Incorporating Native Plants into Your Landscaping

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Posted by @Bonehead on
Well worth the effort, and easier than one might think.

Adding native flowers, shrubs, and trees to your landscaping will provide food and shelter for birds and small mammals.  Because they are well suited to your region, native plants will thrive much better than introduced exotics.  Be aware, however, that native plants can vary greatly from region to region.  What might be a native to one region may well be a non-native invasive to another, so be cautious what you introduce.  The easiest way to identify your specific natives is to access your local County extension office, which will likely have a printable list of natives along with a list of invasives. Many nurseries now have native sections, while others simply intermingle the natives with the rest of their stock.  Your local native plant society may offer an annual or semi-annual sale.  Search online for native-only nurseries near you.  Then, arm yourself with a list of potential plants to fill in your gaps this year and have fun with it. A short life of my favorites for the Pacific Northwest region are: 

Ribes brings a welcome bright spot to the landscape.  Birds will nest in it and eat the fall berries.

Pacific dogwood is an early bloomer, although it struggles with anthracnose, a foliar fungus.  Eddie's White Wonder is an alternative cultivar that is similar to the native but more disease resistant.

Salal is a great groundcover for a shady spot and will provide both cover and food for your wildlife.  It is also a wonderful filler for bouquets.  The greens hold up for a long time.

 

Indian plum is a deciduous shrub that grows to about 15' tall and wide.  It is one of my earliest bloomers, and it colonizes quickly to form a nice summer screen.

 

If you are lucky enough to have vine maple, it is a welcome bright green in the early spring and turns absolutely brilliant in the fall.  I find it difficult to transplant, but I do find it will show up on its own now and again.

Umbrella plant or dinosaur toes is an exotic looking native.  It first sends up tall stalks of pink flower clusters, then follows with extremely large umbrella shaped leaves.  It likes damp and shady conditions.

Pacific bleeding heart is a diminuitive form of the more common garden variety.  This happy little ethereal groundcover pops up in early spring, puts on a nice little bloom show, then dies down over summer.  I pull it when it gets a bit ratty looking, which does not seem to faze it.

This is only a smattering of beautiful natives suitable for incorporating into your garden beds.

Once you've experimented with natives, you may find yourself actively seeking them out.  I invested in a field guide, "Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast," published by Lone Pine, and I carry it with me while I'm out in our back woods, hiking, or camping.  I've also downloaded a Nook app, "Audubon Wildflowers," which covers all of North America and allows me to identify and catalog natives both in my area and while traveling.  

 
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True! by canadanna May 4, 2014 12:15 PM 6

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