Going Native: Climbing Prairie Rose

Climbing prairie rose, Rosa setigera, is another native rose I planted in my garden two years ago. I planted it along our fence line to hide the chain link and to offer privacy. It receives a fair amount of sun and has grown amazingly fast. Other than to train it slightly to grow along the fence and handmade trellis, I have done nothing to maintain this rose. This is the first season it bloomed. I expected a few blooms, but not this:

It smells like a rose. It also offers pollen and hips. I look forward to seeing the bright red hips this winter. Pollinators attracted to this rose include Syrphid flies and various bees: honeybees, bumblebees, Anthophorine bees, Miner bees, large Leaf-Cutting bees, and Halictine bees. Birds are attracted to the hips. (I hope to witness this firsthand.)


This rose is classified as a shrub 6-8' H, but is easily trained to climb. Some of my branches are quite long and I simply direct them to grow along the fence.

The leaves turn a nice red color in fall. For someone who knows nothing about roses, I am really thrilled to have two native roses now growing (organically) and blooming in my garden. (To learn more about swamp rose, Rosa pulustris, click here.) If you, too, have a fear of growing roses thinking they are fussy and need gallons of chemical sprays, give the native prairie rose a try!

Going Native: Cat Nipped

Once again I have been misled, this time by a grinning sprig of cat mint! What I thought was wild mint is actually cat mint and its origins belong to Europe. This may possibly explain my run ins with so many neighborhood cats! Do I feel like the mouse in this game? Sheesh.

I am sensing a common theme here among the "wild flower volunteers" that I let grow in my garden – most of them are not actually native! This is becoming a very good educational experience for me as I research and identify what tends to pop up on its own in my yard and garden. I hope you are benefiting from my enlightenment as well. I think I will be replacing this plant, especially around my potager. I find the bees enjoy this cat mint almost as much as the cats so I would want to replace it. Hairy wood mint would be a worthy, aromatic, native alternative.