Extending the banquet

I ’m not sure that this would qualify for a Murphy’s Law*, though I think it should. I’m referring to the phenomenon whereby you don’t see how much of a mess your house is until company is coming. I have house guests who are going to be showing up in less than two weeks, and suddenly I see that a few things left here and there over time have accumulated into a rather large, cluttered mess. Time to clean up!

Once I saw the mess inside, I realized that it was also time to tackle the overgrowth of touchme-not plants crowding the front walkway. Grabbing up my pruning shears I stepped outside, ready to clip away the foliage of the plants encroaching the path, or simply pull them up. (Of all the plants I know, these are so lightly rooted, a baby could tug them out!)

Before I even made a cut, however, I noticed a small bumblebee landing on the orange flower of one of the plants. I saw another bee, and then a third. I found myself almost hypnotized, watching their short flights from one blossom to another and the sag of the flowers and stems as they adjusted to the slight bit of weight of a bee. I watched the activity for a while, then went back inside without doing what I’d gone outside to accomplish.

While I was watching, somewhere in the back of my brain I had done a brief mental inventory of plants in bloom right now. In that particular patch all that is in flower is the touch-me-not. The echinacea, where butterflies recently sipped, has nearly finished flowering and the seed heads have already been picked clean by foraging goldfinches. Where else will pollinators find food this late in the season? I reasoned that trimming back could wait another week at least.

Watching the bees made me think about succession planting. When planning flower beds we’re encouraged/advised to think about continuous bloom. That’s so that there’s always something colorful and eye-catching—for our own enjoyment. For our pollinators though, having native species in flower from early spring through fall is essential for survival.

My gardening efforts have always tended toward vegetables; my flower gardening consists mostly of tucking in native plants that I’ve stumbled across, without particular regard to the timing of flowering. By chance, the colors all seem to go together and something is always in bloom. But now I’m thinking that I will look for more late-blooming native species.

Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis), is a small-leaved plant with fragile, succulent stems. The orange flowers are pretty, but not showy. At best, it can look a bit ragged. I’m happy to have the “volunteers” that show up on my property, but I don’t think I would choose to plant them, except in a woodland area.

Here are some better choices for fall-flowering natives that provide food for butterflies and other pollinators:

Purple Aster (Symphiotrichum— formerly Aster genus— spp.)—Asters are beautiful in the fall garden. The Missouri Botanical Garden website recommends “Wood’s Purple,” a cultivar of the New England aster (Symphiotrichum novae-angliae), for its disease resistance. Great for cutting.

Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)—this bright-flowered perennial grows to about four feet. Unjustly accused of causing hay-fever when it’s the inconspicuous ragweed that’s to blame. Gorgeous in a meadow garden, and teamed with asters.

Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum)—bears dusky-rose flower heads on stalks up to seven feet tall with a comparable spread. Excellent in a shrub border if you have the space.

*According to Murphy’s Law, “Anything that can go wrong, will.”

Note: Years ago I made a discovery: Raccoons always know the day that you plan to pick the sweet corn, and raid your garden the night before. Do you have a Murphy’s Law of Gardening that you’d like to share? Email me at pamelacbaxter@gmail.com.

TX Tagline: Pam Baxter is an avid organic vegetable gardener who lives in Kimberton. Direct e-mail to pamelacbaxter@gmail.com, or send mail to P.O. Box 80, Kimberton, PA 19442. Share your gardening stories on Facebook at “Chester County Roots.” And check out Pam’s book for children and families: Big Life Lessons from Nature’s Little Secrets. Available at amazon.com.

PHOTO BY PAM BAXTER A bumblebee lands on jewelweed.