Landscaping with Native Plants

by Joan Bailey

tarry Solomon Seal. Bottlebrush Grass. Wild Geranium. Bloodroot. These are the names of some of my neighbors, but whose names and most recently their faces, I have finally come to know. Different than Tulip, Siberian Iris, and Impatien — all relative newcomers to the area like myself — these long-time residents have much to offer and teach.

Landscaping or creating any flowerbed is a daunting task. So much planning, thinking, searching and researching happens before the first bit of earth is turned over. As a novice gardener, I had only a small idea of the possibilities in regards to native plants. Despite this, I decided to install a Native Plant Demonstration Garden in the City of Tecumseh in preparation for an August workshop, Native Plants in the Landscape. The garden would be an example of how plants could be used as well as a means of introducing native plants to participants.

The impetus for this project was my Master Gardener course at Hidden Lake Gardens and my work with the Raisin Cluster of the Michigan Stewardship Network. The demonstration garden served as my project to complete my certification as a master gardener, and it was a chance to explore and learn more about native plants. Workshops on seed-collecting, planting native grasses, removing invasive species, and spring wildflower walks inspired me. I was amazed by the native plants I found all around me, and wanted to try restoring a small spot.

One of the benefits of using native plants in the landscape is that they require less care than non-native perennials and annuals — no fertilizer, little watering, fewer pesticides. They require minimal tending after the first year. Because they are native to the area, and if well-researched, they settle in easily to this soil that is their native habitat. All they need is at their root-tips and the home gardener needs to do little but keep back weeds and do some watering the first year.

When choosing plants the usual questions of light, moisture, soil type, surrounding plants and trees, size of planting, bloom times, and companion plants must be taken into consideration. My site was a relatively shady one along a fence under a maple tree. While in close proximity to a water source, it is relatively dry most of the year. I had to keep in mind the public nature of the site — children playing, heavy foot traffic, and runaway basketballs were a few things to consider.

Site preparation is the most important step for any garden and the same is true of native plants. If incorporating them into an already existing flowerbed, they should generally be treated as any other perennial or self-seeding annual. If creating a garden, you can either remove the sod using a sod cutter or herbicide the area. Either way it is important to avoid disturbing the topsoil as that only encourages the germination of seeds you are not interested in and that will compete with the plants you wish to encourage.

The nurseryman advised herbiciding the area about ten days before I intended to do my planting using a low-grade herbicide such as glyphosate. The reason for this was to completely eliminate what I did not want growing in the space and do little damage outside the sprayed area. Waiting ten days also ensured that the herbicide would not negatively affect the new plants.

When the plants were in and watered I mulched to further define the planting area for visitors and those mowing. The mulch also served to keep down the competition and retain moisture for the seedlings. Nature would perhaps prefer a controlled burn, but these plants will most likely only experience some cutting back in spring or fall and debris removal to warm the soil in spring.

What I found as I worked on this demonstration garden was a whole new world. As I got to know these plants and grasses, I saw them everywhere. Hikes in the woods, walks along city streets, the drive home revealed pockets of wild strawberry, big bluestem, and others that apparently had been there all the time I had been and well before. There is satisfaction in recognizing a plant in the wild and knowing it represents so much history as well as the integrity of the land below and around it.

Good Resources
for further reading on cold winter nights…

Ann Arbor Department of Parks and Recreation, Natural Area Preservation - Five brochure series offers an excellent introduction to native plants, grasses, what they attract, growth needs, and bloom times.

Michigan Wildflowers in Color by Harry C. Lund, Thunder Bay Press, 1998. Something to warm and inspire the imagination for spring.

The Wild Lawn Handbook by Stevie Daniels, Macmillan, 1995. A good primer on how to install a more ecologically sound and aesthetically pleasing lawn. Full of good ideas and fodder for the imagination to run wild with.

Contents

Design by Kenny King.