western Cottonwood |
Arizona Wild Rose Black Twinberry Broom Dalea Desert Olive Elderberry (Blue, Mexican) False Indigo Mountain Snowberry Saltbush (Four-Wing, Spiny) Silver Buffaloberry Western Pussy Willow Western Thimbleberry Winterfat Yellow Bells |
Agave (Palmer, Perry) Aster (Pacific, Smooth) Buttercup Coyote Mint Desert Onion Desert Paintbrush Larkspur (Desert, Barestem) Lupine (Silvery, Palmer’s) Pussytoes Red Root Buckwheat Sego Lily Showy Fleabane Spring Beauty Sweet Sand Verbena Western Monkshood Yellow Gaillardia Yucca (Blue, Soaptree) |
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I was advised not to plant any Ash trees (central NY state) as they are being devastated by some disease or pest that is expected to reach the east coast in another year or two. Similar to the loss of so many black pines about 20 years ago. Can anyone provide more info about this sad situation? Also, readers of this great article might also want to check out the following related site:
http://www.squidoo.com/invasive-species