Native plant communities are associations of species that occur naturally in the wild. Community members share the same or similar growing conditions. They are important features of the natural history of your property.
Missed Messages
Although the natural world gives us numerous clues to what grows best on our land, we often miss the messages surrounding us. Examples of missed messages abound.
Subdivision developers bulldoze the surface of native plant communities and then lay sod and import ornamentals to revegetate the denuded land. Pre-existing natives did not require anywhere near the amount of water the lawn and foundation plants need.
Homeowners anticipate introducing a butterfly garden on their property not realizing the weeds covering the soon to be rototilled lot are passionvines, a native wildflower which hosts the gulf fritillary butterfly.
Lawn maintenance services hired to mow the lawn shear the roadside right of way where a seasonal procession of flowering herbaceous plants like fleabane, sneezeweed, tickseed, sourweed, and goldenrod thrive with no effort from a gardener. Nature supplied a list of resilient resident plants but “landscapers” shredded the list.
Often the cracks in the concrete curbs and driveways grow a message from some of the toughest plants until the reflex to reach for Roundup® silences the messenger. A wildflower chorus of native purslane, Portulaca pilosa, a diminutive cousin of the moss rose, falls mute.
Listening to the Natives
Plants tell us when they are in the right place. Humans are prone to put plants where we want them irrespective of the plant’s native inclinations.
If dayflowers blossom in the lawn, imagine the effect of a bed of blue-eyed beauties. If poor soil brings passionvine, see what other butterfly attracting plants succeed when you amend the soil.
If Asian lilies just won’t grow where you want them but native butterfly pea creeps across the bed, add more butterfly pea.
Role of the Native Plant Garderer
The role of a native plant gardener is to recreate the ecosystems of native plant communities. The gardener must ask four basic questions of the land:
- What are the features of the geographical location of the property? For example, in South Carolina the geography of the Piedmont, Coastal Plain and Sandhills affects plant cover.
- What is the topography of the land? The lay of the land indicates elevation and slope.
- What soils are on the property? Soil types indicate fertility, acidity, texture, drainage, and soil formation history. The seeds of native plants are within our soils.
- What natives persist on the property? Survey and identify the natives present.
Most states have a native plant society offering advice, demonstrations, field trips and plant identification.
Acquiring Native Plants
One way to acquire natives in your garden is to let a patch of lawn or patch of soil go wild. Natives will emerge for you to identify.
Perhaps the best way to obtain native plants is from a reputable seed house or native plant nursery that propagates the plants they sell. The wide variety of natives gives gardeners options for any type of garden design.
Some native plants have become popular in the commercial horticulture market including the coneflower, black-eyed Susan, bee-balm, Joe-Pye weed, and goldenrod. They are hardy survivors of heat and drought. Most are less susceptible to pests and diseases thereby reducing a gardener’s work and loss of plant material. Once established, native plant communities require minimal maintenance.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
