The Best Native Plants For Edgewater-Davidsonville Gardens

EDGEWATER-DAVIDSONVILLE, MD -- Planting season, as Edgewater and Davidsonville 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 Edgewater and Davidsonville, some of the best flowers to grow this season include Black-Eyed-Susan, Cardinal-Flower and Coral-Berry.

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

• American Hazelnut
  • This is a perennial, deciduous, and multi-stemmed shrub that typically grows 8 to 16 feet tall, and naturally occurs in dry or moist thickets. It thrives in full sun to partial shade, and in dry to moist soil, with a medium water requirement. This plant grows yellowish-brown catkins that appear in late winter and early spring, its leaves turning various colors from bright yellow to wine-red in the fall.
  • Birds they attract: Mockingbirds, thrashers, nuthatches, orioles, vireos, thrushes, chickadees
• Black-Eyed-Susan
  • This herbaceous annual grows 1 to 2 feet tall in full sun and moist to dry, well-drained soil. The daisy-like flowers are yellow with a brownish-purple center, and bloom on rough stalks from June to October. It attracts birds for its seeds and pollinating insects for its nectar, and is resistant to browsing by deer.
  • Birds they attract: Wrens, cardinals, grosbeaks, mockingbirds, thrashers, nuthatches, orioles, vireos
• Cardinal-Flower
  • Cardinal-Flower is a short-lived perennial that grows up to 6 feet tall, and is capable of thriving in standing water or average soil. From mid-summer to fall it produces showy red flowers at the end of terminal spikes that are especially attractive to hummingbirds. This plant can grow in full sun to shade, but its soil must always be kept moist or wet.
  • Birds they attract: Wood warblers, wens, vireos, orioles, nuthatches, chickadees
• Coral-Berry
  • This perennial, deciduous shrub also goes by the names Indian Currant and Buckbrush, growing up to 6 feet tall. Clusters of greenish white flowers grow before giving way to attractive, pink to purple berries that persist throughout the winter. It grows in full to partial shade, requiring a low to medium amount of water, and preferring well-drained sandy, loam, or clay soil. This shrub provides food, cover, and nesting sites for birds, small mammals, and browsers.
  • Birds they attract: Cardinals, grosbeaks, hummingbirds, nuthatches, vireos, mockingbirds, chickadees
• Highbush Blueberry
  • This deciduous, perennial shrub grows 6 to 12 feet high, with a similar width. The foliage is an attractive reddish-green during the spring before turning blue-green in the summer and red, orange, yellow, and purple in the fall. It produces clusters of white or pink, bell-shaped flowers followed by edible, blue to black fruit in late July to mid-August. This shrub is adaptable, growing in full sun to shade, and in dry to wet soils. It attracts a wide variety of wildlife, including birds and mammals that enjoy the berries, as well as browsers like deer that eat the foliage.
  • Birds they attract: Orioles, wood warblers, crows, jay, nuthatches, waxwings, chickadees

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.