More and more people are interested in going native – that is, using native plants in their urban and suburban landscapes. It’s a great trend for a number of reasons including their hardiness and lower maintenance. However many are not planting combinations of plants that are found naturally growing together in communities, but picking and choosing the characteristics they prefer for their gardens.
It makes sense that we eat food that will keep us healthy and strong. Why should it be any different for birds, butterflies and insects? Therefore, if we want to encourage the birds and insects, we must provide for them. Sure, they may eat what is provided, but they probably will go somewhere else. An interesting thing, is that the plants that are most preferred and necessary for these animals are often less beautiful, and we may ignore them. Mike Yanny, horticulturist at Johnson’s Nursery, discusses this in http://johnsonsnursery.com/Plant_Talk.aspx “the main point, as I heard it, was that if we don’t have the native plants in our landscapes, we lose the native insects and animals that are associated with those plants. The non-native plants will not substitute for the native species in most cases. The native plants will attract the various native organisms and allow them to complete their life cycles . . .If you want Monarch butterflies, you must have milkweeds.” . . .” If they (the birds) do not have the preferred food for their babies, namely the insects, they aren’t as successful rearing their young.” To learn more, check out Bringing Nature Home by Douglas Tallamy professor of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at University of Delaware http://www.plantanative.com/
Designing your landscape with natives becomes a different challenge. You are probably wanting to have full season color and texture. Be creative. Plant the beautiful flowers where you can see them, and then intersperse with the others that are important but less beautiful. Or one can create a thick native plant border at the edges of your property, using it as a screen and to enclose your site.
Take planting natives one step further and create a wildlife habitat. You have already covered three of the four things birds and animals need – food, a place to hide, and a place to nest. Just add water. There is certification for this from the National Wildlife Federation. http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outdoor-Activities/Garden-for-Wildlife/Create-a-Habitat.aspx
This blog just scratches the surface of how one can use native plants. What will your native landscape look like?
