Gardening With Native Plants

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Consider plants that are great for birds in your home gardens, backyards, and urban landscapes. When you choose to grow native trees and plants you create bird-friendly communities that provide much-needed food and shelter to local and migrating birds.

What is a native plant? Plants that have developed and adapted to local soil and climate conditions over thousands of years. They not only create green spaces, they fill a vital role in the local ecosystem of pollinators, insects, birds, mammals, and other wildlife. The resulting resilient habitat provides abundant natural food and protection for birds and other wildlife, and also helps conserve water.

Not all plants growing wild in a region are natives. Nonnative, or exotic, plants that reproduce and establish outside their native range are described as naturalized. Many of our annuals and perennials are exotic (i.e., not native). The term Image of a bird“nonnative” doesn’t automatically mean invasive. A small percentage of plants introduced to NC have become especially persistent and damaging. These extra-aggressive nonnative species, “thug/bully plants” if you will, are capable of invading natural areas and destroying ecosystems because they did not evolve here with the natural enemies that limit aggressive spreading in their native habitat. These plants are known as invasive species.

Nativars are plants that are cultivars of a native plant. Plant breeders have added dozens of nativars and with public demand increasing, many more perennials, trees, and shrubs that are natives/nativars are available now than there were a dozen years ago.

These plants are a great choice to include into your gardening plans for the coming year and it doesn’t mean entirely overhauling your entire existing garden. However, there are still the basics to get right in order to achieve a successful landscape. This includes choosing species adapted to your particular site conditions, preparing the soil, helping plants get established, and following ecological design principles.

Essentially KNOW BEFORE YOU GROW. Know the plant (habits, needs, tendencies). Know the site (soil pH, texture, fertility, internal and external drainage). Know yourself (preferences, habits, time, tendencies, abilities).

These are all readily attainable nuggets of knowledge. N.C. Cooperative Extension in Lee County offers the Garden Life Series workshops. These basic gardening classes are adapted for gardeners growing in our area. If you would like to receive newsletters and “alerts” about upcoming programs, contact the office at 919-775-5624 to be added to the Lee Home Hort Listserve, or email minda_daughtry@ncsu.edu.

For more information about the Extension Master Gardener℠ program of Lee County, please contact minda_daughtry@ncsu.edu for upcoming information sessions scheduled for Lee County.

Minda Daughtry is Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Lee County.