Here's a quick story of how I grew some gorgeous native wildflowers from a wild population in my area! These Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) are a great native wildflower for much of the mid-Atlantic and Central US as well as eastern Canada.
It is incredibly fulfilling to collect, germinate, plant, and nurture a native wildflower to maturity and to watch it support native insects and pollinators. I've done it a few times with a few different plants, but this is one of the first perennials I've done it with. In addition to supporting wildlife by planting native, growing local ecotype seeds helps to preserve the local population genetics. As you saw, much of the original population that I collected from was lost after the sidewalk and turf grass was installed at that spot. But since I was able to collect and grow, those genetics are preserved in my landscape for as long as I live here.
Now that these local ecotype plants are in my landscape, I'll continue to collect and grow as many seeds as I can from these plants, and continue to share them, guerilla plant them, or move them around my community. I encourage you to try this with a native wildflower in your area! Make sure to harvest seeds responsibly, and only from healthy, abundant populations. Take only what you need and make sure to leave plenty for the wildlife and for the plant itself to reproduce on site!
#penstemondigitalis #foxglovebeardtongue #penstemon #nativeplants #native #plants #gardening #garden #flowers #flower #plant #localecotype #ecoregion #wildlife #pollinators #bees #digitalis #wildflowers #meadow #perennials #pennsylvania
