Photo by L.A. Jackson
Consider the curious case of camassia (Camassia sp.)—a bulbous beauty native to North America, yet its presence in U.S. gardens isn’t widespread. This is odd because camassia is reliable not only in toughness but in the positive visual mojo it can bring to spring flower beds.
Being indigenous in origin, camassias don’t need to be pampered. Being very pretty, they can add a different spring bling to ornamental gardens with clusters of star-like flowers on thin, two- to three-foot-tall stems rising over long, strap-like leaves.
Commercial plant breeders recognized camassia’s potential and have been busy developing many outstanding cultivars, including the two most popular (and easiest to find) selections: Blue Danube and Caerulea. Both show off the signature camassia color that is a pleasing yet puzzling bluish-purple hue I simply call “blurple.”
Camassias dipped in lighter tints are also available, such as Alba with its near-white flowers. Sacajawea is similarly adorned in pale blooms but also sports sassy variegated leaves. Prefer blushing blossoms? Check out the aptly named Pink Star.
With some searching, camassias can probably be spotted at local garden centers. Cultivar choices might be limited, but any found will be worth the hunt. For a larger swath of selections, take an e-peek at such online retailers as Brent and Becky’s Bulbs (brentandbeckysbulbs.com) and John Scheepers (johnscheepers.com).
This month is a good time to plant camassias. They should be set about five inches deep into a flower bed that basks in the morning sun and, if possible, is lightly filtered with shade in the afternoon.
Tucking camassias away in well-worked, fluffy garden dirt is ideal, but this tough native will also tolerate heavy soil. In fact, it is one of the few spring-flowering bulbs that will do just fine in low-lying, moist areas. Further adding to its positive attributes: Camassia is deer-resistant.
Happy camassias will naturalize in the garden, coming back year after year and even slowly spreading by way of bulblets forming off the original bulbs and seeds from the flowers.
Camassias aren’t as well-known as many fall-planted, spring-blooming bulbs, but this certainly doesn’t mean they are inferior. No, having native roots deeply entrenched in this country, they are durable plants that can take some of the roughest treatment Mother Nature can dish out. And come spring, when their starry blooms open to salute a new growing season, they are nothing short of gorgeous!
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November in the Garden
• Autumn leaves are excellent organic fuel to help start up a compost pile, but they will break down much faster and more efficiently if they are shredded into small pieces first. Want an easy way to do the deed? Run ’em over with a lawn mower!
• Back still throbbing from carrying in large whiskey barrel planters for the winter? A good cold-weather project would be to add caster wheels to the bottoms of such heavy, bulky plant containers, making it much easier to move them.
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Tip of the Month
Did you grow heirloom okra this year? If any pods lingering in the autumn garden have stretched long and become woody, pick some off and spread them on a screen or piece of burlap in a warm, dry spot. After a few weeks, shake the pods and listen for a rattle—this means the seeds are dry and can be saved for planting next year. Shuck the pods, put the seeds in an airtight container and store them indoors away from direct light. And to release your inner interior designer, also save some pods whole because painted, stained or left natural, they make for interesting Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations.
L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.