It was a slow build, but native plants are firmly present in today’s era. And much of the credit could go to Uli Lorimar. Over a 25-year career, including stints in the nation’s most acclaimed and influential gardens (US National Arboretum, Wave Hill, and Brooklyn Botanical Gardens), Uri has become a go-to expert on native plants. He is currently the director of horticulture at Native Plant Trust and oversees the facilities and operations of Massachusetts forests and Nasami Farms.
ULI is tired of his efforts to protect and promote native plants through his public speaking, media appearances and writing. (In addition to his role in the Native Plant Trust, he pentena asks the Boston Globe Gardener column.) That’s why he didn’t hesitate when he asked him to share his quick take on gardening. Below we talk about the “whimper” plants, the Pruner he has been using for 20 years, and the work clothes he swears (hint: they are made for tree climbers!).
Photos by Uli Lorimar unless otherwise stated.
Your First Garden Memories:
My early garden memories include spending time with my maternal grandmother in Germany. We spent the summer at our home in northern Germany. Many of them were outside the garden. Renate grew red currants and gooseberries that I helped harvest. They looked too tart to eat right out of the bushes, but the jam she made was heaven and remained my favorite today. With a mischievous glitter in her eyes, she invited me to go on a “schnecken jug” or snail hunt at dusk. This required a trowel, a bucket and a flashlight. Together they stole the garden, took in the scent of a cool summer evening, and sent dozens of srigs that arrived to devour her precious plants.
Instagram accounts that inspire you:
Instagram allows you to live on your behalf through the eyes of others. I especially like the @liliumbyrd account. She shows us the coolest plants from Florida and travels to places of simple breathtaking beauty.
Describe your garden aesthetic in three words.
ecoregional. Naturalism. Something advanced.
Plants that will disappoint you:
I’m often asked about my favorite plants and I would like to discuss my current plant crashes, acknowledging that it changes with the seasons. At the moment, I am currently very engrossed with the big flower yellow female slippers (Cypipedium parviflorum var pubescens) as they are beginning to bloom for us in the garden. In the summer, my paramar will be Wood Lily (Lylium Philadelphiacom). If I encounter these gorgeous lilies in the wild, I feel breathless and whimsical. In autumn, maple-leafed Viburnum acerifolium leaves are one of my favorites, and come in colours ranging from purple to pink, lime green to deep maroon. They are subtle and simply spectacular.
Plants you would like to run in other ways:
The burning bushes nagging me when I see it, and I see a lot of it in fragments of the forest in our area. Of course, there are still large, unold shrubs, offering endless seeds for further invasion of the forest. Despite the ban on sale, ecological invasion continues as homeowners have not removed existing shrubs.
Favorite plants:
One of my favorites is Mountain Mints (Pycnanthemum spp.). It’s reliable, some are spreaders, some are more appropriate, all are absolute pollinator magnets, allowing mint to be avoided by deer. The winter seed heads are very decorative and broaden their interest. I can’t resist walking the mint seed head of the mountains without simply squeezing it.
The most difficult gardening lessons you’ve learned:
Seeing native plants that grow naturally can provide many great intels about how they grow and the conditions they are associated with. However, this is not always the case when plants are grown. No matter how desperate you are, no matter how desperate you are to grow something, some wild plants are not simply good garden plants. The mistakes I experienced taught me to avoid planting settings that require a lot of long-term maintenance to maintain. If the plant is too small in the forest garden and needs to constantly remove litter from its leaves, I need to find a better place or accept that there are no appropriate conditions for that plant. As someone who wants to grow everything possible, this was a difficult lesson to learn.
Unpopular gardening opinions:
