I thought it would be interesting to see how many people use native plants in their landscapes or gardens.
Also what is your motivation?
I have been using native plants for 10 years, and my motivation is conservation of plants and resources as well as education, plus I am in love with the Native flora of Texas.
Josephine.
I will love to post some pics and info on what I have, but everything's dormant here and we have long cold springs, so it will be a while before I have anything interesting to share. So, I guess the southerners pile on first! : )
CompostR, you can always use last years pictures, or just tell us why and how you got into gardening with Native plants?
We live on the lake and are carefull what we put on our plants and lawn. (read, we don't use anything but lake water, so our lawn is not very lush)
We find some flowers here and there growing faster than the grass. (black eyed susan, daisy, etc)
I then move them to a better location. They are free, deer resistant, easy to grow, and very pretty.
I started this last year and it has really been fun. I hope to learn more on this forum.
Great!, it is so much fun to discover all those beautiful plants out there! The little flowers that no one notices can be so beautiful if we look closely and learn to appreciate them.
Such a wonderful adventure watching nature unfold.
We are organic gardeners too, and don't use pesticides or artificial fertilizers, I love composting, it is such a marvelous process, how things die, nature changes them, and they become food for other living things.
We recycle all our plant and kitchen materials, I don't like to call it waste, because everything has a purpose and can be used to improve the soil.
I don't have a digital camera so I don't often post pictures. Maybe I'll get one for my birthday. We are more or less retired so our income is not what it used to be. Not that it was ever that great! But, I can tell you that I mix native plants with others in what I like to think of as my xeric cottage garden. It is not totally xeric, either. I have some plants, such as clematis and roses, that use some water but also have yucca, mahonia and some native grasses. We also have apricot trees, plums and sour cherries. No sprays ever used. We compost when its warm enough. I grow lots of herbs and I'm interested in native plants partly as to how they are used locally. I wish I could get scarlet globe mallow growing for me. It comes up out of the sidewalk all over town but not in my yard!
Roybird, that is so funny about not being able to grow certain plants!!
There is one Texas native that i just love, but I can't seem to be able to grow it, I have tried three or four times, and no luck, and yet it grows wild all by itself, I just must not have the right conditions for it here, I think it is the soil, I have clay and it likes sand.
One of my friends even went as far as to send me some potted and everything by U.P.S.
Well, one died promptly and one was about to make a bloomstock and a branch fell on it and broke it.
My friend says that now when he wants his plants to grow he goes out there and threatens them with sending them to me, and they all grow like crazy.
This is the plant i am talking about Standing Cypress, Ipomopsis rubra, a group of these is amazing.
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=IPRU2
That is a beautiful plant. Will you try it again? They say,"third time's the charm"!
I understand standing cypress is hard to transplant because it doesn't like its roots being disturbed so it's no wonder the ones your friend sent died. If your soil is clay, it may be too wet for it. Try it in a spot that's pretty dry and try from seeds.
Also, according to what I've read, it's biennial or short lived as a perennial. You might need to sow seeds every year for a couple of years until it starts self sowing to perpetuate itself.
I think it's gorgeous too.
Hart, I think your advice is excellent, the only full sun well draining spot I have is on the wildflower slope, and the problem is that the standing cypress plants stay short and low the first year and the taller sorrounding plants shade them them out, i will have to see if i can find a way to be successful.
I hate to admit defeat, but let us face it, sometimes we can spend too much time and energy trying for something that just doesn't work. We shall see.
You could try digging a lot of rocks into the soil where you want to grow it. Try raising the soil up above the normal soil level. Anything to make that spot drain better so its toes stay dry.
I don't have that problem. sigh My whole yard is more rocks than soil and mostly uphill so everything drains as fast as it rains or I water.
Thank you Hart, I might try that, I do have some seed.
I'm probably about 60% native, and increasing every day. :)
I do it for several reasons.
- Ease of maintenance
- Interest (seems like most yards around here use some combination of the same 15 or so plants)
- My yard backs up to a wooded park, and I am trying to avoid spreading exotic invasives
When I moved in, my backyard was basically overrun with nandina, asian jasmine, english ivy, mint, and honeysuckle. I've gotten rid of everything but the english ivy, which I plan get rid of when the fence it is covering falls down and needs to be replaced.
Dennis
Good job Dennis, I don't have english ivy, but I hear it is pretty tough to get rid of.
We just recently removed a 35 foot row of nandinas and that was quite an ordeal, but they are out.
I replaced them with Cherry Laurel, Yaupon Holly and Coral Berry, these are all small plants, so it will be a while before they really make a showing, but I am very excited about them.
Josephine.
I am in the same boat. I have planted a whole bunch of trees, shrubs, and perennials that will look really great in a few years, when they get bigger. For now, I just have to look the sparse looking beds and imagine what they will look like once everything gets big, and resist the urge to plant things too close based on their current sizes.
Dennis
I haven't started using native plants yet but have a plan for my back yard that, when done, will look like a meadow with a woodland setting in the back of the yard. I hope to install a rock strewn creek so the birds and animals have a place to drink and bath. We plan on starting this spring with a planting for a wildlife garden from Ion Exchange. This is a mail order nursery that sells native plants here in Iowa. I just hope the actual garden turns out as well as the plan I have in my head.
Wow! that sounds wonderful Frank, I am sure it will be beautiful.
One good thing to remember is that all these things take time, but patience pays off, and hard work too.
Please be sure to document your work and show us your project's progress.
I am really looking forward to seeing it develop.
Congratulations on a great plan and vision.
Josephine.
We bought a bare lot (larger than we really wanted) in a rural area and plan to retire here, so we wanted to keep maintenance, both cost and physical labor. It's been three years of very hard work, but we're getting there. Water usage is staying low, except when we have to water new plants in for their first year. We also live in a fire danger area, so have to be careful what we plant where and how densely. We're trying to break things up with dg paths, which will also help us move around if we need wheelchairs or walkers later on. We're really trying to plan ahead!
Once we started looking into native plants, we found we liked them and besides, a cottage garden would look silly here. Instead of bird seed, I'm trying to plant things that produce berries for the birds, and we have a large pond. Here is some of what we've done - www.breezedale.blogspot.com - if you click on 'older posts' you can get a glimpse of what we started with. When things green up in a month or two, I'll take some more pictures. I am also a California native, so I guess loving these plants is in my blood, although I also have a love of tropicals. :-)
Kathleen
I have tons of natives and started doing this many years ago..a little at a time...the non-natives came out and the natives came in. Reasons: 1) I can't stand chemicals so no pesticides, herbicides or regular fertilizers, 2) I love to compost, 3) my yard was certified by national wildlife years ago, 4) my daughter is environmental science teacher in Florida, 5) I was in Girl Scouts for over 30 years, 6) I own Gwen's Environmental Habitats & Landscape Solutions so I have to show people you can have beautiful lawn & garden without using chemicals not just tell them, 7) I read Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, and lastly; natives use less water, natives bring back the balance that is needed to each specific area including wildlife and pests and they grew and bloomed here all by themselves without being given food, water and sprays. All of this together means you have a beautiful place, save water, save time, save resources, don't pollute the ground water and save money! What could be better?! Sorry if I sound like I am preaching...I am very passionate about this subject.
Kathleen, beautiful place you have there, you are doing a great job I am so glad people are telling about all the wonderful things they are doing!!!
Keep up the good work, Ladies and Gentlemen!!!
Josephine.
Erikryan, Please preach on until the cows come home!!!
I am so proud and excited to hear so many good reports, wow!! this is going to be great, it certainly looks like we are going to have a lot of fun sharing with each other.
Josephine.
Both my neighbor and I have been organic for a few years now, and it is amazing how many more lizards and toads we have compared to when I first moved in. Many benefits.
Dennis
Now, Josephine, you know discussion of the non-native bovines belongs over in the Garden Foes...if the cows come home here, there'll have to be some exclusion devices.
Speaking of: the ten acres that I inhabit was a grazed-to-the-nub, envy of the fastest US Open golf tournament greens pastureland almost 20 years ago when we moved here. Slowly but surely, this pretty much bare ground has been moving through the "old field" condition of succession, with many pioneer woody species appearing and quite a few native grasses and forbs from the dormant/suppressed seedbank emerging.
Additionally rewarding is the range of wildlife that is evident daily, from winged friends to red foxes to the pesky but adorable raccoons, rabbits, and chipmunks. We are the strangely unkempt lands in an area of folks from the city who spend their lives mowing their acreage simply to keep it at a uniform height.
I enjoy the dickens out of the stray Euonymus atropurpureus (eastern wahoo) popping up amongst my viburnums. I endeavor to learn the differences between the two, three, or four different milkweeds that have returned to display their wares. I am sad when the old elms succumb to insects or disease, but know that their progeny along with many white ash, blue ash, black cherry, walnut, bitternut hickory, hackberry, and bur oak seedlings are spreading their wings to become the new generation of canopy.
This is native plant gardening along with hands-off parenting (except for honeysuckle extermination), and a wonderful opportunity for learning while observing.
Wow! Ten acres! I really envy all that space, I have a city corner lot about 1/4 of an acre, but i have managed to cram a lot of plants in here.
It must be wonderful to be able to let things evolve and watch them become something really special.
Be sure to show us pictures of your place.
Josephine.
ViburnumValley. Your acreage sounds wonderful!! I too am sad to see the elm trees all die. Check out this website. They have propagated American Elms that are resistant to the Dutch Elm disease. www.peacevalleynaturecenter.org. Ten acres would be like living in heaven. I live on a lot that is about 80 by 160 feet. I haven't used chemicals for several years on my lot. I just read in Organic Gardening about the health hazards regarding lawn fertilizers. I am sure glad I don't use chemicals.
I'm pretty familiar with the resistant elm selections, from the American elm clones to the hybridized Asian forms. I'm all for their use, but...
Most people are not aware that the Dutch Elm disease (DED) hasn't killed all the elm trees. Adversely affected many, to be sure - but there are plenty of elms still out there growing, kicking, and reproducing. Are they as common (especially in the manmade landscape, like lining streets)? Certainly not, mostly due to belief that they will immediately die from DED. That's simply not true.
The pests are out there, absolutely, but my property is full of seedling elms from older trees around the area. A big old tree will die from time to time, but so do old oaks, ash, maples, etc. I wish they wouldn't, but that's naive.
Siting these kinds of trees is what is important. Then, knowing what to expect when you do plant one prepares it and you for the future. The worst thing in the world would be to only plant clones of American elm (or any other species). Then all the genetics are narrow and identical - which is what primed the urban landscape for the original failure of the American elms when DED came along. Many North American communities' streets were lined with clonal elms back then. It should be no surprise that each one was exactly as susceptible to the disease as the next tree.
Seedling grown trees (with a range of the genetics available in Ulmus americana or the other elm species) would have at least have had some range of resistance to the onslaught. This needs to be the lesson learned by gardeners and tree planters today. Let's not repeat history's mistakes.
What does the Valley look like? Here's an image that inspires me.
Very pretty picture Viburnum.
VV, we have a lot of wild elm trees on our property, although we are in a bit of a die-off now. We have a young elm in our yard that came from the fence line. There are some glorious old elms in the back lots.
Josephine--
As you know I'm into bulbs, I'm getting real close to having all the native Texas bulbs--I'm only short a few. I also have many other North American native bulbs. I do this for conservation, research, and enjoyment purposes.
I also grow a lot of native perennials, shrubs, and trees. Of course, you know this but I thought I'd contribute a bit over here!
Debbie
Great Debbie! I hope you will show us some of those of those beautiful native bulbs.
It is great to have you here.
Josephine.
Hello, I'm all excited because we did get a digital camera! Yeah! Not much up yet in the garden but there will be. Love the beautiful photos you all take. My first photo was of a raven in a tree and isn't very good as I was looking in to the sun and he moved as I clicked. But, just wait.
I've always admired the "weeds" along the road, in vacant lots or in parks. I'd started to learn names before we left the city and moved to the country on 2 acres of hilly property. Only part of it was fenced in...most of it left alone. The first couple of years each week brought new discoveries! I was fascinated by tiny vines that suddenly exploded with flowers, small shrubby plants that smelled oh so good when the foliage was crushed, the Texas Mountain Laurel that bloomed with heavenly clusters of purple flowers and smelled like koolaid, flowers on plants that never seemed to have leaves, a dry creek that came to life after heavy rainfall, plants with long strappy, saw-toothed leaves...well, you probably see what I'm talking about. I was like a kid again, discovering new and beautiful things all the time. Then I was really lucky...the university I was taking courses at had field courses on plants! It would have been worth 100X what I paid! What pure fun! I read somewhere in a book that only those that really look at what the creator has put here for us and can appreciate the full wonder of it all will truly know about God and what precious gifts he has given us.
You are so right Linda, the wonders of Nature never cease to amaze me.
Josephine.
Linda, let me know on the anemone and when you wat your Habranthus tubispathus var texensi seeds.
=)
I grow a number of different California natives--I have one whole bed along the side of my garage that is 100% natives, and then I have others scattered here and there throughout my garden. I have a couple reasons why I grow them--the first motivation was water conservation, with our dry summers I try to plant only low-water plants throughout my garden. And I like that they attract things like native bees. And of course they're pretty...if they weren't I'm not sure the other things would matter! The only reason I don't have more is that I'm also in love with Australian natives so I have lots of those growing too! Things are starting to come into bloom now so one of these days when I have time I was going to start a thread showing some of the ones from my garden as well as photos of things I've found in the wild.
Great Ecrane, we are looking forward to your pictures.
Viburnum: that scene could inspire anyone...how lucky you are to be able to see it and enjoy it.
I have a lot of goldenrod (hmm, have I mentioned that before) and native asters that I planted ( well, they are in the border) in a border with steeple bush (Spirea tomentosa), Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium maculatum), boneset (E. perfoliatum), meadowsweet (Spirea latifolium)
another view
That is gorgeous Kathleen.
