Go native: embrace nature—and help save the planet—by switching to indigenous plants

Natural Health, May, 2005 by Kaitlin Quistgaard

WHEN SANDRA HOLLAND turned 62, she started to garden with gusto. She dug out a quarter-acre s worth of weeds and exotic plants and created a meadow of wild grasses, all of which grow indigenously within five miles of her home in Inverness, Calif. The arduous project sprouted from a simple desire. I wanted to do something for the environment that I could actually do--something hands-on, rather than just sending money somewhere," she says.

As it turns out, reverting to natural landscaping is a gift to the planet. Because native plants have evolved in local weather and soil conditions and amid native fauna, they generally thrive with minimal watering and require less pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. That spares watersheds the chemical runoff from synthetic weed killers, bloom boosters, and the like.

The rewards go both ways. "There's a softness about a native landscape, a subtleness, a delicacy," says Holland, whose visitors often comment on the rejuvenating power of her meadow.

birds and butterflies

NATIVE PLANTS ALSO PROVIDE optimal food and shelter for local wildlife, including desirable birds and butterflies. These flora help maintain essential biodiversity, not only through their own existence, but also by providing a habitat for insects and animals that cannot live on Bermuda grass and magnolia trees alone.

"When you buy a flat of pansies from a commercial nursery, you get immediate vibrant color, but you don't get the same response from nature as you do when you plant natives," says Peigi Duvall, horticulture program director for the California Native Plant Society. "There's an immediate reaction from the birds and insects; the landscape starts smiling."

It's hard to believe that planting native trees instead of Japanese maples, or scattering local wildflower seeds instead of daffodil bulbs, could be so important--until you consider how much wild habitat has been displaced by our homes and gardens. Making a difference could be as simple as planting a native bush in your backyard, especially if it happens to be the preferred egg-laying site for a specific species of butterfly.

Birds will find plenty to forage from greenery that produces fruits or nuts; some frees (oaks, hollies, junipers) furnish shelter as well as food. Best of all are native plants, which re-create a bird's natural habitat. If you live in the central plains and prairies, for example, landscaping with big bluestem will appeal to sparrows, wrens, and meadowlarks in search of nesting sites. In the western mountains and deserts, mesquite will beckon doves and quail.

Recognizing the huge impact that home gardeners have on ecosystems, the National Wildlife Federation started the Backyard Wildlife Habitat program in 1973 to encourage people to abandon chemically dependent lawns and ornamental plants in favor of native plants that support wildlife. Nearly 50,000 gardens (including a few balconies!) have been certified by the NWF as "backyard wildlife habitat" sites. Their cultivators have adopted sustainable gardening techniques and provided food, water, cover, and places for wildlife to safely raise their young. (For more information about making your yard fauna-friendly, visit Audubon at Home at audubon.org/bird/at_home/plants or the National Wildlife Federation at nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat.)

truly natural

BEYOND THE PRAGMATISM of planting natives lies the deep satisfaction of celebrating nature close at hand. As a culture, we have long romanticized "the wilderness" and made pilgrimages to see the majestic redwoods of the Northwest, the mangroves of the Everglades, and the showy maples of Vermont--only to return home to roll out the tuff, prune the roses, and plant impatiens in gardens from Maine to New Mexico.

"We're all out there planting these cookie-cutter landscapes," says Belinda McCoy McLaughlin, president of the Native Plant Society of Texas. "Shouldn't our landscapes reflect the region where we live?"

There's something soothing about coming upon a house in El Paso that's surrounded by desert scrub and spiny succulents rather than a water-guzzling lawn. Such a sight creates an aura of ease; there are no challenges to nature being waged with chemicals, mowers, and blowers.

"If a visit to a park or other natural area is perceived as beautiful and spiritually refreshing," says Louise Lacey, editor and publisher of the Growing Native Web site and newsletter, "imagine what happens to people who actually participate in the healing of a patch of earth."

Native-plant gardeners say that aligning themselves with nature's impulses has reinforced their sense of being part of the environment. If you plant natives where summers are hot and dry, for example, you may see some parts of your garden go dormant by July. No need to water and worry--those plants will begin leafing out midwinter and bloom in early spring. You'll witness the true cycle of nature at work, and you'll get a chance to put your feet up and enjoy the view instead of monkeying with hoses and sprinklers all summer.