Here Are The Best Native Plants For Pasadena Gardens

PASADENA, MD -- Planting season, as Pasadena gardeners know, is officially upon us. And before you dig out those dusty trowels and gloves, take note of the plants that naturally grow in the area. We’re talking about native plants, which grew here long before Europeans started building settlements. They’re the foundation of the region’s biodiversity, and provide key food sources and shelter to birds.

Fortunately the folks at the National Audubon Society have done all the hard work to ensure gardeners have what they need to find the best native plants. The group has a database that includes perennials, shrubs, grasses, succulents, trees, vines and evergreens. Each entry also details what types of birds the plants attract.

The database allows users to filter results by plant type, resources and bird species they attract.

Regional Audubon experts hand-select the “best results” for each. In Pasadena, some of the best flowers to grow this season include Allegheny Monkey Flower, Sweet Goldenrod and Pinxterflower.

Here’s a roundup of some other great local options:

• Allegheny Monkey Flower
  • Allegheny Monkey Flower, or Square-stemmed Monkey Flower, is a
    herbaceous perennial that typically grows 1 to 3 feet tall and blooms open-mouthed, lilac-purple flowers from June to September. It grows best in partial shade and moist to wet soils, and can also tolerate deer.
  • Birds they attract: Wood warblers, vireos, waxwings, hummingbirds, sparrows, mockingbirds, thrashers
• Sweet Goldenrod
  • This fragrant, rough-leaved, perennial herb grows to 4 feet tall. It
    forms a bushy, upright clump of dark-green leaves that bears large heads of golden-yellow flowers. It is drought tolerant and requires low to medium watering; it prefers full sun, but can grow in light shade, and in poor, dry soils. This plant is also of special value to native honey bees.
  • Birds they attract: Nuthatches, chickadees, finches, thrushes, woodpeckers, wood warblers
• Orange Milkweed
  • It typically grows in clumps up to 1 to 3 feet tall, and features
    clusters of bright orange to yellow-orange flowers. Its blooms are attractive to both butterflies and hummingbirds, and like all milkweeds, it serves as a host plant for butterfly species including the Monarch. Drought tolerant, this plant grows in full sun and in dry to moist, well-drained, sandy soils.
  • Birds they attract: Woodpeckers, wood warblers, thrushes, chickadees, mockingbirds, thrashers, crows, jays
• Arrowwood
  • A small, deciduous, perennial tree, it typically grows 15 to 30 feet
    tall with a low-branching, flat-topped habit. White flowers bloom from spring to fall, while bright red fruits mature in late summer to early fall and may persist until late in the year. It is resistant to browsing by deer, and grows in partial to full shade, and in dry to moist, well-drained soils.
  • Birds they attract: Mockingbirds, thrashers, cardinals, grosbeaks, thrushes, nutchatches, sparrows, wood warblers
• Pinxterbloom Azalea
  • This perennial, deciduous shrub grows 6 to 12 feet in height, with picturesque, horizontal branching. It produces large clusters of funnel-shaped, pink or white flowers appearing before or with the leaves. Pink Azalea grows best in partial shade, and in a variety of well-drained soils. The smooth, medium-green foliage turns dull yellow in the fall, and the tubular shape of the flowers is a good indicator that this plant attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. Note that Pink Azalea should not be ingested as all parts, including honey made from the flowers, are toxic to humans and other animals.
  • Birds they attract: Waxwings, sparrows, mockingbird, thrashers, hummingbirds, orioles, cardinals, grosbeaks

These plants are key resources for birds and are relatively easy to grow. Perhaps just as importantly, many are available at local native plant nurseries, which the organization also lists.

Americans spent a record $47.8 billion on lawn and garden retail sales in 2017, according to the National Gardening Survey. The average household spent more than $500 on gardening. And while older adults accounted for 35 percent of all gardeners, millennials were getting their hands and knees dirty at all-time high levels. Adults 18-34 accounted for 29 percent of all gardeners, the survey found.

Among the recent trends — more people are investing in raised beds as opposed to digging holes, and they’re spending money on apps rather than glossy gardening books.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.