For the past two years, I've been transforming my yard into a native wildflower garden, and now that the snow is finally melting, it looks like I'll finally be able to resume gardening where I left off before winter.Even though early spring is sort of an "ugly season" with all the dirty snow melting and freezing up again, exposed mud, decayed leaves and grass, and debris that was previously buried under snow, I cannot express how exciting the next few months will be for me. By mid-march (about 3 weeks from now), I'll be seeing my garden gradually come back to life, and perhaps find a few surprises. As you would guess, I've spent hours collecting wildflower seeds and sowing them into newly-dug patches this fall. Now- with a whole new generation of seedlings sprouting- I may finally see some of those efforts pay off.
Gardening with native plants is something that I recommend to everyone, regardless of income, yardspace, or gardening experience. In a world where habitats and ecosystems are increasingly being destroyed by development, the need to restore plant communities plays a crucial role in conservation. Although you might think habitat restoration and improvement would require thousands of acres to be effective, you'd be surprised at how much wildlife benefits from a single acre of native plantings. If you ever decide to plant a few black-eyed susans, coneflowers, and goldenrods, you'll already be attracting countless butterflies, moths, bees, and flower-flies. Planting bushes and shrubs in your yard may also attract small animals and birds seeking shelter. Sometimes an action as simple as not mowing the grass for a few weeks will bring wildlife to your yard.
Most suburban neighborhoods are biological deserts. The neatly clipped lawns and non-native shrubs are not only useless in ecological value, but are often hard to maintain, as they require loads of water, fertilizers, and other resources to keep them healthy. Native plants, on the other hand, require very little upkeep. They're beautiful, inexpensive, and save you plenty of time and resources.
So how do you grow a native plant garden? There are two methods:
One is to simply buy native plants. For many beginner gardeners, this is the easiest way to go. With increasing trends towards native landscaping, many garden stores and nurseries now offer native plants for sale. Here, you'll find popular species such as Black-Eyed Susans, Virginia Bluebells, Trumpet Creeper, asters, native grasses, and liatris species.
Not every nursery sells native plants, however- and even if you do buy from these sources, your selection of plants is often limited. From my experience, there are plenty of fantastic, beautiful, and easy-to-grow plants that most garden shops and nurseries don't even offer. On more than one occaision, i've asked plant store employees if they had any Boneset in stock (a common white-flowered plant that is similiar to goldenrod) and they had no idea what I was talking about.
In this case, you may just want to save money and purchase seeds from Mother Nature herself. For common plants like goldenrod, milkweed, and certain kinds of asters, it's perfectly acceptable to take a few seeds or cuttings from nature every now and then. Although I typically operate on this mode of collecting, you must ALWAYS use good judgment when doing this. When collecting seeds, never take more than you need. Always ask for permission before collecting on public or private lands. Avoid taking whole plants whenever possible. For natural areas about to be torn apart by construction, there are plant-salvaging groups that will actually "rescue" plants and occaisonally give them out to people who are willing to grow them.
And lastly, before you take ANYTHING from the wild, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS know what you're doing. Some plants, as you may figure, do not fare so well in gardens. Furthermore, you don't want to yank up any endangered species. For some flowers, such as the Prairie White-Fringed Orchid, their existence is already threatened by overcollecting.
Happy gardening! (I know it's a bit early...but seriously...I've got maximum Cabin Fever right now)
