The extensive landscaping with native plants around Colonial Lake at the west edge of the Charleston peninsula serves as a mini botanical garden and demonstration area.
When I visited last August, I was surprised at the number of plants in bloom. The list of plants below can be used as a checklist of native plants for gardeners wanting more hardy, summer-flowering plants in their yards.
Currently, Colonial Lake is undergoing an extensive renovation led by the Charleston Parks Conservancy. That means many plants mentioned in this column are no longer on-site. The new plants are a mix of low-maintenance cultivars introduced and native ornamentals.
Spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata) has unusual pink flowers, which actually are leaf-like bracts surrounding small, short-lived yellow flowers with tiny spots. Unlike the more common scarlet beebalm, which has a minty scent, spotted beebalm smells like thyme because it contains thymol, the same compound found in thyme. Spotted beebalm attracts small beneficial predatory wasps that feed on other insects.
White virgins-bower flowers intermixed with purple beautyberry fruit.
Anthony Keinath/Provided
Beauty berry is a native shrub whose iconic purple fruit emerge in late summer and cluster up in small bundles along the stem.
Virgins-bower, a type of clematis, was in full bloom with large clusters of white flowers with four petals. It’s not clear if the one I saw was the native Virginia virgins-bower (Clematis virginiana) or the introduced sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora). Both are vigorous vines, 10 to 30 feet tall, that bloom in late summer or early fall. The flowers have five golden yellow petals and are held in clusters on long stalks.
Orange milkweed seems like a more fitting common name than “butterfly weed” for the perennial called Asclepias tuberosa because it tells you what to look for: a milkweed with orange flowers. Typical milkweed flowers have 10 petals — five flat ones, sometimes called “hoods,” and five upright ones, sometimes called “horns.” Flowers form in clusters with each one on its own small stem.
The common name “butterfly weed” comes from the preference of butterflies, especially monarchs, for this plant. It is a larval host for monarch butterflies, which means the caterpillars will eat the plant. Unlike other milkweeds, deer also eat butterfly weed.
Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus penduliforus) is also called sleeping hibiscus as the petals remain rolled up and never unfurl. The scarlet-red flowers contrast nicely with bright green leaves.
This species of turk’s cap hibiscus has long flowers that don’t open fully.
Anthony Keinath/Provided
Texas star (Hibiscus coccineus) is a tall, native hibiscus with carmine-red flowers. It is a popular plant for the back of a mixed perennial border, especially in a moist site.
Another red flower is red spider lily (Lycoris radiata), also called hurricane lily because it blooms during hurricane season. Heavy rain (like Charleston has been experiencing) stimulates flower production. Its coral red flowers provide an instant focal point in the late summer garden.
Although not native, red spider lily is considered a Southern heirloom plant since it was introduced into North Carolina in the early 1800s. The reasonably priced bulbs are available from online or mail-order specialty nurseries.
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