Native

The use of native plants in the landscape is a celebration of our natural heritage and an awakening of a land ethic first expressed by Aldo Leopold more than 50 years ago. The benefits of using Natives in the landscape are immense. Native plants are adapted to regional conditions, may require less maintenance and are cost-effective. Native plants are also hardy, and can withstand extreme winter cold without suffering from die back. These plants are more environmentally friendly; they require fewer pesticides and fertilizers because of natural adaptations. Natives provide food and shelter for native wildlife. They help to restore regional landscapes while preventing future exotic introductions. The natural processes from which natives evolve represent the cog and wheel of a healthy ecosystem sustained by a complex web of biological diversity.

What makes a plant a native plant? Our natives are generally defined as plants that occurred in North America before European settlement. This distinction is made due to the large scale changes in the flora that have resulted since European settlement and the introduction of exotic plants. Natives are plants that evolved in place over geologic time. Sometimes these plants are disrupted across the landscape largely in response to climatic episodes and adaptation to site conditions related to land formation. Native plants contribute to the health and often the restoration of an ecosystem. Native plants have many inherent qualities and also they have many adaptive traits that allow them to be aesthetically pleasing, practical, and ecologically.

Native plants exist in certain climatic and geographic communities. In East Tennessee we have the Unaka Mountains, the Ridge and Valley, the Cumberland Plateau, and the Mountains. All of these regions have there own unique characteristics. These areas may differ in topography, Soil pH, soil depth, elevation, availability of light, and hydrology. These varying terrains create an opportunity for native plants to thrive, even in harsh conditions. When using Native plants in the landscape it is important that plants growing in our region are specifically adapted to hydrology, soil pH, and light intensity. Placing plants in their proper climate or micro-climate will determine if a native plant community is a success or not.

One of many reasons to landscape with native plants is the attraction of wildlife to the garden. A monoculture of exotic plants can deter native birds are other natural wildlife from entering into that are. These exotic landscapes simply do not offer animals anything appealing and instinctual. Also, a large single crop can lead to a dependence on pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides. However, a gardener with a rich and varied native landscape, who refrains from chemicals, will find few pest problems. Those that do occur can be easily resolved using less toxic means. To attract wildlife offer a variety of nesting sites for them by including in your landscape many species of canopy and understory trees, shrubs of different heights, a mix of evergreen and deciduous plants, and herbaceous ground covers, grasses, and flowers. Another key element in attracting wildlife to your native garden is food. Most varied native landscapes offer plenty of nuts, berries, seeds nectar and foliage to feed many creatures. A water source is a component that is essential to the successful attraction of wildlife. Using natives in the landscape helps to sustain native butterflies, moths and other beneficial insects; native birds, reptiles, mammals, and other fauna. Nature is a master at finding a balance and creating harmony in a landscape, with the addition of native flora and fauna to the garden natural processes can fall in line and do much of the work in the garden for you. Diversify and think native. The reward will be a landscape alive with the colors, movements, and sounds of Native flora and fauna living in concert.

Landscaping with natives should be done for the right reason, to protect and help the longevity of nature. For this reason only native plants that have been propagated should be used or sold. We should think of landscaping with natives as art imitating nature. When choosing plants for the home garden an attempt should be made to find plants that are truly native to your local area. Many times gardeners in Knoxville will try to duplicate the smoky mountains in their back yard, but this can be a hard sale to the plants. Our valley climate here in Knoxville can be quite different from the mountains. Find the best micro climate for the plant also. When we plant native varieties of plants we want to give them a good start so that they can thrive for years to come.

One other benefit of promoting the growth of native plants is genetic diversity in plant communities. It is vital for the advancement of plant communities that plants produce variation in their genetic code so that future generations of that a species can cope with changing external factors. It is the coping power of these variations that perpetuate the species via the slowly turning wheel of evolution. If a large gene pool is maintained for all species it gives better opportunity to meet any challenges that nature or even humans may present. As wild populations of many of our species diminish, every genetically distinct individual becomes more valuable. Sometime gardens are the only safe and final refuge for certain plants.

While using native species in our gardens is a step in the right direction this is only half of the battle to restore nature. The eradication of many exotic pest plants should also be considered. Most of exotic plant at the nursery are well behaved, however dome are capable of complete destruction of a native woodland. Invasive exotic plant have the ability to escape the boundaries of the garden and take hold of native habitats, this rapid growth can overwhelm even the hardiest plant. Exotic pest plants steal nutrients, water, and light, out competing and eventually displacing the native plants that have so patiently evolved with the landscape over millions of years. Some exotics are harbors for disease and exotic insects. Invasive plants have certain traits take allow them to take over sometimes violently. They grow rapidly, mature to produce flowers and seed at an early age, produce great quantities of seed, and effectively disperse their seed, rampantly spread vegetatively, and they have no major pest or disease problems. Many of these traits have been breed into these plants on purpose, so that they are more attractive as a nursery trade plant. Unfortunately, we can not maintain all of our plants and some are spread across a vast area. However, with the eradication of aggressive exotic pest plants, and the addition of native species the natural ecology of that are can be enhanced.

The benefits of using native plants to build native plant communities are immense. Native plants make a contribution toward appreciation and preservation of natural communities, and the plant and animal species that depend on them. Everyone who considers using native plants has the chance to reverse the effects of habitat loss due to development, and make a statement of an aesthetic preference for natural looking landscapes. There seems to be little down side to encouraging the idea of landscaping with natives. The finished landscape may not look as manicured, and may even appear untouched at first appearance. However, this can be an exciting revolution in home landscaping, and the added benefits and effects on the environment are impossible to ignore. Using native plants in the landscape will benefit the natural ecology of any area, and with out question will improve the quality of life for all creatures, even humans who travel through a native landscape.