Go Native in your Garden when Planting for the Long Haul

Articles on Plants | Topics: plants, plant, planting

by Karolina Hull

You are planning your garden and have decided on a variety of plants and flowers to add color and texture but something is missing Ц you want some plant life that is native to the area. How do you know which plants are native? A great way to find out is native to your area is to explore your surroundings. Take a drive or walk through your forests and parks, or even walk around the natural habitats around your community. Observe the plant life that is growing wild. Also, visit these locations at different times of the year so that you can see how they grow and bloom. As you observe the natural community around you, use your digital camera (or any camera) to take pictures of what you like. You can then go to your local nursery or garden store and locate the native plants you like. If you cannot locate the plants, consider looking online.

Along with taking photos of the native plant life, you can also take photos of your garden and planned site that you would like these plants to be. This will help establish the design that will highlight your garden the best. It is also important to know the soil content of the native plants in order to construct a successful environmental garden. You want to plant vegetation where it will grow and flourish. A plant that requires moist soils and shade will not do well in a dry, hot location. To do this you may need to do a bit of research on your property but the outcome will be well worth the effort you expend.

Try to be like nature's design for the best results, such as shapes, colors, textures, and array. You can group plants that spread by runners or suckers, disperse plants that spread by seed. Use dominant plants as the primary focus of your native design, complementing these plants with subdominant and accent plants. You may want to emphasize a particular natural feature in your yard that you enjoy. Arrange your garden with the seasonal changing quality of the native plants in mind. The basic elements that are required for a successful native garden are food, water, shelter or cover, and space. A wide variety of plants in the garden will draw the most species by providing the essential elements year-round.

The spatial display of food, water, and cover is as vital as the elements themselves. The arrangement of these elements is critical. Arrange your native garden to decrease competition among species. The edges of your garden will be used the most by the wildlife. A variety of plants will catch the attention of the most species by providing food, cover, and nesting areas year-round. Use low, medium and tall plant types to create the edges and stories most favorable to wildlife. These varied layers offer options in temperature, sunlight, insects, and food. Levels also provide areas for nesting, feeding, and concealment. You can utilize the plant assortment, form, and height of flora and leaf thickness to create layers.

аHistorical Quote

Luxurious Man, to bring his Vice in use,
Did after him the World seduce:
And from the fields the Flow’rs and Plants allure,

—Andrew Marvell (1621–1678)

One way to layer is to separate the garden into areas based on perpendicular variety of the vegetation. If your whole property is covered with grasses, flowers and herbs, then the area has a groundcover layer. If you have an area with trees, shrubs, and grasses and/or flowers, then the area has shrub and groundcover. Some questions to consider when dividing your property for a native garden: 1) Are there sudden changes from areas covered by a groundcover to those areas with tree and shrub layers, 2) Is there a gradual change from grasses/wildflowers to shrubs to trees with grasses and/or wildflowers.

A well-designed native garden integrates each of the rules of design while merging the functional needs of the family. Your garden will include native plants and areas that require minimal upkeep wherever possible. Your garden will not require as much supplemental watering. The water source will be natural rainfall that does not have chemicals that have the potential to pollute surface and ground water. Now that your native garden is complete, go out and enjoy what you have created. A beautiful environment that is filled with sights and sounds of a wide variety of wildlife attracted to the native plants you have brought into your property.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Go Native in your Garden when Planting for the Long Haul" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by FlowersPlantsGardening.com.

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