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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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.

rate this answer

Saturday - March 09, 2013
From: Alton, IL
Region: Midwest
Topic: Privacy Screening, Grasses or Grass-like, Shrubs, Trees
Title: Trees and other plants for privacy along lake shoreline
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
We are purchasing a new home that has a 2 acre lake. We would like to add some plants/trees for privacy around the shore line. Can you suggest something that would fill in nicely and is strong enough to withstand erosion at the waters edge. Our new home is located in central Illinois.ANSWER:
The easiest way to find candidate native plants for your lakeside is by using the Illinois Recommended list that contains commercially available plants for landscaping in your area. You can use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option to pick various kinds of plants under GENERAL APPEARANCE (e.g, Shrub, Tree, Grass/Grass-like), SOIL MOISTURE and any of the other criteria you wish. You should read the information under GROWING CONDITIONS on the individual species page to be sure that they match your site. Not all the plants on the Illinois Recommended list are known to grow in Madison County, but you can check their occurrence there by scrolling down to the bottom of the species page to the ADDITIONAL RESOURCES area and clicking on the link under USDA. This will take you to the USDA Plants Database page for the species. If you click on Illinois on the Distribution Map there, you will get a map of Illinois showing the plant's occurrence by county.
Here are a few choices from the Illinois Recommended list for shrubs, trees and grasses that should work well on the edge of your lake.
SHRUBS/SMALL TREES
Amorpha fruticosa (Indigo bush)
Cephalanthus occidentalis (Common buttonbush)
Cornus racemosa (Gray dogwood)
Hibiscus laevis (Halberdleaf rosemallow)
Hydrangea arborescens (Wild hydrangea)
Lindera benzoin (Northern spicebush)
Rubus occidentalis (Black raspberry)
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (Coralberry)
TREES
Acer saccharinum (Silver maple)
Cercis canadensis (Eastern redbud)
Fraxinus pennsylvanica (Green ash)
Prunus americana (American plum)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
GRASS/GRASS-LIKE
Carex stipata (Owlfruit sedge)
Elymus canadensis (Canada wild rye)
Pascopyrum smithii (Western wheatgrass)
Typha latifolia (Broadleaf cattail)
Below are photos from our Image Gallery of some of the choices above.
From the Image Gallery
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Slope Erosion control for Fairview NC
August 19, 2012 - Please recommend plants to help with soil erosion on a slope. The soil is red clay and area gets full sun. The slope is approximately 12' x 12'. I live in Fairview, NC
view the full question and answer
Replacing grass on steep hill in Georgia
June 16, 2009 - I live near Atlanta, Georgia. My yard is a steep hill, which makes mowing VERY challenging. If possible, I would like to remove the grass and plant something hardy that does not require mowing. What p...
view the full question and answer
Plants for narrow strip between sidewalk and fence
May 01, 2008 - I have a strip of land about 5 inches wide and 30 feet long -- between the fence and the sidewalk -- that I would like to plant something that would look nice and wouldn't require the weedeater every...
view the full question and answer
Searching for seeds or plants of Spartina patens and Distichlis spicata
October 13, 2015 - My daughter is researching different grasses that help stop coastal erosion. Where can we get seeds or plant plugs for salt grass and salt meadow cord grass? We live near New Orleans Louisiana.
view the full question and answer
Landscape color for Rialto, CA
May 11, 2009 - My sister-in-law lives in Rialto CA near the base of the San Bernardino Mt ranges and it gets very windy out there. She and I were trying to figure out the best native plants for her area. Her home fa...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |