![]() These five salt-tolerant native plants can form the backbone of a beautiful and functional rain garden.īlue Water Baltimore grows these and many others at Herring Run Nursery, which will re-open for retail shopping in April.Phonetic Spelling EYE-riss VER-suh-kuh-lor This plant has low severity poison characteristics. Switchgrass was also the plant of choice for pupating Monarch caterpillars at Herring Run Nursery this year. It has a very deep root system, which facilitates the infiltration of runoff, and has very high wildlife value. It works well in dry meadows, but also performs admirably in rain gardens. Switchgrasss is one of Baltimore’s most versatile native grasses. The flowers are the perfect size for bees, like mason bees and honey bees, and the plant does well in many types of soil including those that are commonly wet and those that are drought-prone. But it also offers gorgeous pink and purple blooms in summer when few other plants are blooming. Pink milkweed, sometimes called swamp milkweed, is one of the most effective host plants for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. And blue flag iris is one of the best native plants for trapping pollutants. Large pollinators, like our threatened native bumblebees, are attracted to the blooms. It grows 2 to 3 feet tall with blue and purple flowers in late Spring and early Summer. These can be pruned, too, if you prefer an ecologically valuable alternative to the near-useless but more common mums.īlue flag iris is a fabulous addition to any rain garden. This aster is extremely important to our native pollinators, including bees. New York aster also blooms in fall, providing a rich purple color to the Autumn garden. Goldenrods are also host plant for more than 100 species of butterfly and moth caterpillars. It grows well in sandy, poor soils and the fall bloom coincides perfectly with the southward migration of Monarch butterflies for whom it is an important source of nectar. Seaside goldenrod is one of the most salt-tolerant native plants we have. ![]() ![]() These are not only attractive but especially useful to pollinators and other insects. Thankfully, many of Baltimore’s native species are quite salt tolerant especially ones that evolved in Maryland’s coastal plain province.įrom the many beautiful salt-tolerant native perennials, here are five of our favorites. Rain gardens which treat polluted runoff that contains salt should be designed with salt-tolerant native plants. If your rain garden is supplied with water from a sidewalk or parking lot, one of the pollutants is likely to trap is salt.ĭuring icy conditions in winter, pavement and asphalt are treated with ice removal chemicals that typically include salts like sodium chloride or magnesium chloride. ![]() This process helps the water cycle, reducing stream flooding during storms and recharging ground water, and also traps pollutants so they don’t enter our waterways. They capture the stormwater before it leaves your land, allowing it to soak gently back into the earth. Rain gardens are often the best solution for reducing the amount of polluted runoff your property generates. ![]()
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