Why Some of Your Annuals Should Be Native Plants

Abstract

Mr. Branhagen, a lifelong naturalist who is the director of operations at the 1,200-acre Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, has encountered many other native annuals in situ. Mr. Branhagen has also championed Midwestern prairie natives - as well as irresistible species from other regions - for use in gardens. So even in the most traditional display gardens of perennials and bulbs, self-sowing native annuals like the Euphorbia are encouraged. A Role as 'Earth Healers' Mr. Branhagen has published two books on regional natives, including "Native Plants of the Midwest: A Comprehensive Guide to the Best 500 Species for the Garden," which includes a section on annual species. Native annuals do so much more than provide summer color. Most native annuals are not the stuff of mainstream seed catalogs. Palafoxia, native from the Ozarks into Texas - a haze of little lavender blooms more often seen in railroad rights of way and other rocky spots than in American gardens, where it is unfortunately little known, Mr. Branhagen said.