Spring is here and it’s time to get outside and connect with nature. If you haven’t been out in your garden to clean up after our long winter, now is the time to prepare for planting.
So, what will you plant this spring: annuals, shrubs, pollinator-friendly plants, natives? Not sure what to plant? Norfolk Botanical Garden staff can help. Join us for our plant sale April 23 (exclusive early NBG member shopping and 10% discount). Open to the public April 24 and 25. To support good social distancing, this year, it’s offered online, allowing you to shop from the convenience and safety of your home. Ask our horticulture staff your plant questions by sending an email to askaplantquestion@nbgs.org.
Our annual sale has long been known throughout the region as one of the best places to pick up unusual plants at great prices. This year’s theme is “Plants Are Our Best Buds.” You will find a wide variety of plants, from the rare and unusual to your favorites that thrive in the coastal Virginia region. Funds from this sale help the garden fulfill our mission: to immerse visitors in a world of beauty, lead through environmental action and inspire through education and connection to nature.
Did you know that plants benefit the environment? Plants help clean the air by removing carbon dioxide, provide shade, help filter rainwater, and provide shelter and nourishment to our pollinator friends. This includes bees, butterflies, birds and other wildlife. Together, we can plant a better world.
More information about the plant sale, including the plant list and staff favorites beyond those listed here, can be found at www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/online-spring-plant-sale/
PLANTS ARE OUR BEST BUDS: STAFF FAVORITES
Arkansas Bluestar (Amsonia hubrechtii)
Les likes this rare-in-the-wild Arkansas native, not for its flowers but for its foliage. By midsummer the plant looks like a large, fluffy fern, and in the fall it is one of the few perennials with colorful fall foliage. It turns a nice golden yellow. The spring flowers are an indecisive skim milk blue. — Les Parks, director of horticulture
Hordival Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis “Valentine”)
Bleeding heart is a great plant for shady gardens, and “Valentine” offers a new twist with red flowers instead of the traditional pink. The flowers are uniquely heart-shaped, which kids find fascinating, and they bring back childhood memories of spending time with a grandmother in the garden. — Michelle Baudanza, curator of herbaceous plants
Raydon’s Favorite Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)
The late-season flowers attract beneficial insects, pollinators and butterflies, including Monarch butterflies, who stop for nutrition on their migration south. On top of that, it is reliable and easy to grow, and looks good. — Tom Houser, senior horticulturist
Hummingbird Bush (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii)
This Southwest native has a fine texture and bright bold color; it is drought tolerant, pollinator friendly and a magnet for hummingbirds. On top of that, it will make your neighbors envious that you are growing something so hard to find. — Meredith Simmons, greenhouse technician
Lynnhaven Carpet Robin’s Plantain (Erigeron pulchellus)
If you like plants with a local connection, try this nearly foolproof plant; it was found in a garden next to the Lynnhaven River in Virginia Beach. It has semi-evergreen foliage and delicate, pale pink spring blooms which make long-lasting cut flowers. Best of all, a patch of them creates “green mulch,” growing so thickly that no weeds can grow. — Linda Saunders, senior horticulturist
