The Ever-changing Roadside

Sabatia angularis

Roadsides can be wonderful places: full of native plants, places of nectar and host plants for butterflies and moths, and sometimes refuges for pockets of diversity. They can also be awful places: tangled in thickets of invasive plant species, ignored areas where seeds land, sprout and thrive.

In my area, I have both kinds of roadsides. During the growing seasons, I try to take time to appreciate the good ones, observing how they are managed and what grows there. This week I noticed bright pink flowers and pulled over to find the annual rose-pink gentian (Sabatia angularis) blooming in an area that was over-mowed last year. This year they are letting it grow, mowing only a six-foot strip next to the road.

Earlier this year, that same strip had lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata), Small’s ragwort (Packera anonyma), and daisy fleabane (Erigeron sp. -- all of them important spring-blooming native plants. Currently blooming in addition to the rose-pink gentian is orange milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), St. John’s wort (Hypericum sp.), and partridge pea (Chamaecrista sp.). In the fall, I can already tell there will be thoroughwort (Eupatorium sp.) and goldenrod (Solidago sp.). Across all the seasons, native grasses fill in the spaces.

Salvia lyrata

Hypericum punctatum

Spring show of Packera anonyma

This place is a natural seasonal progression of pollinator plants, providing both nectar and host plants for a variety of insects. Because of its support for insects, it also provides support for birds that need insects for themselves or their young.

I’ve written about roadsides before; I am very fond of them. If you have the chance to help save one or persuade someone to manage it in a more favorable to insects, please do so. Being able to recognize good plants from bad is the first step to saving the good ones, so plant identification is important.

My previous roadside posts:

Roadsides: Trash or Treasure

Roadside Plants in June

Wild Roadside vs. The Average Garden

Flowers of the Fall Roadside

A roadside combo of Asclepias tuberosa and Passiflora incarnata