Native Plant Gardening
The beauty of a meadow of wildflowers and flowing native grasses rival that of any manicured lawn with trimmed hedges. Gardeners everywhere are bringing wilderness a little closer to home by landscaping with native plants. Native gardening, which is cultivating plants indigenous to the region where we live, is gaining popularity everywhere.
By choosing to grow native plants in our gardens, we give a gift back to nature. Growing natives helps to restore the natural biodiversity of our environment. We bring back the natural plants that native species of insects, birds, and other wildlife are dependent upon for food and shelter. Most native plants are satisfied with just the natural rainfall of their area, thus requiring little, if any, supplemental irrigation. And, because they are adapted to the climatic conditions of their growing area, they are the best plants to grow organically. Having evolved over thousands of years, native plants are better able to withstand pests and disease than non-native ornamental plants. They also grow more slowly and therefore require less pruning and dividing. With the need for less watering and pruning, little or no fertilizers and pesticides, a native plant garden is a low maintenance garden, giving us more time to enjoy the natural beauty of our area. We are also better able to be in touch with the seasons as native plants bloom and fade as nature intended. And, growing native plants practically guarantees that our gardening efforts will be successful since they are the plants most suited to our gardens.
Going native is a way of educating ourselves about our region and the natural cycles of the area we live in. We discover the diversity of indigenous plants, their colors, shapes, and scents. We learn about flowers and foliage, shrubs and trees that we might have disregarded before. We can even plant native healing herbs, providing natural remedies to have on hand. Beautiful, natural plants in a good for the environment garden that is easy to maintain makes going native a good choice for all.
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