Nestled among the sand dunes, oak savannas, and wild flower and brush prairies, Northwest Indiana residents frequently try to make their own landscaping look natural like our surroundings, but without a lot of maintenance. We want to capture the beauty of our natural landscape, but we don’t want to sweat too hard! Perennials are the solution since they come back year after year so there is no annual planting. A few area experts offer their suggestions on the best perennials to plant in Northwest Indiana.
“Hostas are great because they are tough and will grow in the shade and you don’t have to trim them,” says Nancy Marshall, co-owner of Small’s Landscaping at 310 N. 325 E. in Valparaiso. “Irises are very nice and there are a lot of different varieties. Nepeta ‘walkers low’ is also good because it blooms all summer, and I like bee balm which attracts hummingbirds. Creeping thyme is different because it’s low. We use a lot of hydrangeas and coral bells and we have about 15 different colors now, so there is much more than just purple. We also recommend sedum because they are a nice ground cover, like sedum Elizabeth or sedum diamond edge are both good ones,” says Marshall.
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Dave Bush, owner of Great Oaks Nursery at 1021 North State Road 149 in Valparaiso also recommends some more showy plants that will bring color to your yard during all the months of summer. “We have hydrangeas that bloom all season long, azaleas bloom all year long, and a lot of people like day lilies. These kinds of perennials are all low maintenance and will make your yard look great throughout the summer,” says Bush.
For those who look to landscape with native plants, the Indiana Plant & Wildlife Society says there are a number of advantages. “Gardeners have a unique opportunity to address the biodiversity crisis. By adding even a few native plants to the landscape we add to the resources that support wildlife; build landscape corridors in our communities to counter habitat fragmentation; help storm water percolate safely into the soil rather than running superheated into rivers and streams; garden more sustainably, with less watering and fertilizing; create gardens that honor Indiana’s rich natural heritage; and make gardening easier, because native plants are not finicky.” Michael A. Homoya, ecologist and botanist for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Nature Preserves says, “Indigenous plants are a significant part of a region’s geographic context. In fact, they help define it. They have proven themselves capable of surviving in a landscape for millennia. What better plants can there be, if not the natives, to confront the soil conditions, climate, pests, and diseases of the local areas?”
What NOT to Plant
Following is the Invasive Plant Species Assessment Work Group list of plants to avoid. You’ll see many of them in established gardens, introduced into the nursery trade as ornamental landscape plants. Unfortunately they’re running amok in our natural areas and crowding out native vegetation. We encourage you NOT to buy or plant these plants, and to urge your local nursery or garden center NOT to sell them.
Forbs
crown vetch Coronilla varia dame’s rocket Hesperis matronalis Korean lespedeza Kummerowia stipulacea striate lespedeza Kummerowia striata white sweet clover Melilotus alba yellow sweet clover Melilotus officinalis Japanese knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum
Grasses
miscanthus hybrid Micscanthus x gigantea Chinese maiden grass Miscanthus sinensis reed canarygrass, ribbon grass Phalaris arundinacea common reed Phragmites australis tall fescue Schedonorus arundinaceus
Shrubs
Japanese barberry Berberis thunbergii
Russian olive Elaeagnus angustifolia autumn olive Elaeagnus umbellata burning bush Euonymus alatus glossy buckthorn Frangula alnus bicolor lespedeza Lespedeza bicolor sericea lespedeza Lespedeza cuneata Amur privet Ligustrum amurense blunt leaved privet Ligustrum obtusifolium California privet Ligustrum ovalifolium Chinese privet Ligustrum sinense common privet Ligustrum vulgare