Date/Time
Date(s) - 13/06/2025
7:30 pm
Location
Kilmington Village Hall
Categories
The North American continent is vast. It includes Alaska, Canada, the rest of the USA plus Mexico. It has a huge range of different climates, habitats, landscapes and temperature ranges. As a result, there are many different types of plants which originate there. Hybrids and cultivars of these plants have found their way into British Gardens. Some of them have become so common that you might think that they were British natives, partly because many of them have English-sounding names because they were discovered by, or named in honour of explorers or pioneers with British names (e.g. Clark and Lewis).
One of the largest groups of plants includes the many daisies; these include prairie plants such as Echinacea and Helenium, Gaillardia, Coreopsis and Rudbeckia. This group also includes the many Asters (many renamed Symphyotrichum) such as the New England Asters, known as Michaelmas Daisies, Zinnia, which come from Northern Mexico and the tall Ratibida (sometimes known as Mexican Hat). Erigeron karvinskianus is a popular spreading daisy (sometimes known as Miss Jekyll’s Daisy) which can be found in Mexico and the Southern States. It can also be found in many paths and walls in the UK!
Many of the lower-growing plants are alpines and include Pulsatilla (Pasque Flower), multicoloured Clarkia (often found in half-hardy seed mixes) and Lewisia, which will grow in little soil with very free drainage. Then there are the colourful Californian Poppies (Eschscholzia), Heuchera and Tiarella; Gaura, another wispy flower found growing amongst prairie grasses, is a member of the Oenothera – Evening Primrose – family. Phlox, many Salvias and Monarda (Bee Balm, Bergamot or Oswego – a member of the mint family, with many medicinal properties), also come from North America. Many plants were used by the Native American Indians as medicinal remedies. The most famous of all, Echinacea, is still widely used in many medicines and herbal remedies.
Penstemons deserve a specific mention, their wild ancestors came from Alaska, the Rocky Mountains and as far south as Guatemala. They are relatives of Digitalis (Foxglove) and have similar but smaller trumpet-shaped flowers. Some are reliably hardy, others less so. From a gardener’s perspective, they are attractive to pollinators and slugs and snails leave them well alone.
The list of trees is also extensive, from Acer rubrum, Liquidambar, and Tulip Tree to Pryrus Calleyrana ‘Chanticleer’ and Magnolia grandiflora. Redwoods (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are synonymous with California, especially in Yosemite National Park. However, there are some Redwood specimens in the UK, the tallest being within Center Parcs, Wiltshire.
Many of our everyday plants owe their origins to other countries and, as Martin rightly pointed out, North America has certainly produced many of our favourites.