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Colorado Federation of Garden Clubs |
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Ways to Incorporate Native Plants into Existing Gardens and Landscapesby P.K. Graves Probably the strongest reason for wanting to use more native plants in landscaping is money. Non-native plants, even those hybridized and cultivated for optimal growth in our region, are often far more costly to maintain than are similar native plants. Because native plants are already adapted to the soils, climates, elevations, and rainfall of their regions, the costs of water, fertilizer, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides are greatly reduced if not eliminated. Using native plants in gardens and landscapes also helps reduce erosion, improve water quality, strengthen native animal, bird, and insect communities, contributes to agriculture, and supports the local economy. Cost is also the strongest argument against replacing existing landscapes and gardens. Thousands of dollars can be spent replacing a bluegrass lawn with buffalo grass, and pulling out a line of established shrubs could also take a water or gas line out with it. Fortunately, many native plants can grow side-by-side with established non-native plants such as roses or lilacs, enhancing their beauty and still having many positive economic and ecological effects. Replacing Invasive Species An important first step in incorporating native plants into an existing landscape is to replace any non-native invasive species which may be present. Non-native species compete with native plants for water, nutrients, and space. Seeds from plants such as dame's rocket, common toadflax, and oxeye daisy can infest thousands of acres, be costly to eradicate, and can force important agricultural pollinators such as bees and birds to abandon their territories to the expense of produce and dollars. Before invasive species can be removed, they must be identified. Several excellent books on invasive species are now available which contain pictures of the species as well as information on control. Your county weed supervisor can also prove very useful in noxious weed identification and may even make housecalls, or know someone who can. Another resource is your own garden club. Invite a knowledgeable member out to lunch and an afternoon tour of your garden, and see if he or she can help spot any potential troublemakers. Once identified, the invasive species can be removed and replaced, often with equally ornamental members of its same family. For example, dame's rocket might be replaced with other members of the Brassicaceae, or mustard, family such as wallflower or prince's plume. Common or yellow toadflax might be replaced with foxglove, also of the Scrophulariaceae, or Figwort, family. And instead of the white oxeye daisy, try purple coneflower, which is also in the Asteraceae family. It even has a white cultivar, now. Companion Planting Another way to introduce native plants into an existing landscape is with companion planting. Companion planting has been described as placing two or more plant species together so that some cultural benefit, such as pest control or higher crop yield, is gained. Companion planting is not a new idea for those who grow roses. Garlic and chives have long been used as companions for roses, because they repel rose pests. Other, native, members of the Lily family, such as nodding onion (Allium cernuum), might have similar effects. Some of the native Artemisias, or sagebrushes, might also make fine companions for roses, depending on space and height requirements, as very few insects will bother a sagebrush. Companion planting might also work underneath established shrubs, using native plants that like full to partial shade such as mountain blue violet (Viola adunca), kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), or pussytoes (Antennaria sp.) Not only will these groundcovers fill in the space, they act as a natural mulch by slowing evapotranspiration rates. Even strawberries (Fragaria sp.) can be used under shrubs. They'll also provide a food source for birds and rodents and may even give you a few berries as well, if you get to them in time. Although harder to come by, planting native annuals is another way to get native plants into already-established gardens. For example, instead of pansy cultivars bred from European plants, try a native Viola bicolor, also known as Johnny-Jump-Up. They require far less water, are not as palatable to pests, and make very attractive mass plantings in soil, rock gardens, and containers. They propagate by seed yet are easily pulled up, if you decide you don't want them after all. Lawns One cannot discuss native plant use in landscaping without addressing the turf lawn. In America we view the smooth green turf lawn as the basis of most landscaping designs, even though the lawn as we know it didn't appear until the late 18th century. The lawn served as a mark of wealth; not only could the wealthy afford the groundskeepers necessary to maintain the fine-bladed grass without the help of sheep or cattle, the lawn also showed that the wealthy were so well-off they could waste acres of land without regard for livestock, fruit, vegetable, and/or herb production. The packed dirt or cottage garden with its mix of flowers, herbs, and vegetables that had been common in the front yard of any home soon became a thing of the past. In the 20th century rows of tract houses planted in the centers of vivid green lawns became the norm. The lawn served as a playground, an animal run, and a carpet for outdoor weddings and parties. A turf lawn, compared to sand or gravel, lowers the temperature around a house in the summer and also gives the house a settled-in look. In Colorado over the last few watering seasons, the benefits of the traditional lawn have been nearly negated by its shortcomings. Most grass species used for lawns need more water than can be made available on the twice-weekly watering schedule we have been limited to, as can be seen by the preponderance of brown lawns last summer. Replacing a non-native lawn with native grass sod may be the best way to solve this problem, but it is expensive. Several in-between approaches exist that can bridge the gap between a native green lawn and a non-native brown one. A patch-garden approach has worked well for many homeowners. Inserting raised or lowered beds of native plants into an established lawn increases gardening space for flowers, fruits, vegetables, shrubs, and trees. Ornamental native grasses can also be used to break up a traditional lawn. Other people have converted sections or all of their lawn into rock gardens, cutting out and removing the sod themselves and replacing it with rocks and selected native plants. Perhaps traditional underplanting with low-growing, early-blooming plants such as spring-beauty (Claytonia lanceolata) and Pasqueflower (Anemone patens) can be followed by underplanting with other flowers to keep the lawn blooming from Spring through Fall in the appearance of a meadow. Inserting plugs of native grass into the non-native turf lawn might be a way of spreading the cost of replacing the lawn over a longer period of time. Every cultivar in our gardens, like the dinner-plate size roses or the irises that stand up to our hips, can trace its ancestry back to a native plant. Economics, a stronger understanding of the importance of native plants to their environments, and the knowledge that what we plant in our gardens can affect that environment, are leading to respect for and appreciation of native plants. By trying to use native plants in our gardening and landscaping we become important and influential aspects of our local ecologies. Many in-between steps exist that can make the transition to using more native plants in our gardens easier and less expensive. Step by step, by using native plants we can help our environments, our economy, and our own pocketbooks. Some Sources of Native Plants Finding greenhouses and seed companies that carry native plant species can be hard. Digging from the wild is not an option as it removes the plant from its habitat and the animals and insects that depend on it and is often illegal. Gathering seeds can be useful but requires timing and knowledge. Following are a few sources of native plants:
Gulley's Greenhouse Sunmark Seeds International High Country Gardens Arapahoe Acres Nursery
Local greenhouses are also great sources of native plants. Your CU extension agent should also be able to help you find sources of native, as can the US Forest Service. References Busco, Janice, and Nancy R. Morin Huddleston, S., and M. Hussey Hyde, Barbara 1995 • The Progress of a Gardener: Gardening in the Mountain West, Vol. 2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) A Source Book on Natural Landscaping for Public Officials
Copyright 2004 by Pamela Graves |