Do you wonder what the most sensible solution to starting or maintaining your landscape garden is? Several considerations seem to pop up. Since life is busy for most people, the solution needs to include low maintenance. Where water from rainfall is scarce, a garden that can exist on its own is highly desirable. The economy is not what it used to be, so lower costs will increase your long-term enjoyment. Aesthetics are the reason to undertake such a project in the first place, so creating a beautiful, peaceful place to be is paramount.
Hurrah! A solution does exist. Plan your garden around its native surroundings; go native, with all or most of your plants. Native plants will be easier to grow because they are already a part of your ecosystem. If you back up to a greenbelt or preserve, natives will seem right, because you’ll simply be extending their range, right onto your property. If you’re an urbanite or live in a housing development where “one tree surrounded by lawn” is the philosophy, you’ll become the first on your block to diversify your plant choices and, very often, the trendsetter for neighbors to follow.
Finding the Right Plants
So, what is a “native plant?” The 1994 Federal Native Plant Committee defined the term as a plant species “that occurs naturally in a particular region, state, ecosystem, and habitat without direct or indirect human actions.” Native plant communities may change over time, depending on climate changes, but not because of human alteration or interference.
Nurseries often work to improve plants and continuously offer new varieties and cultivars, which might have bigger blossoms, showier colors, or variegated foliage. Although eye-catching, these originally native plants have been changed by humans; they are no longer classified as natives.
Natives can change from ecosystem to ecosystem, or species may adapt to differing microclimatic conditions, taking on different forms. Your state most likely has a native plant society from which you’ll be able to attain a list for your area. Take it with you to the reputable nursery in your area, one which grows their plants rather than digging them out of the wild.
Collecting natives isn't a good idea for you, as a gardener, either. Many plants have deep taproots which, if broken, will no longer support the plant after it is transplanted. Taking plants prevents them from setting seed, reducing natural population, and negating the idea of native preservation by gardening. Once you've found your nursery, request plants by their scientific or Latin names, as common names can cause confusion and may include cultivars or varieties which are not native.
Up Front Planning
A native garden can have several “looks.” You may choose to intersperse shrubs, grasses, and perennials in a meadow manner, using your landscape as a mimic of the wild places in your region. If you’re not a “wild” gardener at heart, you can add some control by planting in large groupings or sweeps, akin to the more traditional perennial bed or border. You can even shape plants by formal or artistic pruning.
Time and expense will be reduced because you won’t need quantities of purchased fertilizers or pesticides, nor will you need an irrigation system. The plants will still thrive after establishment because they are suited to your site: your soil, your rainfall, your general climatic and seasonal conditions. Careful planning and preparation will ensure a high success rate. For example, it is easier to maintain a planting where weeds are eradicated before new plants are put in.
Learn to recognize particularly noxious species, some of which your state department of agriculture prohibits growing, so that you can eliminate them beforehand and set up gardening success right from the start. Plants will put down their roots more easily in a properly prepared soil, although huge amounts of soil amendments aren’t necessary unless you’ve lost your topsoil to construction. Consistent watering will help new plants to thrive, and a mulch, either organic or mineral, according to what the natives in your area naturally grow in, will help to conserve soil moisture.
Appealing Benefits
Once your plants become “adults,” you’ll have created a diverse, self-sustaining ecosystem which will offer food and shelter to a whole realm of native creatures, from moths and butterflies, to songbirds, to toads and turtles. Going native is a way to preserve disappearing plant and animal habitats, a way to contribute to conservation, and a way to create an enjoyable, successful, and environmentally sound space on your property, no matter what its size or location. Native plants just make sense.
Kay Galvan - Kay Galvan has created residential and commercial gardens for twenty-one years on Colorado's high plains.
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