Make Native Plants a Part of Your Landscape

Native plants are generally defined as plants that grow naturally in a particular area or region.

In previous articles I have frequently recommended using native plants when landscaping our yards since these plants are beneficial to the local environment. Native plants will often need less water, feeding, and pest management than non-native species and also provide habitat for local wildlife.

When choosing native plants for use in the landscape it is important to be aware of the growing conditions in the area to be planted. Knowing how much sunlight or shade the area receives, the soil moisture level, and the type of soil will help when deciding on which plants to use.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has available an excellent publication “Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.” The book contains color photos of native plants and lists plants by categories such as ferns, grasses, herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees. Information on growth characteristics, growing conditions, native habitat, and associated wildlife is listed for each plant.

This publication can also be found online at www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake/.  Another online publication listing native plants and growing conditions is “Native Plants for Anne Arundel County, Maryland”, and it can be found at www.aacounty.org/IP/Resources/AANativePlants.pdf.

Native plants have a variety of uses in the landscape such as helping control storm water runoff in raingardens, providing conservation landscape areas, and replacing non-native, invasive plant species. These plants are also a good choice for replacing lawn areas since lawns require greater maintenance and provide a less diverse wildlife habitat.

When shopping for native plants at a local garden center or nursery ask a salesperson for assistance in finding their native plant material since not all garden centers display these plants in the same manner.  Before selecting any plants, it is important to know that native plants are classified as either a true, native species or as a cultivated variety of the native species.

These cultivated varieties are referred to as “cultivars” in the nursery trade and may not have the exact same characteristics of the true native species, but can still be used in the landscape.

 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides a listing of local nurseries and garden centers that grow and sell plants native to this area. The list of sources for native plants can be found at www.fws.gov/chesapeakebay/BayScapes/bsresources/bs-nurseries.htm#MD.

Please note that some of the nurseries included in this list are wholesalers and will only sell to contractors or retail establishments while some of the wholesalers will conduct retail sales on a limited basis. Some of the nurseries offer a list of plants that are currently available in their inventory which can help in deciding which plants to purchase.

Using native plants creates a “win-win” situation for the environment by beautifying the landscape and improving habitat for wildlife. Adding native plants to the landscape a few at a time or by re-landscaping an entire yard will benefit our surroundings.