Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Wednesday - May 13, 2009
From: Grove City, OH
Region: Midwest
Topic: Herbs/Forbs
Title: Plants to compliment pine trees in Ohio
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
We just moved into a new home, the backyard has a above ground island with 5 pine trees (fairly young ones, not big) between the trees are some piney looking shrubs, there is a lot of open space on the island to add other plants or flowers. I am not particularly fond of the pine trees and shrubs..but not in a hurry to uproot anything. What can I plant that will compliment the trees and the piney shrubs. I love color. Also, it is a huge island, takes up about a 1/3 of our yard..any thoughts?ANSWER:
First, please go the our Recommended Species page and choose Ohio from the map or pull-down menu and you will get a list of over 140 native plants that are commercially available for landscaping in Ohio. You can modify that list by choosing the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option and choose your own preferences from the various categories. For instance, you might want to choose "Herb" or "Grass/Grass-like" from the Habit (general appearance category and/or "Part shade - 2-6 hours of sun per day" from the Light requirement category.
Here are a few of Mr. Smarty Plants' choices that can be found in or adjacent to Franklin County, Ohio—you can find many more on the list:
Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine)
Campanulastrum americanum (American bellflower)
Conoclinium coelestinum (blue mistflower)
Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (shrubby cinquefoil)
Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower)
Monarda didyma (scarlet beebalm)
Phlox divaricata (wild blue phlox)
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (coralberry)
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