There’s a ton of resources online about what native trees, shrubs, and flowers to grow in Maryland, so I’m not going to reiterate list that many other websites have posted. However, I will write about WHY I selected particular Southern Maryland native flowers and I’ll save the trees and shrubs for another post. Not all plants that are native to Southern Maryland are native to the rest of Maryland (and vice versa), but I checked the regions for each of these plants to make sure they were native to my area.
I bought all of these seeds from Prairie Moon Nursery and it was just over $100 in total for about a half pound of seeds – so I got free shipping, which I typically try to do because I’d rather just have more seeds/plants than pay for shipping. Though, I admit I’m privileged to have a set aside a fair bit of cash to get my garden and food forest to produce food sooner rather than later. In summary, the key attributes I was looking for were food for pollinators, shade tolerance (I live in a forest), and pretty flowers.
Southern Maryland Native Flowers – The “Weeds”
The “weeds” just have weed in their common name, but I like them all because they are host plants for many types of butterflies and produce food for other insects. Grow them if you can find a spot.
Poke Milkweed – Asclepias exaltata
So, as many people who are into native gardening are aware, common milkweed is a host plant for monarch butterflies, and monarch butterfly populations have been declining. I live in a dense forest and there’s not a whole ton of light available for growing food, so i didn’t want to use valuable full sun spots on milkweed plants. So, I opted for Poke Milkweed, which is also a host plant for monarch butterflies, but it better adapted to grow in dappled sun to partial shade, which is abundant in the forest. So, I bought several seed packets and threw them into an area that they should well in.
Rose Milkweed – Asclepias incarnata
Given their positions in this list, you might think that milkweeds are important native plants, and you’d be right! They feed numerous pollinators and are particularly important for butterflies. Similarly to Poke Milkweed, Rose Milkweed (also called Swamp Milkweed) does not need full sun, but it can tolerate either full sun or partial shade. So, again for my shade rich property this is a better choice than common milkweed. The seeds are also way cheaper than Poke Milkweed seeds, so I bought a huge packet and through them indiscriminately around my property.
Butterfly Weed – Asclepias tuberosa
Butterfly weed is also in the Milkweed genus, and is a great host for butterflies, but it does much better in the sun than in the shade. So, I don’t have a ton of space for this milkweed, but I’ve made an exception because i think it is the most beautiful of the milkweeds, and possibly of all the native plants in my region. I guess I just really like orange flowers!
Sweet Joe Pye Weed – Eutrochium purpureum
Sweet Joe Pye Weed is to Joe Pye Weed as Poke Milkweed is to Common Milkweed – man, I am glad that I haven’t had to think about SATs in nearly 2 decades. But what I mean is that Sweet Joe Pye Weed is just the shade loving variety of Joe Pye Weed which is an important host plant for a variety of months. And if you didn’t know, many moths are pollinators, but they pollinate at night so they typically don’t get the same amount of love from gardeners as daytime pollinators get.
My Favorite Other Southern Maryland Native Flowers in Descending Order
1. New Jersey Tea Plant – Ceanothus americanus
This one piqued my interest because, well, I grew up in New Jersey and I drink a lot of tea, yet I hadn’t heard of it until I started looking for Maryland Native Plant seeds. New Jersey Tea is said to be caffeine-free, but still stimulating, and I haven’t been able to find exactly why. It’s also kind of cool that this plant has some historical significance from the American Revolution because it was used as a locally grown tea substitute because it was not a good look for the revolutionaries to be drinking imported tea – you know, the whole Boston Tea Party, no taxation without representation thing. And that’s how the plant actually got it’s name. So, when I harvest the leaves and can make some tea, then I’ll update this post with some more insights. I’m also growing the typical tea plant Camellia sinensis for the caffeine, so I’ll also be able to do a direct comparison of homegrown New Jersey Tea vs. homegrown normal Tea. And then, Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) twigs and leaves can also be made into a tea as it has caffeine, so I can compare all three, or make tea blends!
2. Sundial Lupine – Lupinus perennis subsp. perennis
There’s not too much rhyme or reason for why i selected the sundial lupine other than that there is a children’s book called “Miss Rumphius” by Barbara Cooney and the main character – Miss Rumphius – strives to make the world a more beautiful place and does so by planting many handfuls of lupine seeds as she goes for walks around her town and in the forest. I think we should all strive to be a little more like Miss Rumphius, so when i was selecting Maryland native plant seeds I knew that I needed to get lupines. If you haven’t read the book, it’s great and it was even a National Book Award Winner in 1983.
3. Cardinal Flower – Lobelia cardinalis
In all honesty, I just liked the red flowers and that it is pollinated by hummingbirds. I occasionally see hummingbirds while out in the garden, but more would be nice. The cardinal flower also does well in wet environments, and I’ve got quite a few wet areas where i think this would thrive.
4. Black Eyed Susan – Rudbeckia hirta
Black Eyed Susan is just a classic, easy to grow Maryland native plant that also happens to be the state flower of Maryland. Since I like plants that are easy to grow, and I live in Maryland this was just a no brainer for me.
5. Maryland Senna – Senna marilandica
This is a type of pea plant, but I don’t think you’d want to eat it on the regular – most parts of the plant are medicinal and cathartic (a laxative). So, that’s good to know in a pinch, but most of the time you should leave this one to the butterflies and birds.
6. Wild Bergamot – Monarda fistulosa
Honestly, I was a little disappointed when I first learned that wild bergamot was not related to the bergamot citrus oil that is used to flavor Earl Gray tea. I’m a big tea drinker, and earl gray is my go-to, so i thought it would be cool to have a source of bergamot oil. Nevertheless, wild bergamot is a great plant for pollinators and it sometimes called Bee Balm. Also, it’s in the mint family, so it spreads quite vigorously, and the leave do smell super good, though not like bergamot oil, or mint for that matter.
7. Purple Coneflower – Echinacea purpurea
Even though the Echinacea is often used medicinally to treat a variety of ailments, I’m just growing it for the pollinators and birds, and because I think it will look good with the Black Eyed Susans. Purple coneflower can be grown it full sun, but can tolerate some shade, so I’ll plant it in a fairly shady spot and see how it goes.
8. Smooth Blue Aster – Symphyotrichum laeve
I think the smooth blue aster is a very pretty plant with it’s small blue flowers and yellow center. It also is able to grow in partial shade, and that has really been one of the key factors for all of the plants on this list. Smooth blue aster is a host plant for the Silvery Checkerspot and Pearl Crescent butterflies, both of which I think are pretty.
9. Little Bluestem – Schizachyrium scoparium
Little bluestem is a native prairie grass and I’m mostly just planning to use it to help out some of the skipper butterflies. I’m not a huge fan of grasses in general, but I’m aware that there are certain species of butterfly that use grasses as host plants, so I feel the need to provide for them.