Wilmette Author Share Tips on Native Gardens

Wilmette gardener and author Charlotte Adelman says she co-wrote The Midwestern Native Garden to help native species survive.

“Here we are in Wilmette, you would think if you wondered out of your house, you would see plants that have grown in Wilmette for the past few hundred years,” Adelman said. “But no, instead it’s a vision of the international world.”

Adelman says she is not against non-native plants but feels they threaten the ecological system local insects and birds rely on to survive.

For the full profile of why Adelman wrote the book, read.

The Wilmette resident shares recommendations for native, non-invasive plants and explains their role in preserving the Midwestern eco-system.

Milkweed

“When Monarch butterflies looks for a place to lay her eggs and reproduce, she will find virtually nothing in Wilmette, because they only lay their eggs on species of milk weeds,” Adelman said.

Adelman suggests two types of milkweeds that are decorative and would help provide the Monarch Butterfly, which is the Illinois State insect, an environment for growth.

• Prairie Milkweed – pink, fragrant and typically blossom later in the season.
• Butterfly Milkweed – orange and a good replacement for orange day lilies.

Purple Coneflower

“The Purple coneflower, even though it’s very popular fortunately, in parts of the Midwest, it’s actually extinct,” she said.

Adelman says the purple coneflower attracts goldfinches, a yellow bird with black patterned wings.

Cup Plant

 “Cup Plants are tall big plants that like sun, they are called cup plants because the leaves grasp the stems and rain accumulates there briefly, and you will see goldfinches sipping water from there.” Adelman said. “It’s like a combination bird bath, bird feeder.”

The plant also attracts butterflies, she said.

Native Grass

“Anywhere you go, there are all these nonnative grasses that are decorative,” Adelman said. “Those native grasses are what Skippers, the butterflies with the big eyes, lay their eggs on.”

• Prairie Dropseed – This native grass grows like fountains and Native Americans loved the seeds that they made bread with it, according to Adelman.
• Indian Grass – This is a tall native grass with plumes of golden brown flowers and seeds.
• Bottlebrush Grass – This is a woodland grass that likes shade and grows in clumps.

For more information about the book, visit: www.OhioSwallow.com

For more about the event, visit: www.Wilmette.Lib.il.us/Events

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