Quick Takes With: Uli Lorimer

It’s been a slow build, but native plants are firmly in the zeitgeist today—and much of the credit can go to Uli Lorimer. Over the course of a 25-year career that includes stints at some of the most well-regarded and influential gardens in the country (US National Arboretum, Wave Hill, Brooklyn Botanic Garden), Uli has become the go-to expert on native plants. He’s now the director of horticulture at Native Plant Trust, where he oversees the facilities and operations at Garden in the Woods and at Nasami Farm, both in Massachusetts.

Uli is tireless in his efforts to protect and promote native plants through his public speaking, media appearances, and writing. (In addition to his role at the Native Plant Trust, he pens the Ask the Gardener column for the Boston Globe.) Which is why he didn’t hesitate when we asked him to share his Quick Takes on gardening. Below, he talks about the plant that makes him “giddy,” the pruners that he’s used for 20 years, and the workwear he swears by (hint: they’re made for tree climbers!). 

Photography by Uli Lorimer, unless otherwise noted.

Your first garden memory:

My earliest garden memories involve time spent with my maternal grandmother in Germany. We spent summers at their home in northern Germany, much of it outside in the garden. Renate grew red currants and gooseberries that I helped to harvest, and although they seemed too tart to eat right from the bush, the jam she made was heavenly and remains a favorite to this day. With a mischievous twinkle in her eye, she would invite me to go on a “schneckenjagd” or snail hunt at dusk. This entailed a trowel, a pail, and a flashlight. Together we would stalk the garden, taking in the fragrance of the cool summer night and dispatch dozens of sliugs that had arrived to devour her precious plants.

Instagram account that inspires you:

Instagram allows you to live vicariously through he eyes of others. I especially like @liliumbyrd’s account. She shows us the coolest plants from Florida and travels to simply breathtaking places of beauty.

Describe in three words your garden aesthetic.

Ecoregional. Naturalistic. Forward-thinking.

Plant that makes you swoon:

I often get asked about my favorite plant, and I would rather discuss my current plant crush, acknowledging that it changes with the seasons. I am very enamoured at the moment with large-flowered yellow lady’s slippers (Cypripedium parviflorum var pubescens), as they are beginning to bloom for us in the garden. In summer, my paramour becomes wood lily (Lilium philadelphicum). If I encounter these gorgeous lilies in the wild, I lose my breath and feel giddy. For autumn, the foliage of maple-leaved viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) is one of my favorites, ranging in color from purple to pink to lime green to deep maroon. They are subtle and simply spectacular.

Plant that makes you want to run the other way:

Burning bush makes me cringe when I see it, and I see a lot of it in the forest fragments in our area. There are, of course, still massive, old-established shrubs providing an endless amount of seed to invade our woodlands further. Despite being banned for sale, not enough homeowners are removing existing shrubs, and so the ecological invasion continues.

Favorite go-to plant:

One of my favorites is mountain mints (Pycnanthemum spp.) They are reliable, some are spreaders, a few are more well-behaved, all are absolute pollinator magnets, and as mints, are avoided by deer. The seed heads in winter are quite ornamental, extending their interest. I simply cannot resist walking by a mountain mint seedhead without squeezing it and smelling the delicious aroma that results!

Hardest gardening lesson you’ve learned:

Seeing native plants where they grow naturally can provide a lot of great intel on how they grow, with whom they associate, and the conditions that they prefer. This, however, does not always hold true when plants are brought into cultivation. No matter how desperate I may be to grow something, some wild plants simply aren’t good garden plants. The failures I have experienced have taught me to avoid setting up plantings that require a lot of long-term maintenance to sustain. If I have to remove leaf litter constantly because a plant is too diminutive for a woodland garden, then I need to find a better place or accept that I don’t have the right conditions for that plant. As someone who wants to grow everything possible, this was a hard lesson to learn.

Unpopular gardening opinion:

I think we use too much mulch when we could be using green groundcovers to hold space and tie garden plantings together. Mulch certainly has its uses, but for some residential gardens I see, it seems like mulch is what makes the garden feel cohesive. I know a lot of people love their mulch, but I would argue the yearly expense of mulch could be redirected towards living plants that will provide far more reward for humans and wildlife alike.

Favorite way to bring the outdoors in.

My favorite way to connect outdoors with indoors is through fragrance. Planting trees, shrubs, or perennials near windows, patios, or porches allows those sweet aromas to waft inside. I planted a fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) just below our kitchen window, and the perfume of those flowers fills a room where my family spends a lot of time. I’m also a big fan of flowering tobacco as an annual, as its heaviest scents arrive from dusk till midnight and can be detected from quite a distance from the actual plant.

Every garden needs …

More native plants! Not only are they locally adapted and gorgeous, but they also provide so much support for the wildlife that remains. Throw in a source of water for birds and the garden will really come alive.

Tool you can’t live without:

I have had the same pair of Felco #2 pruners for over 20 years. Its companion is my hori hori soil knife, both of which rarely leave my side. The Felcos are so easy to maintain and keep sharp, all of the parts of the pruners can be replaced over time (ie, nuts, bolts, springs, blades), and the soil knife is incredibly versatile. It weeds, it plants, it’s a lever, I use it to hammer and cut roots, burlap fabric. I could go on. These two tools are all I really need to get most of my gardening accomplished.

Go-to gardening outfit:

As someone who spends a lot of time kneeling or on their knees, I tend to wear through regular pants quickly. I found tree climbing pants made by Arborwear years ago and haven’t worn anything else since. They have reinforced knees, plenty of cargo pockets, and are made of a ripstop nylon that dries quickly and washes easily.

On your wishlist:

I wish that we had more sedges in the commercial nursery market. The Northeast boasts over 300 species, which grow in conditions that range from standing water to sand and gravel. I think of sedges as the glue that binds together so many natural plant communities, and what gardeners have to choose from is a paltry sampling of the diversity that exists.

Favorite nursery, plant shop, or seed company:

The garden shop and plant nursery at Garden in the Woods is spectacular. There is a diverse selection of native plants that is unrivaled in the area; the shop has the best books, nerdy plant t-shirts, and thoughtfully curated gifts. I have worked in many gardens and seen a lot of garden shops, and Garden in the Woods is head and shoulders above the rest.

The REAL reason you garden:

After becoming a parent, your perspective shifts, and much of my drive to encourage others to welcome native plants into their gardens comes from a desire to leave the world a better place for my boys. I was fortunate to grow up and enjoy the benefits of biodiversity and green spaces, and I desperately wish they can do the same. Children represent hope for me, and I firmly believe that ecological horticulture can help us heal the earth and work towards a bright, verdant future where humans, plants, and wildlife can coexist and thrive together.

Thank you, Uli! (You can follow him on @ew_li or @nativeplanttrust.)

For our full archive of Quick Takes, head here.