Plant sales at Penguin Court, Compass Inn feature pollinator-friendly native species

Native plants added to area gardens and flower beds tend to require minimal maintenance, and they help support pollinators such as birds, bees and butterflies.

A number of varieties of these plants indigenous to Pennsylvania and surrounding states are grown each year at Laughlintown’s Penguin Court preserve and will be available to home gardeners in two sales this spring, one in partnership with the nearby Ligonier Valley Historical Society.

Pollinator-friendly plants such as the scarlet-petaled cardinal flower and the hairy beardtongue, with tubular lavender-shaded blooms, are included in both sales.

“The larval stage or caterpillar of many insects need native plant species to complete their life cycle,” said Melissa Reckner, program manager at Penguin Court, a preserve of the Brandywine Conservancy.

Many insects, in turn, she said, “are important for pollinating the food we eat, and they are food to the ‘pretty’ wildlife we love to see. Caterpillars are baby bird food because they can’t digest the hard exoskeletons of adult insects, nor can they digest bird seed.”

Plant varieties that are new to this year’s cooperative sale with the historical society include New York ironweed, the white wood aster and the trumpet creeper.

“We pick a variety of species so people can have a progression of plants blooming through the season,” said Theresa Gay Rohall, executive director of the historical society. “The trumpet creeper can grow on trellises and is great for hummingbirds.”

She said the society hopes to establish a native wildflower garden on the grounds of the historic Compass Inn museum in Laughlintown.

Compared to other perennials, native plants “seem to have a deeper taproot system,” said Penguin Court horticulturalist Kevin Guerrier. “Once they’re established, they don’t need much maintenance.”

Many of the plants being offered are labeled as deer resistant or somewhat deer resistant.

“Some of these native plants have a minty scent,” Guerrier said. “They tend to keep deer away. They don’t seem to bother the plants.”

How to order

Online orders are being accepted through April 28 for 51 species of perennials, shrubs and tree seedlings that may be picked up April 30 at Penguin Court. Prices begin at $5.75 and vary by species. Visit brandywine.org/conservancy/events to browse and purchase plants.

Log on to compassinn.org/plant-sale to view 23 varieties that are included in the joint sale with the historical society and cost $5.50 apiece. May 2 is the deadline to pre-order through the site.

Orders may be picked up from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 7 at Compass Inn. Remaining plants that haven’t been claimed may be purchased in person at that time, but online orders are recommended because, Rohall warned, “We sell out very quickly.”

New this year, Penguin Court also is partnering with Historic Hanna’s Town to present a native plant sale during a June 12 antiques and collectibles market at the recreated 18th century site in Hempfield.