Orange Coneflower: A native coneflower in Kentucky and surrounding areas

 
Rudbeckia fulgida (Orange Coneflower) is the yellow-orange blossomed aster you see in abundance throughout the attached photo. This rain garden is one in a series of interconnected rain gardens we created almost 12 years ago at our home in southeast Jefferson County, KY. Over these years, we've been able to observe orange coneflower as it exists in the nature-mimicking ecosystem we've created here. We've found several interesting traits of this lovely species:
1. It attracts many native bees to its pollen when blooming. 
2. It prefers moist soil in a sunny area, but will adapt to dry, dappled shade over time, if left alone. 
3  Because it flowers all over its stems, it makes a wonderful filler, along with other native plants that thrive in moist meadows. In the photo, you see it is easily coexisting with Lobelia cardinalis (Red Cardinal Flower), native Phlox maculata (Meadow Phlox), Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower), the tall stalks of Iris Virginica (Southern Blue Flag Iris), etc. 
4. Although Orange Coneflower forms colonies, it tends to get along well with its native counterparts. It does not act like a bully or take over the other plants in the neighborhood. 
5. Because of its relatively shorter stature, its stems are strong and so it does not tend to flop over. 
6. As a perennial wildflower, Orange Coneflower readily re-seeds itself, while also returning from its hardy root system and semi-evergreen basal rosettes.
7. While Orange Coneflower may seem to prefer moist soil, we have noticed that it does NOT like standing water, except for short periods of time. In this rain garden, it tended over the years to form higher island-like clumps so that now the rain water goes around their clumps. We have delighted in watching the whole rain garden form its own ecosystem according to the basic traits of its inhabitants. Because they are all native species, they really DO know how to acclimate themselves to their environment. 
8. Lastly, I cannot emphasize strongly enough that these particular Rudbeckia fulgida plants were LOCALLY sourced. Our original plants came from Dropseed Nursery operated by Margaret Shea in Goshen, Kentucky. We trust Dropseed to sell us plants that are genetically native and, thus, most adaptable to THIS environment. And that, more than anything, is why they have acclimated so well here in our rain gardens and the drier dappled shade gardens. BUY LOCAL ONLY. Do not trust online nurseries unless you have no other choice. Trust me, you will be glad you did the research before buying seeds or plants.

If you'd like to learn more about our native plants sanctuary project, yours truly has been documenting the process since 2010 and we have published it, along with many native plants lists for the lower Midwest region of the U.S. Our book can be purchased by clicking here (for signed copies): Let the Earth Breathe book: Milligan/Brown or on amazon here: Let the Earth Breathe: the book

Rain Gardens in Native Plants Landscape Design

 

In looking at the attached photo, not many readers would realize that this is a rain garden.  My husband and I dug out this rain garden (which is basically a planned swale) around 2012. From the very beginning, we populated it with native species only, with a focus on ones that would grow naturally in a sunny, wet meadow in Kentucky and the surrounding region. Over the years, we've augmented the wildflower and shrub collection for more biodiversity,  (i.e., beautiful visual interest all season long, and to attract a larger number of pollinators.) 
In our book, "Let the Earth Breathe: Gardening with Native Plants", we show you more details with many photos about how we created all of our rain gardens in our 12+ years project to develop a native plants sanctuary at our home in Louisville, Kentucky. Here are a few points about the "why" of rain gardens in native plants home gardening: 

• Rain gardens hold rain water longer, allowing it to sink down into the water table instead of running down impermeable pavements, flooding public drainage systems. 
  
• As rain water percolates down through established native plants and roots, the plants help clean the water. 
• Rain water is better for the health of plant species than our tap water. 
• If the soil in rain gardens is amended with organic material from the beginning, the water drains down below the surface before mosquitos have time to breed. 
• All of our rain gardens collect rain water directly from our house roof drainages via pipes. An amazing amount of rain is collected from roofs. We have just chosen to channel it through our nature sanctuary via several inter-connected rain gardens.
  
  To learn more, please purchase our book. You can order signed copies HERE
  
  
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Native Vines of the Kentucky Region: Coral Honeysuckle

Blossoms of Coral Honeysuckle. Photos: Anne Milligan. May, 2021.

 Video highlighting Coral Honeysuckle: recorded by Anne Milligan in our nature sanctuary, 2021. 

Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) 
is a beloved, red-flowering, native vine in Kentucky and its eco-region north, south, east, and midwest. 
Coral Honeysuckle is not overly aggressive, nor is it invasive as is the non-native Japanese honeysuckle. In other words, this species gets along well and it cooperates with its neighboring plants. It is also a great friend to our migrating hummingbirds and long-tongued bees. It is the host plant for spring azures and snowberry clearwing moths. In our small native plants sanctuary in southern Jefferson County, Kentucky, we grow many native vines on trellises, arbors, etc. Their woody brambles make great nesting places for resident birds. Here is a video I, Anne Milligan, recorded in the summer of 2021, highlighting Coral Honeysuckle. Read more about our native plants sanctuary in our new book: Let the Earth Breathe

Fall Planting of Native Seeds in Kentucky and the Midwest

 While many people think of planting in the summer, native seed plantings perform well when installed in the late Fall when soil temperatures fall below 50 degrees. This allows the seed to go through its natural stratification process during the winter months and encourages germination the following spring. As a matter of fact, many native species' seeds REQUIRE winter stratification in order to germinate. So, if you plant them in the Spring, and they have not yet been stratified (either outside or in the refrigerator for 2-3 months) you won't see them at all until the next year's Spring. Spring ephemerals (very early Spring bloomers) are a good example of species that need to be planted in the Fall because they germinate so early, sometimes as early as January or February. 
Photo:  Anne Milligan, April of 2021
Iris Virginica (Southern Blue Flag Iris) in one of our rain gardens. To learn more about native plant species:
 Let the Earth Breathe: Gardening With Native Plants

Leave the Leaves And Plant the (Native) Seeds

 On this rainy day in late November, I'm peering through a window at a drizzled up, fog-like specter of life outside our comfortably warm Kentucky abode. Robins, so carefully disguised as to be almost unseen, rustle up some fallen leaves. Sometimes, that's all we see - just the fluffing up of leaves. When we do detect the Robins, it looks as if they are re-decorating our "yarden", as we have chosen to "leave the leaves" or move them as mulch for newly planted native trees and shrubs. Honestly, these delightful moments, in synch with the evolutionary characteristics and behaviors of our resident birds, trump the activity around "bird feeders" any day of the week. Not only do we leave the leaves where they fall, but we have never had need for alternative bird feeders. The seeds in them do not come close to meeting the seasonal challenges that our wildlife have grown up with over time. What DOES meet the seasonal challenges is the planting of regionally native plants, shrubs, and trees. Our wildlife knows exactly when these species go to seed and depend on them. They grew up with them, so to speak!  The caterpillars that our birds may feast on in the Spring are overwintering in leaves that we DO NOT remove or mow. The leaves are sheltering so many other small critters that go undetected, but are SO important for the ecosystem in which we live. Everything we try to do here in our humble Kentucky Native plants sanctuary is intentionally designed to cooperate with the ecosystem as it has developed over time. We do not want to dominate nature, but to cooperate and to co-exist. We would like very much for that attitude to extend to human beings. I do not want to determine who or what you decide to be or do, but to share a context of native plants gardening that is for the highest good, for everyone. For more information and to join our community's journey with native plant swaps, please consider ordering the book Let the Earth Breathe. 
Anne Milligan (with Stephen Brown)
November 21, 2021

Let the Earth Breathe: Gardening With Native Plants

Anne Milligan and Stephen Brown have spent the last 12 years creating a Kentucky native plants, shrubs, and trees sanctuary in southeast Jefferson County, Kentucky. I, Anne Milligan, documented the journey from the very beginning via journal entries and photographs. Since we live in such a biodiverse area of the country, the native species have thrived to the extent that we had to figure out what to do with all of the extra seeds and plants, since our project is only a normal suburban lot. That is how we began the next leg of our journey, which is not only to share our produce, but also our process. "Let the Earth Breathe" is our narrative of growing with regionally native species, creating interesting, fluid, landscapes with native species, and having fun along the way. We have included lists, many photos, and ideas for new native gardeners in Kentucky and the lower Midwest region. All along the way, our first priority has always been the pollinators: Butterflies, bees, moths, birds, etc., who DEPEND on native species for their existence. And without pollinators, there is no life on our planet. To order the book, click here: Let the Earth Breathe book

Interactive Colors of Native Kentucky/Midwest Wildflower Blossoms

It is so enjoyable to see the intense "WOW" colors of individual native wildflower blossoms, but it is the interaction of certain colors that add spice and wonder to our gardens. Sometimes, these interactive colors happen on their own, but we can also design them intentionally, thus adding another level of pizzazz to a garden area. In this photo, for example, we see that the radiant violet purple of native Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata) is even more intense as seen against the bright (complementary) color of Orange Coneflower. On a color wheel (which one can purchase at any art store or online), you can find a color, and its opposite (complementary) color and plant native wildflowers that bloom at the same time in those colors.  Another example is Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis). Its intense red blossoms stand out even against its own green foliage (green and red being opposites.) That's one reason why Cardinal Flower plants look so stunning when planted close together in large swaths. The greens and reds are amazingly intense and always draw the attention of Hummingbirds and humans!

For more information on using regionally native plants species in home garden design, you can now buy an accessible and fun book. It is the narrative of Anne Milligan and Stephen Brown's 12+ years native gardening project in southeast Jefferson County, Kentucky. Click on this link to purchase Let the Earth Breathe

Anne Milligan
Louisville, Kentucky
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