The Real Dirt
If it’s big, bold and easy to grow, it’s a guy plant
August 12, 2011
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Sonia Day
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Guy plants. They exist. But women tend to dismiss them.
So says Nina Aprile, who owns a plant nursery called Wild Things in Mount Forest, northwest of Toronto.
“Guys just naturally gravitate toward big stuff,” explains Aprile, with a chuckle. “They come here and stand around looking bored while their wives pick out plants. Yet the moment they spot some humungous-looking thing ... ”
Wham. Instant buy heaven.
Aprile and partner John Harris came up with the term “guy plants” to describe this phenomenon. And they think wives should pay attention, because then their reluctant spouses might get more interested in gardening, too.
So what exactly is a guy plant? In short, anything big, bold and easy to grow. Here are three which often appeal strongly to men. They’re sold at many nurseries, including Wild Things (wild-things.ca). Plant this fall. They all come up reliably, year after year.
Fleece Flower Persicaria polymorpha
My own spouse has fallen in love with this plant ever since I planted it as a privacy screen. Three clumps block the view from the road down to our pond (where I like to go skinny-dipping.) He adores both P. polymorpha’s proportions and its smell. Creamy white flowers, which look particularly appealing in early summer, give off a delicious fragrance that’s like buckwheat honey — and they last all summer, attracting butterflies.
It’s a cinch to grow, but be patient. Fleece flower takes a couple of years to get established and shoots are slow to appear in spring. Another plus: this is a well behaved plant, staying conveniently clumplike. It doesn’t become — ah, that dreaded adjective — invasive.
The outhouse plant Rudbeckia laciniata Hortensia
So named because old-timers in rural Ontario planted it to conceal the biffy. And it does the job of hiding something like a shed well, because the stalks soar over 7-feet high. However, this whopper also has an annoying habit of careening sideways, especially after rain and it spreads — a lot. Use a fence as a backdrop and be firm with it.
Outhouse plant is sometimes called coneflower, but don’t muddle it up with purple coneflower Echinacea. This is actually a kind of black eyed Susan.
Indian Cup Plant Silphium perfoliatum
Another whopper, sometimes soaring an incredible 9 feet high. Yet you rarely have to prop up the odd, squarish stalks with stakes, because they’re so sturdy. Yellow flowers like big daisies appear in midsummer, but the entertaining part is the leaves. They fuse together at their bases to form cups which catch water.
“Hummingbirds love to drink the dew from these reservoirs in the early morning,” says Aprile.
Native Indians found the plant useful, too. Snap the top off a Syphilium perfoliatum stalk and a large blob of sap will ooze out. This hardens to become a kind of chewing gum.
However, one caution if you crave a “cuppa.” Native to the Prairies, this plant is getting out of control in some areas of the northeast, where there’s more moisture. Don’t plant it next to a ditch and ponds — or you might wind up with more of a macho presence in your garden than you bargained for.
Sonia Day’s latest book is Incredible Edibles, 43 Fun Things To Grow In The City. soniaday.com