Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Going Native: Wild Ginger

I recently planted native Canadian Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense, in my new woodland edge border. I purchased three of these plants through the mail from Amanda's Garden located near Rochester, NY and couldn't be more pleased. To my surprise, in just one to two weeks after being planted, I had blooms!



Do you see the dark red flower to the right? There is also a bud on the lower stem in the foreground. (Someday with a new, more powerful camera I'll be able to offer you a closer view.) It was truly enthralling to discover these blooms. Oh, and that is a glimpse of rare northeastern sunlight through the wonderfully large heart-shaped leaves. With time, I hope to have a dense mat of these beautifully textured leaves covering the "woodland floor" of this bed.

Wild ginger is attractive to butterflies and is an alternative host plant for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly. I sure do hope a swallowtail accepts this inviting welcome mat in my garden. Maybe yours, too?

4 comments:

  1. I have been trying to find a good source so I will check it out...lovely and host to butterflies...wow..thx for the info

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  2. I have been wanting to get some wild ginger for my woodland garden. It is such a lovely plant. I didn't know it was an alternative host plant. Even more reason for me to get one sooner rather than later.

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  3. I must confess that I know nothing at all about native wild ginger, but would love to know more. Does this plant have any culinary uses or is it just ornamental? Does it spread or does it clump?

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  4. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Wild ginger will spread over time to form a beautiful ground cover. Wild ginger is not edible. The roots, or rhizomes, however can be dried and used as an insecticide or antiseptic. For more information: http://www.altnature.com/gallery/wild_ginger.htm.

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Thank you for joining me in my garden in the making!

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