Monarda fistulosa is one of our favorite native plants. It has an ethereal quality to it. When swaying in a light breeze, it dances. When the sun hits the flower petals just so, they sparkle. At times it looks like a painting of a dream, delicate and hardy.
Monarda fistulosa, Irvington, IN by K. ArbuckleMonarda fistulosa flower, Irvington, IN by K. Arbuckle
Commonly known as wild bergamot or bee balm, the flowers attract birds, butterflies, hummingbirds, hummingbird moths, and an assortment of bees. It always seems to have a handful of pollinators on it and often is surrounded by soft buzzing. It is a great companion to other native pollinator plants, such as echinacea, rudbeckia, and verbena. Monarda flowers are edible and the leaves have long been used medicinally and to make tea.
Snowberry Clearwing Moth on Monarda fistulosa, Irvington, IN by K. ArbuckleSpicebush Swallowtail on Monarda fistulosa, Irvington, IN by K. Arbuckle
This lovely perennial grows throughout most of Indiana and thrives in almost any growing conditions. It isn’t picky. It will grow in full sun to partial shade and almost any soil you can find in the state, except wetlands. Mildew can become a problem if there isn’t enough airflow around the plant, but that seldom causes real harm. As an easy-to-grow native plant and requiring little maintenance, it’s a good choice for beginning gardeners. It can become tall and will sometimes flop a bit with heavy rain and wind, but that never seems to bother the plant. While it can grow to five feet tall, it typically stays around three feet and its spread is about the same. Propagating the perennial is simple through dividing the plants or growing from seed.
Macro of Monarda fistulosa, Irvington, IN by K. ArbuckleBumble bee on Monarda fistulosa, Irvington, IN by K. Arbuckle
When planting your flower or native garden, consider adding this wonderful perennial to feed the pollinators. It will reward you for many years with its delightful petals and sweet scent.
As landscapers, we are often asked about our own yard. At times, we must admit, it can be a bit neglected. Especially the yews that were planted years before we bought the house. No one loves trimming them, though they need it and are almost finished this year (much too late). We keep them around because we don’t particularly like to kill healthy plants and they are nice in the winter. We often discuss, however, the amount of space they take up and what food plants or natives we could put there instead.
Our crabapple in full bloom when it was healthy.
Another plant that was here when we moved in was a crabapple tree. It was stunning, but ignorance caused its demise. The previous owners planted it and a maple in the front yards. As the trees grew, the maple tree shaded the crabapple. Even with pampering and removal of a few branches to allow more light, it was just too shady for the tree to survive. We finally had to admit it was dead and cut it down this month. The stump will soon support a solar bird bath and we will plant some native berries to provide the wildlife in our yard with replacement food.
Our yard is different, to say the least. We did away with all of the grass about 15 years ago. We have spring bulbs and various groundcovers in the front yard. Where the crabapple was will soon be a native shade cottage garden. The backyard is raised beds for vegetables (black walnut trees make that a must), fruit trees, herbs, native beds, a flower bed, berries, and a large fenced area for our ducks and chickens. We also have compost bins, our hives, rain barrels, a pool for the ducks (the ladies will be 11 in the spring and the pool is a must-have for them), an outside pen for Artemis the cat, and our fire pit.
Our backyard gardens.
Like many yards in Historic Irvington, ours is not large. We do everything we can to make our gardens sustainable and use the space to its best advantage. The birds, the firepit, and the cat pen have the shadiest spots. The vegetable beds are placed to maximize what little sun we have. Everything else is put where it will fit and volunteer native plants are allowed to grow wherever they appear.
Our backyard extras
We built the raised beds from paver bricks. They were free, except the time to load them and unload them. The bricks were made in Wabash, Indiana. The trellises are old cattle fence pieces and posts that were part of the sheep run on the farm. The fire pit was Grandpa Arbuckle’s sheep feeding bowl. The fire pit chair bases were part of our sugar maple that fell in the winter storm of 2014 and the chairs were various free and thrifted pieces, many with broken legs. We like that our yard has some history in it and we like to work with what we have or what others discard.
One of the things we like the most is that it attracts all kinds of wildlife, even if it means we have to cover the beds with netting and lose a few veggies to the many visitors. We currently have a groundhog aka the kale thief, several opossums, a raccoon, squirrels, chipmunks, loads of insects, and many kinds of birds that frequent the yard.
Some of the visitors to our backyard.
Our gardens are all organic and a lot of work sometimes, but with the greatest rewards. We feed ourselves, the many visitors, and our birds. We enjoy all of the life in the yard and will continue to add plants to feed us and the wildlife.
One of our favorite documentary series, The Natural Heritage of Indiana, shows the diversity in our state’s natural environment. While labeled a documentary, it classifies as a work of art, in part because of the state’s plethora of natural beauty. Indiana has sand dunes, prairies, wetlands, hills, canyons, rivers, lakes, caves, woodlands and more. That diversity and beauty in our natural landscape provide us with many native plants to choose from when creating landscapes. The natural landscapes of Indiana inspire us in our designs and practices, as well as in our daily lives.
Native woodland plants in McCormick’s Creek State Park
Native plants of Indiana range from giant oak trees, like the Kyle Oak in our Irvington neighborhood, to the diminutive spring beauty that grows in the shady woodlands. We have an abundance of wildflowers in Indiana and one can find a variety to grow in just about any condition. Whether you have a dry shady spot, a low lying ‘wet feet’ location, or a full sun area with average soil, the state’s bounty has a flower for you. Wildflowers and trees only touch the surface. Indiana also has several ferns, numerous kinds of grass, shrubs, evergreens, and bulbs that can fill in any landscape.
Using native plants in landscaping has numerous benefits. Native plants provide essential food and habitat for wildlife, including birds and insects. Milkweed feeds the monarch butterflies, dogwood and American cranberrybush feed birds and small animals, and flowers provide pollen, seeds, and nectar for insects, birds, and hummingbirds. Feeding the pollinators isn’t just good for them and the plants — the beautiful garden visitors provide enjoyment for us, as well. Another benefit is lower maintenance needs. Plants that have adapted to grow in an environment have lower maintenance needs when planted in the proper conditions, including less watering and pruning. By using natives, you also avoid planting invasive species, which can wreak havoc on our environment.
Native plants feed pollinators in our backyard gardens.
We have set a goal to use natives as much as possible in our landscape designs. Sometimes, we have clients give us free range and we use all natives. When we need to meet specific criteria for a site or client request, however, like flower color or plant height, we will also use native cultivars and non-native companion plants. We would rather use cultivars and companions than any species that may become invasive and harm the eco-system. You’ll never see us plant the ubiquitous Bradford Pear or the dreadful English ivy. (We have been trying to eradicate ivy from our yard for 20+ years thanks to the previous homeowners. It pops back up from the tiniest bit of missed root.)
Whether you want a formal flower bed, cottage garden, hedge row, border, trees, or anything else, we can use native plants to make your ideal landscape. Contact us for more information on using plants native to Indiana in your landscape.
We have lived in Historic Irvington for over 20 years. It has been a wonderful place to build our lives, raise our sons, and be a part of a community. Irvington feels like a small town, even though it was long ago absorbed by the big city. We have everything we need here within walking distance: an Indy Public Library branch, the beautiful Ellenberger Park, and an active business district that includes restaurants, a brew pub, a book store, coffee shops, and a small grocer featuring local foods.
When the Irvington Streetscape project finished phase one several years ago, we volunteered to maintain one of the beds. It was primarily the boys’ job, as they often walked by it. They picked up trash and pulled weeds. The poor plants took a lot of abuse, from being run over by a car to the city plows piling snow on them. But we loved seeing the new green spaces added to Irvington and wanted to do what we could to contribute.
The Irvington Streetscape
The Irvington Streetscape median in the heart of the business district.
The Irvington Streetscape median near Indy Cycle and the Loft.
We were excited to receive an invitation to bid on maintaining the Irvington Streetscape late this spring. We frequently walk around IRV and noticed it was looking a little neglected this year. It is an honor to maintain the streetscape and we have been hard at work making Irvington even more beautiful. We are proud of our neighborhood and we hope to continue to provide our services to the Irvington Development Organization.
This fall we are working with the IDO, the Irvington Garden Club, and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful to have a volunteer day. We hope to add some native plants to the bare spots in the streetscape, replace a dead tree, and do a general clean-up of ‘downtown’ Irvington. While we keep up with the trash, weeds, and mulch, this will really help make the streetscape look its best.
John climbing a dead ash for safe removal near a home.
It is never an easy decision to agree to cut down a tree. We value trees for all they give us, from clean air, to shade (and lower electric bills), to habitat for the many insects, birds, and animals that rely on them. We prefer to plant trees, especially varieties native to Indiana, and nurture them to their full potential.
We have many beautiful native trees to choose from in Indiana. Redbuds and Magnolias are a favorite for their early spring blossoms. Evergreens, like Hemlock and Eastern Red Cedar, add year round color. Several varieties of maple and oak give us large shade trees to anchor landscapes. Fruit and nut trees, including Black Cherry and Hickory, provide beauty and food. We are fortunate to have such diversity in our ecosystem and Indiana landscapes benefit from that.
While Arbuckle & Sons provides full tree services throughout the greater Indianapolis area, our desire is to keep healthy trees standing whenever possible. We offer selective pruning and trimming to maintain trees and their health, and for safety as needed. Trees in landscapes benefit from pruning to keep them at their best. Pruning sucker branches and crossed or crowded branches gives trees a healthier growth pattern and opens up the tree so more light reaches lower branches. Removing low hanging limbs or limbs that interfere with pedestrian areas, structures, or power lines can often save a tree from being cut down later. Cutting out dead branches, damaged limbs, and insect infestations prevents further damage. We do what we can to keep trees healthy, allowing their natural beauty and shape to guide us.
Unfortunately, sometimes trees cannot be saved.
With the onslaught of the emerald ash borer, we have sadly had many customers requesting removal of dead or dying ash trees. We have five varieties of ash trees in the state. The ash borer has spread to all Indiana counties and experts predict we could lose 95% of our ash trees. The trees range from young trees to large, old ash, like this one.
Old ash tree that died from an emerald ash borer infestation.
The tree dropped large limbs in the yard, creating a dangerous situation for the homeowners.
The dead trees affected by the ash borer become hazardous. Limbs fall and in heavy storms, whole trees come down, creating dangerous situations when they are near homes, power lines, sidewalks, or streets. In these situations, the trees have to be cut down.
You can learn more about the emerald ash borer on the Indiana DNR site and how to help Save our Ash Trees on the Indiana Parks Alliance page. If you want to see a complete list of trees native to Indiana, check out the Indiana Wildlife Federation’s list of Native Plants of Indiana.
If you want advice on your trees or want to add a tree to your landscape, contact us.
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