Midsummer in the Garden

The joy of midsummer is seeing the results of the work that we’ve put into the garden. Over the past several years, we have been eliminating a huge bank of invasive bush honeysuckle in the back yard. These shrubs are trying to take over the undergrowth of Missouri. Here’s an article about it: https://mdc.mo.gov/trees-plants/invasive-plants/bush-honeysuckle-control.

We are fortunate to live 2 blocks from the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center where we can observe native plant gardens and attend Native Plant Sales. We purchase many plants from local nurseries specializing in native plants. We also grow plants from seed ourselves.

I’m sharing a midsummer photo of the hill. You can see a variety of plants. On this hill, we have goldenrod, liatris, poppy mallow, allium, shrubby St. John’s wort, Royal catchfly, lance leaf coreopsis, swamp milkweed, butterfly milkweed, whorled milkweed, foxglove beardtongue, witch hazel, beauty berry, prairie clover, river oats grass, elderberry, phlox, purple cone flower, blue mist + more. An unexpected phenomena is that there are volunteer plants on the hill which we will watch to see if they are native seeds that have laid dormant for years under the bush honeysuckle.

We also have non-native plants on the hill. Plants that can thrive on a dry, rocky hill remain either because they are holding the soil in place, or they have benefits for pollinators. A prime example is the canna lily which provides nectar for the hummingbird population summering in our neighborhood.

Stay tuned for more blogs about native plants in our yard.