this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2023
8 points (100.0% liked)

Native Plant Gardening

756 readers
1 users here now

Why native plants?

According to the The National Audubon Society:

Restoring native plant habitat is vital to preserving biodiversity. By creating a native plant garden, each patch of habitat becomes part of a collective effort to nurture and sustain the living landscape for birds and other animals.

What our community is about—

This community is for everyone who is interested in planting native species in their garden. Come here for discussions, questions, and sharing of ideas/photos.

Rules:

  1. Don't be a jerk.
  2. Don't spam.
  3. Stay on topic.
  4. Specify your region in the post title. This is a global community, so designating your region is important.

More for you to explore—

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
LucidFeverDream@mander.xyz
8
6b evergreen ideas (lemm.ee)
submitted 11 months ago by greenhorn@lemm.ee to c/nativeplantgardening@mander.xyz
4 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I'm in southeast Michigan, hardiness zone 6b, and I'd like to add a small or mid size evergreen to my yard for some winter interest, any suggestions?

I also have a large yew I'd like to replace with something comparable to maintain a little porch privacy, I'm thinking either a smoke bush or witch hazel, any others I should consider?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] seitanicpanic@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Laurels (Kalmia genus) are evergreens with cool flowers. However, they're highly poisonous if eaten so not good around curious kids or animals.

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=KAAN

Witch Hazel can take a few years to bloom and the leaves can look raggedy with all the insect action. But I did see a witch hat gall this summer which was really neat!

Spicebush could be an option. Black chokeberry too, it has awesome fall color.

[–] greenhorn@lemm.ee 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for the ideas! I didn't know that about witch hazel, I really like the yellow flowers but have never been close to one. That's moving sspicebush to the top of the list. Laurels are intriguing - no kids, and the only animals are wild, so should be safe?