Here Are The Best Native Plants For Odenton, Severn Gardens

ODENTON-SEVERN, MD -- Planting season, as Odenton and Severn 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 Odenton and Severn, some of the best flowers to grow this season include Wild Blue Phlox, Trumpet Honeysuckle and

Turk's-Cap Lily.

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

• Sweet-Bay
  • Also known as Swampbay, Sweet Magnolia, White Laurel, and Beaver Tree, this is a shrub with pale grey bark. Its multiple, upright trunks bear picturesque, horizontal branches that produce spicy-smelling foliage and velvety-white flowers that are followed by dark red fruits. Sweet-Bay grows best in partial shade and in rich, moist soils.
  • Birds they attract: Sparrows, woodpeckers, wood warblers, chickadees, waxwings, nuthatches
• Trumpet Honeysuckle
  • Also known as Coral Honeysuckle and Woodbine, this twining vine needs a trellis or fence upon which to grow. It blooms early in the year with one major flush in spring and then several other, but smaller, flushes throughout summer and fall. Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies are highly attracted to the red, trumpet-shaped flowers growing along the vine. This plant blooms best in full sun, though it can grow in partial shade, and prefers moist, rich soils.
  • Birds they attract: Thrushes, waxwings, nuthatches, cardinals, grosbeaks, sparrows, orioles
• Turk's-Cap Lily
  • The largest of the native lilies, Turk’s-Cap is a tall, showy perennial that reaches 3 to 7 feet in height. In early to midsummer it bears stunning, spotted orange flowers that droop with dramatically backwards-curled petals and protruding stamens. These large, showy blossoms are sure to attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths. Turk's-Cap Lily grows best in moist to wet soils and full sun, and can form large clumps over time.
  • Birds they attract: Hummingbirds, orioles, vireos, sparrows, mockingbirds, wood warblers
• Wild Blue Phlox
  • Wild Blue Phlox, also known as Louisiana Phlox, Blue Woodland Phlox, and Sweet William, is a perennial, semi-evergreen plant that grows 10 to 20 inches tall with opposite, unstalked, hairy leaves. The fragrant, bluish-lavender, light purple, pink, or white flowers appear in early summer and provide a nectar source for butterflies and hummingbirds. Wild Blue Phlox grows in partial to full shade and rich, moist, acid soils, including sandy, loamy, and clayey soils.
  • Birds they attract: Cardinals, grosbeaks, thrushes, wood warblers, nuthatches, crows, jays, mockingbirds, thrashers

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.