Everything You Need to Know About Integrating Native Plants Into Your Landscape

Native plants and wildlife have an interconnected relationship; they’ve coevolved and rely on each other. Growing more native plants contributes to biodiversity and provides essential habitat and food for wildlife. For example, many pollinators, such as bees, butterflies and moths, rely on the nectar and pollen of flowers that bloom at different times of year. "Native plants are certainly a big link in the food chain," says Michael Strengari, Senior Horticulturist at Mt. Cuba Center, a botanical garden, native plant center and research facility. "By using native plants, we’re supporting the greater ecosystem by matching our native species of pollinators, like butterflies that are all part of the food web that go into feeding birds and mammals."

Growing a garden with the ecosystem in mind is critical. Wild areas have become fragmented as more land is used for agriculture and urban development. According to research published in Landscape and Urban Planning in September 2018, wild lands are crucial for preserving biodiversity and functioning ecosystems but are threatened by changes in land use. Gardens can provide important habitat, food and migratory pitstops for wildlife. "Whatever we can do on our own property creates these corridors of supportive plants for the food web, and especially for migratory animals and birds and insects," says Strengari. "It’s more important now than ever with fragmented wild lands."

How to Choose Native Plants

Plants communities are plants that grow well together and interact with each other and wildlife. Growing plant communities provide more food sources, such as nectar and pollen for pollinators throughout the year. "Understand what plants work together to form seasonal transitions so you don’t have everything blooming in April or May and then nothing later on in the season," she says. "By having a mix of spring to summer to fall blooms and trees, shrubs, and perennials, you’re able to integrate really healthy ecosystems into your backyard."

Think about how plants and wildlife depend on each other. Many birds rely on finding caterpillars to feed their babies. Butterflies need larval host plants to lay their eggs where the larvae or caterpillar can eat the leaves of the plant. "When you have the chickadees and the house finches that are wanting to feed their young, they’re relying on hundreds and hundreds of caterpillars that they have to go out and find and bring back to the nest." says Carrie Wiles, Interim Executive Director of the Delaware Center for Horticulture.

Plants also contribute to the landscape by serving different functions. Kelly D. Norris, horticulturist and author of New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden compares a garden to working like a factory. "A factory has a lot of different roles for employees to play. That’s how we should think about building our garden," he says. Some plants, like grasses and shrubs offer shelter for insects, birds and wildlife, while others provide important food sources, such as berries, pollen or nectar. "We need a diversity of roles across the garden that different plants are playing at different times in space."

For a garden to support a vibrant plant community, experts recommend growing flowering plants with different shapes, sizes and colors and with a range of bloom times throughout the year. "You want a broad mix of plants and flowers throughout various seasons," says Wiles. Having flowers bloom at different times of the year, including fall and winter, means food is available for insects and birds in each season. Growing an array of plants with different qualities offers many benefits to numerous critters in your garden. Find ways to support a greater number of creatures in your garden and create more connections in the ecosystem, says Norris.

Taking time to learn about the plants you’re growing is key to understanding them. "Get to know the plants you’re gardening with; Plants are living things that you’re living with," Norris says. When we understand how plants and wildlife are connected and we observe the relationship between them, we can create gardens that are beneficial for every being and have more biodiversity. "The more that people know, the deeper that knowledge runs and the more meaningful people’s relationships with landscapes can be."

Find native for your area

There are many websites where you can enter your zip code and find native plants for your geographical regions. Check out the Audubon native plant database, Homegrown National Park’s native plants finder, or the National Wildlife Federation native plant finder to learn what flowers, shrubs, and trees are native to your region. Another wonderful resource is to reach out to your local Native Plant Society to answer any questions or concerns you may have about choosing and growing native plants. "Every region of the country has a Native Plant Society that is attuned to questions and issues," says Norris. He adds we don’t have to be trained in native plants to grow them with so many resources available.

Many botanical and local gardens have plant sales in the spring and fall where you can find an impressive selection of natives. Strengari recommends going to a native plant society garden sale where you’ll find more variety compared to a typical garden center.

Buy natives that have been grown from seed, when possible. "There are variations in the genetics of these plants," explains Strengari. For example, he says, "A native from the Eastern temperate region in Georgia versus one in New York is going to have different genetics and sometimes different traits that work with their local fauna better than if I put that Georgia plant in New York."

Know your environment

A plant native to your region doesn’t automatically mean it will grow in your garden or landscape. Each plant has sunlight and soil preferences. The first step to choosing natives for your property is knowing how much sunlight an area receives. Wiles suggests asking yourself some questions:

• Do you have an environment that’s in full sun or full sun to partial shade at certain times of day? 

• Are you in a woodland environment where there’s lots of mature trees around you and you’re in that shaded area for most of the day?

The soil type is important too. "It’s really important to understand what’s going on underneath your feet," she says. "Do you have a really wet soil environment or are you in a really dry area prone to drought?" When you understand the ecology of the landscape, Wiles says, "You’re able to make selections that are more likely to succeed with native trees and native shrubs and native perennials."

Common Native Plants in the United States

Many native species can be found throughout the United States. Make sure to check which varieties or species are native to your geographical region. Natives that are grown in non-native areas can be or become invasive.

• Asters (Symphyotrichum spp.) bloom in the late summer through fall making them a wonderful plant to grow for the in-between seasons. Asters attract many pollinators, including bees and butterflies. Birds rely on insects or seeds to eat.

• American Black Elderberry (S. canadensis) is native to many regions in the United States, except for some states. There are shrub and tree varieties. Flowers bloom in late spring through summer and insects, such as bees, beetles, butterflies and moths collect pollen. The caterpillars of the cecropia moth eat the leaves. Many birds eat the berries that crop up in late summer through fall.

• Coneflowers (Echinacea spp.) are named for their raised center with petals facing downward. Bees and many birds, such as goldfinches and hummingbirds, love sucking the nectar of these flowers.
  

• Rudbeckia spp. are another type of coneflower which are native to woodlands and prairies. Black-eyed Susan is a well-known Rudbeckia coneflower with a black center with long slender, mustard-yellow petals. There are over 20 native Rudbeckia species in the United States and are a favorite flower for many types of butterflies, moths and birds.

• Goldenrod (Solidago) With bright yellow plumes, goldenrod blooms in late summer through the fall providing important food sources later in the season for many pollinators, including native bees, butterflies and moths. There are around 100 native species in North America.

• Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) is a larval host plant for the Monarch butterfly. Monarchs only lay their eggs on this plant because monarch caterpillars can only eat milkweed leaves. According to Monarch Watch, There are 73 native MIlkweed species and 30 that are often used by Monarchs. Many bird species also rely on the nectar of this plant and also feast on the caterpillars, too.

• Oak tree (Quercus spp.) There are around 200 native oak species in the United States, per the Biota of North America Program. Oak trees contribute immensely to biodiversity and are home to 2300 species, including animals, insects and fungi that rely on this tree for food, shelter and to breed.

Top photo originally found in Landscape Design for All Climates

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