Native Alternatives for Wisconsin Plants: Swap Lily of the Valley with Solomon's Seal
I don’t like to tell people how to plant their gardens or shame them for what they should or should not be planting. Our gardens are all just as unique as we are and they’re a living form of self-expression. We can look at someone’s yard and what they’ve chosen to plant and tell a lot about their character and personality. The colors, the textures, the shapes of the flowers, the curve of the leaves—all these things tell us a little about the person who lives there. So just as I wouldn’t want to stifle someone’s choice of clothing (except crocs; I stand by my opinion that crocs are the most hideous shoes I’ve ever seen lol), I don’t want to demand people to change the dress of their landscaping.
I do, however, like to quietly share information that people may just not have known, so they can decide for themselves in their gardens whether they should make changes. And I like to give alternatives, so those who are hoping to make beneficial ecological changes can do so without losing too much of the self-expression certain invasive plants provided them.
Lily of the valley is one of my most favorite plants. My aunt-in-law had some in her yard (unsure if she planted them or if they were seeded there by animals) and their delicate little bells reminded me of tiny little fairy dresses. This was when I was an apartment dweller in Madison, and I decided when I was able to buy a home, I would plant a patch of lilies of the valley. I had planned on it for years as I saved up for a house.
As I became more invested in environmental work, I was so disheartened to find that these dainty little flowers, so quietly elegant and not at all boastful, were invasive to Wisconsin. Perhaps I was even angry. These gentle little flowers spoke to me in a poetic way, as they were simultaneously feminine yet deadly, like a graceful femme fatale. I had spent years envisioning a little woodland garden dappled by tiny fairy dresses on slender green stems, arching gracefully like ballerinas. And now I had to give that up, because I felt, and still feel, a deep responsibility to my environment and the ecosystem for the remaining flora and fauna with whom I strive to coexist.
Lily of the valley is an aggressive rhizomatous perennial, meaning it spreads through rhizomes (mass of roots) shooting off underground. It’s considered invasive, not just aggressive, because it threatens native plants.
A native substitute for lily of the valley is Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum). While its flowers aren’t as round as lily of the valley, you can see they are still little light-colored fairy dresses dangling from an arched stem. In late summer, the flowers give way to deep blue berries, which last through fall. Their root type is also rhizomatous, so they will spread similarly to lily of the valley; however, because they are native, they are not invasive, just potentially aggressive. Take care in planting Solomon’s seal if you don’t want it spreading through your entire garden.
I’ve also included a map I found on the Prairie Nursery website, a Wisconsin nursery, that shows in which counties Solomon’s seal is classed native. There are a handful of Wisconsin counties, particularly northern counties, where this plant isn’t considered native, so please keep that in mind.
And now you know! I’m not an expert or even particularly proficient at most of this stuff. I’m just an obsessively avid reader, and once I get a question in my head, I read and read and read. I hope that this helps those of you who are considering lily of the valley or looking for a substitute that isn’t invasive.
Charlie Nichols is the founder of WHE and a staff contributor. Charlie studied Journalism & Mass Communication, Marketing, and Psychology at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin. She has practiced witchcraft for over two decades and is a certified spiritual empowerment coach, a certified ethical psychic, and a certified crystal healer. Charlie lives on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, USA with her partner, daughter, and animal companions.
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