Planning your garden? Consider going native
by Pam Owen, Winter 2002-2003
Native Virginia plants are generally easier to take care of and use fewer resources than nonnatives (exotics), since native plants are already adapted to our climate and soil conditions. They are also less likely to run amok and drive out other natives.
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Redbud, a native tree, nearing full bloom.
Photo courtesy Paul R. Farmer. |
Native plants can be spectacularly beautiful, such as the flame azalea, but their beauty is often more subtle than the exotics found in nurseries. From wildflowers to fruit-bearing shrubs and trees, you have a wide variety to choose from and plenty of resources available to help you plan and plant your garden.
If you're not sure you want to go native, discover the joys and challenges of native gardening, its benefits to the local ecosystem, and the impact of the introduction of exotic species by reading the books on native gardening listed below.
If you've decided to go native, one of the best places to get information on plants native to Virginia is the Virginia Native Plant Society (VNPS), at www.vnps.org, or call 540-837- 1600. The commonwealth's Virginia Natural Heritage Program (on the web at www.dcr.state.va.us/dnh, or call 804-786-7951) is also a good source for information.
The field guides listed below will also help you decide on what plants to choose and help you identify plants you've seen in the wild that you'd like to have in the garden.
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A spring nature walk with Bruce and Susan Jones.
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Now that you're ready to start planting, where do you get the plants? Again, VNPS and DCR are good places to start. Some other sources are listed in the box below. Remember that taking plants from the wild is generally not good for the ecosystem, and many wild species do not survive transplanting, so do your research first and find which plants you can transplant and which you should buy.
Thanks to RLEP member Donna La Pre for contributing to the list of resources below.
Donna offers consulting on native gardens through her company, Leaf by Leaf. You can reach her at 540-675-2365 or by e-mailing her at dopray@earthlink.net.
Books on Native Gardening Noah's Garden and Planting Noah's Garden, and Noah's Children-Restoring Childhood Ecology, by Sara Stein
Gardening With Native Plants of the South, by Sally Wasowski
Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the United States and Canada, by William Cullina
Impact of Introduction of Exotic Species
Tinkering with Eden, by Kim Todd
Nature Out of Place, by Roy Van Driesche
Field Guides to Native Plants
80 Great Natural Habitat Plants, by Ken Druse
Trees and Shrubs of Virginia, by Oscar W. Gupton and Fred C. Swope Wildflowers of the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains, by Oscar W. Gupton
A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-Central North America (Peterson Field Guides), by Margaret McKenny and Roger Tory Peterson
Wildflowers in Color, by Arthur Stupka
Wildflowers of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, by Richard M. Smith
With Paintbrush and Shovel: Preserving Virginia's Wildflowers, by Nancy Kober, Donna N.E.Wace, and Bessie Niemeyer Marshall
Sources for Native Plants and Seeds
Native Gardens (www.native-gardens.com) Shady Oaks Nursery-especially for shade plants (www.shadyoaks.com)
Prairie Frontier-prairie and meadow native seed, including native grasses (www.prairiefrontier.com)
Enchanter's Garden-comprehensive selection of native plants; HC 77 Box 108, Hinton,VA 25951; 304-466-3454; catalog $2.00
Virginia Natives-native plants, by appointment only; P.O. Box D, Hume, VA 22639; 540-364-1665; catalog $1.25
Windy Hill Plant Farm-native plants; 40413 John Mosby Hwy, Aldie, VA 20105-2827; 703-327-4211; www.windyhill.net
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