Churchville Nature Center Annual Wildflower Sale this Weekend

If you want to get a jump on the season, come down to browse the plant selections offered by Churchville Nature Center. You won't leave empty-handed. There are about one hundred different perennials, shrubs and trees to tempt you, as well as a big selection of herbs, aquatic plants, annuals and hanging baskets.

If you need assistance, ask the knowledgeable volunteers to help you out.

"We are offering a variety of plants this year," said Marlin Corn, naturalist at Churchville Nature Center. "We have plants to attract butterflies and hummingbirds as well as xeriscape plants that don't require much water."

Got shade? No problem. Churchville Nature Center offers a variety of perennial plants for the shade including: columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), wild ginger (Asarum canadensis), Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), wild bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia), mistflower (Eupatorium coelestinum), wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata), creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera), spreading Jacobs ladder (Polemonium reptans), firepink (Silene virginica), foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), and a variety of ferns.

Looking for groundcovers in a shady area? Foamflowers and ferns make a wonderful combination. The foamflowers bloom in spring with white fuzzy blooms then become surrounded by ferns. This winning combination is very easy to grow.  

Native bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia) have a small, delicate-looking pink blossom amidst fern-like foliage. These hardy perennials will spread each year, so give them room to grow. Don't confuse them with Japanese bleeding heart that have much larger heart-shaped blooms. These will get large and need to be divided every few years. With native bleeding heart, you can leave them alone and let them spread in your garden.

Sunny areas are easy to landscape. Many perennials thrive in the sun and bloom for a long time throughout the season. If you're looking for no-muss, no-fuss plants, try black-eyed Susan. These native plants bloom in mid-summer and continue into the fall.  Purple coneflowers are a great combination with the sunny yellow black-eyed Susan. Both do not require watering once they are established in your garden. Leave the seedheads on for the birds to enjoy throughout the winter.

Two harbingers of spring are the classic native Eastern columbine and Redbud. Eastern columbine is a slender red perennial tipped with yellow that prefers partial shade. The genus name Aquilegia is derived from the Latin word, aquila, meaning "eagle." The shape of the petals is said to be like an eagle's claw. If this plant is happy in your garden, it will spread by seed.

Redbud is one of the most striking trees of spring. Its pink blossoms coat the branches event before the leaves appear in spring. It will grow to a height of about 20 feet over time.

Preview day for members only is Friday, April 29. The sale starts Saturday, April 30 and runs until May 8th. Check the website for more details.