Native plants for landscaping

Discussion in 'Trees, Shrubs and Roses' started by Primsong, Mar 15, 2008.

  1. Primsong

    Primsong Young Pine

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    I am rather addicted to the annual Native Plant Sale that pops up near me each spring. Just came home with red flowering currant, blue elderberry, mock orange and oceanspray. Now for digging! Last year it was several sword ferns, a dogwood and some trillium.

    I don't allow any invasive non-natives on my property (english ivy and himalayan blackberry for instance)and am trying to use natives where they suit what I am looking to do. They're more likely to thrive too, being in their own environment.

    Have any of you deliberately emphasized native plants for your own area in your landscaping? Ever fetched anything from the woods and brought it home, or been tempted to? What are your thoughts on the impact of native vs. non-native plantings, especially as a foodsource for the birds and wildlife passing through?
     
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  3. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    I try to stay with native or well adapted plants. Non-natives take more water, soil amendments that may not be good for the natives in your garden and care when your climate is not what they need for healthy growth.

    I have had some that were not as adapted as they should have been and when they died out in the extreme drought we have had, they were replaced with natives.
    Texas has 10 climatic regions, 14 soil regions, and 11 distinct ecological regions. What is native to one region is not necessarily native to another so we have to be very careful when looking for native plants.

    As far as taking them from the wild...aka wild crafting, I don't. If everyone did it, soon there would be no native plants growing in the wild. ;)
     
  4. mtathome

    mtathome Seedling

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    I have a lot of natives around the house, trilliums, foxgloves, tons of ferns, and I love them as much as I love the garden plants.

    I've transplanted foxgloves where I want them to grow, as they grow in the middle of the gravel driveway and in the middle of paths, etc., and I've sprinkled their seeds around as well. Whenever my husband is digging around when building some shed or other thing, I always ask him to transplant ferns that are in his way. He also transplants small cedar trees very often because they sprout up in the darndest places.

    I don't transplant anything from the woods though.
     
  5. Primsong

    Primsong Young Pine

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    I used to have a neighbor who admitted to bringing home his ferns from the woods when he was out camping. Said he'd tried planting storebought ferns three times only to always have them die. The wild ones were thriving, so he rationalized that 'at least he'd tried' before digging them up.

    I have never taken anything from the wilderness, and there are some species that are protected as well so I certainly don't recommend it. I just wondered if anyone had done as he did (guiltily or not)

    I know I have been tempted to take plants from land that is slated for development though - it just hurts my heart to see someone's beloved plants go from being doted on to being bulldozed.

    Good idea, knowing your own zones! I wonder if there are any states or small countries that have only one zone? It seems unlikely.
     



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  6. Droopy

    Droopy Slug Slaughterer Plants Contributor

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    I've got native plants here and there. Birches, fir, rowan, ferns and honeysuckle for instance, but my garden would be pretty drab if I had stuck with only natives. Lots of our wild flora is either protected or invasive, so I leave them out there.
     
  7. SongofJoy57

    SongofJoy57 In Flower

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    My grandparents wildcrafted for medicine, food, and crafting out things they needed. My grandfather has the title "Hunter of Ginseng" on his tombstone. They gathered catnip, and other things to sell for money to live by, and also for some foods.

    I admit that I have harvested moss, a blackberry lily, privette bushes, tiger lilies, berries, and wildflower seeds from the woods behind the place I used to live. Later bulldozers came in, and pushed everything off to make room for a bunch of fancy homes, so I guess I sort of rescued these things. The rocks, had fell out of a big stone fence on my former father-in-law's property up in Virginia. His father had built the fence before the Civil War, and it was more or less in great disrepair. My father-in-law jokingly accused me of trying to take the state of Virginia home to NC. . . one trunk load of stones at a time. We have an endangered list a mile long, so it is best to refer to it when getting ready to harvest something.

    We have scads of woods, and most people don't want all inconvenience that I went through. In fact, at my age, I no longer want it. :rolleyes:
     
  8. Palm Tree

    Palm Tree Young Pine

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    I will definitely have to go more native this year - water restrictions forcing me.

    I was just thinking - I should go on more hikes, get some Fynbos specimens - see how they perform in nature, what are their natural companions, and try to imitate in my own garden.
     
  9. Biita

    Biita Arctic-ally Challenged Forager

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    Living in the Artic the selection of plants is very limited. Even plants that thrives in other parts of the world that has cold climate won't work here. we have the permafrost in some parts of the island. mostly the all shady areas because of the mountains. Then we have the sea, and the marshes and our soil is very much influenced by that also.

    I have a camp ground here, with cabins and tent, small vans or campers area, and what the people come to see in Lofoten is the natual beauty, so i have to keep the farm natural as can be. But in a controlled way. We have the birch, fir, rowan and other trees, but also we have the artic dwarf birch and oak trees that are natural to here and no where else.

    Around the houses (there is 2, ours and uncles) now that is a different story, there is flowers that are native to all of Norway plus a few other countries. My herbs are deffinately not native to here but i keep them near the house so as not to interfer with the natural landscaping by nature itself. If i see wildflowers i will pick a few for the seeds but leave the rest, then i will skatter them in other places in the fields. Taking from nature to plant here, never! I will harvest but never take the plant itself. cloudberries as an expample.
     
  10. SongofJoy57

    SongofJoy57 In Flower

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    Primsong:
    Maybe you could do a how-to article guiding us on the art of native plant gardening. . . (in any sparetime that you have, of course . . . like next winter, perhaps. ;) ) After reading your post, I am very interested in trying this, but do not know exactly what to do. :rolleyes:
     

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