Native Annuals In My Garden

When we think about annual plants, the colorful ones that you buy in six-packs are more likely what come to mind. We certainly don’t think of annual plants like those being native, but there are plenty of annual natives and some are quite garden-worthy. I usually grow mine from seed – either seed that I gathered, bought, or that was dropped from plants in a previous year. Occasionally, someone else grows them  – either my friend Sheri, who is a very talented propagator, or a local nature center that has spring plant sales. Here are some of the ones that I try to keep going in my garden.

In the spring, tiny annual bluet (Houstonia pusilla) pops up along low-growth roadsides (even bare dirt) and is only noticed if there are sufficient numbers to make a spectacle, often a wash of pale purple about ½ an inch high. I have collected seeds and plants from places and have had some success with it returning the next year.

Houstonia pusilla

Salvia coccinea

Scarlet sage (Salvia coccinea) is one that Sheri shared with me and I absolutely love it. Bright red flowers decorate the plant until frost and it grows in dry, sunny areas.  Hummingbirds and long-tongued butterflies like it. The only problem is that it is late to germinate (it depends on soil temperature) so usually I buy it from the nature center because they grew it in the greenhouse. A few seedlings pop up later in my garden (see first picture in this blog) and add to the display.

Partridge pea (either the large-flowered Chamaecrista fasciculata or the small-flowered Chamaecrista nictitans) has bright yellow flowers and small compound leaves. [Unfortunately, it looks very similar to chamberbitter as a seedling and gets pulled by many people as a result.] This plant is popular with bees and has a special characteristic: it is a host plant for sulphur butterflies. The small-flowered species reseeds well in my garden, but this year Sheri grew some of the large-flowered one for me and it is blooming beautifully right now.

Chamaecrista fasciculata

Sabatia angularis

I have tried for years to transport seeds from roadside populations of rose-gentian (Sabatia angularis) but have met with limited success until this summer. Suddenly, the side yard was covered with seedlings! I have been ‘forced’ to suspend cutting the lawn in that area in order to let them thrive. Apparently, many of those seeds sat dormant until this year.

Other seeds that I have gathered from roadsides include purple false foxglove (Agalinis purpurea) from the parking lot of a shopping center and blue curls (Trichostema dichotomum) from areas near my neighborhood. Agalinis requires a relationship with grasses to do well and I’ve had it return from seed once but it appears to be taking this year off. It is a host plant for the common buckeye butterfly. Both of these bloom in late summer/early fall.

Agalinis purpurea

Helianthis porteri, also known as Stone Mountain daisy

Stone Mountain daisy (Helianthus porteri) is a summer-blooming member of the sunflower family. I have had limited success with this and usually get seedlings from friends or plant sales. Some wild animal ripped out most of mine this year. I have several friends that grow it very well and it reseeds for them and comes back every year. In the wild, it thrives on granite outcrops where it no doubt enjoys great drainage.

Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is one that I really don’t have the habitat for – it wants a damp, part-shade spot – but if you have that then you really should try to grow it. The hummingbirds love the flowers and the touch-me-not seedpods that burst when you touch them are a delight for kids. It is not sold as a plant very often but you can get seeds online.

Impatiens capensis

Coreopsis tinctoria

Coreopsis tinctoria is one of my favorite summer annuals but it’s not the best garden flower for me. It wants lean soils in sunny places and grows too big and floppy in the garden so I always have to stake it. Of course, now that I’ve criticized it, I’ll have an abundance of it next year and fall in love again. This is another one that is readily available as seed online.

So there you have it – the native annual wildflowers that I try to use in my garden. Several years ago, I wrote about native annuals and included some of the more undesirable native annuals (like ragweed) for a garden setting. We certainly have our fair share of annuals and I do have to mention one thing - they all have one goal: to make as many seeds as possible!