Native plants are in the news these days, and we’re being encouraged by environmental groups to include them in our garden.  Why?  Of all the reasons given, the best case for growing native plants is made by University of Delaware professor Doug Tallamy in his popular book Bringing Nature Home, recently released in paperback. He states that with overdevelopment has come loss of habitat and the need for suburban and even urban gardeners to help preserve wildlife by choosing plants that feed and house our beloved critters.  Fortunately for us nature-loving gardeners, it isn’t only native plants that help wildlife – Tallamy explains that about half of all insects are generalists and can feed on either native or nonnative plants.

The tricky part is to figure out which native plants do well in the garden – because not all of them do.   Often it’s because our gardens are so different from the plant’s historic conditions, perhaps sunnier or lacking any native soil (thanks to developers who remove and sell topsoil before construction).  Native plants sometimes fail because the animal population has changed over the years – with the introduction of new insects (like the wooly adelgid killing our native hemlocks) or the overpopulation of deer.  And some native plants simply don’t tolerate being moved, not to mention the rough-and-tumble existence of the nursery business.  Others don’t have the aesthetic qualities that most homeowners look for in a landscape plant.

As native plants to Maryland play a huge role in our ecosystem and the survival of the Chesapeake Bay, Homestead Gardens has dedicated this busy time to showcase the plants which are in harmony with supporting the ecological health of our area. See the Benefits list below.

Benefits of Planting Native Species

• Native plants have evolved over thousands of years to exist among an area’s particular climate, soils and precipitation amounts.  They have also evolved to deal with indigenous insects, fungi and diseases.
• What this means to the landowner is that native plants require less care to maintain and they require less watering.
• They are aesthetically and biologically in harmony with the natural landscape.
• Non-native ornamental plants often require fertilizers, pesticides and regular watering.
• In addition, non-native plants such as hybrids may not produce fruit or seed, which precludes wildlife from using them as a food source.
• Native plants are the fundamental component in the landscape that provides wildlife habitat to the Cape’s native wildlife species.
• Animals have co-evolved with these native plants for their breeding, food and shelter requirements.  Planting with native plants helps to protect wildlife habitat in your area.