I’m Brenda and have been gardening all my life, inspired by my grandmother. When I was very young, I would visit my grandparents’ home in upstate rural New Hampshire, and my grandmother and I would walk the roads, riverbeds, and woods admiring the wildflowers. She tended a small native plant garden, and it left a lifelong impression on me.
We moved from Connecticut to Rhode Island three years ago and purchased a home near the southern coast but still in the same Zone 6B and Ecoregion 59. That means I was already familiar with many plants in RI. Our home is over 30 years old and had established gardens.
I retired and fulfilled my promise to become a Master Gardener. As part of a project to graduate, I needed to produce a plot plan of our yard citing native trees, shrubs, and flowers, and I had more than I imagined. Overlaying my new knowledge from Master Gardeners, I discovered Rhode Island natives (wildflowers) and groups of people and projects dedicated to growing and saving native plants and introducing them to gardens and restoration projects. I found my niche!
From the various native plant organizations I belong to, two questions keep popping up: How do I integrate native plants into my garden, and should I get rid of nonnative plants? My short answer was to start planting natives, in as big a clump or drift as I could anywhere I could. The larger the clump, the easier it is for the insects to spot. You would be surprised where you can tuck in native plants!
Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum, Zones 4–9) has a low profile around an old holly bush until late summer, then it bursts into the forefront with all its glory and is loved by bumblebees.
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