Natives In Harmony

We’re so excited to be a part of this event next weekend at Scioto Gardens! It’s shaping up to be a fantastic day!

Natives In Harmony will be joining us at the 2nd Annual Habitat Hoopla on Saturday, June 13, making this event not just a learning opportunity, but a native plant sale of epic proportion!

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀: 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻, 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆

Gale Martin loves native plants. And since pollinators depend on plants and we depend on pollinators, it is safe to say Gale also loves pollinators. She makes the case for why Ohio genotype plants are so important for the pollinators that are native to Ohio. It’s for her love of bugs and plants that Gale doesn’t relent. She’s on a mission to “keep these plants from disappearing.”

As a little girl, Gale spent time on her family farm, tromping through the woods, studying the plants. Her career, however, eventually led her to become the executive director of the historical society in Marion County. Gale’s work often took her out to study remnants in prairies throughout the county, where she noticed unique and rare plants and collected seeds to bring back to her farm, to germinate and later grow in her gardens.

It all grew from there!

In the beginning, she just donated plants to county park districts. Feeling there might be more public interest in the plants, she then tried farmers' markets. On her first day, she stood and talked about why native plants are so important as people walked by. They didn’t get it. Gale left, discouraged and considering giving up. Then Dan advised: “You just have to educate them.”

And he was right. If you visit Natives in Harmony, or find Gale at a plant sale near you, you’ll find the plants along with an information sheet for each one that details its habitat, history and how best to grow it. Gale says this addition to her business plan “changed everything.”

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆:

"Natives in Harmony is a native plant nursery dedicated to providing habitat, promoting species preservation, and encouraging education. 90% of the plants we propagate are Ohio genotypes, with most of our seed sources located within 150 miles of our central Ohio location. Since we have the species planted on-site to grow seed for our plant propagation, we display living plant collections and native plant communities, and disseminate knowledge about propagating and preserving plants. Natives in Harmony supplies local genotype natives to homeowners, nature preserves, parks, and schools."

Our friends Terri and Randy Litchfield have asked us to share the information on their Open Garden event on July 4th! They have masterfully landscaped their property in Delaware Ohio with native plants that has lead to a thriving local ecosystem. On this 250th anniversary of the United States, celebrate native plants and biodiversity that makes this land great.

It’s Wildflower Wednesday! This week we are celebrating an easy-to-grow beauty for shadier gardens!

Virginia Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) is the lesser known cousin of Ohio Spiderwort and tends to inhabit more woodland areas and thickets where it can beat the heat in partial to dappled sunlight under the canopy of trees and large shrubs. This clump-forming perennial has a long bloom time from early May until July. The vibrant purple flowers open for one day each, a few from each cluster at a time. The arching, iris-like green foliage stays beautiful throughout the spring and early summer, but begins to decline as hot, dry weather persists. Bumblebees are the most important pollinators of the flowers, but other bees such as honeybees, little carpenter bees, and Halictine bees also visit the flowers. Herbivores browse the foliage occasionally, but it is not a preferred food source probably due to the low severity poisonous characteristics of the sticky sap. Native habitats include fertile woodlands, open woods, moist thickets, hillsides, bluffs, and partially shaded stream banks. Virginia spiderwort can be distinguished from Ohio spiderwort by the hairiness of its slender pedicels, larger bracts subtending the flowers, and tends to be shorter and stouter without the blueish tint to its leaves.
Height: 2-3’
Spread: 1-1.5’
Bloom Time: late spring to mid-summer
Bloom Color: violet to blue
Sun: partial sun to light shade
Water: moist to medium