What to plant - that is the “perennial” question from many of our customers!
With so many options available these days - and a never-ending list of new plants being introduced not only from the US but from other countries as well - it’s a challenge to know what will grow in your yard!
Trends for planting right now? Plant natives and pollinators to help attract beneficial insects to your yard, and help maintain better health for the bees!
Why Choose Natives?
It makes good sense to use plants that work not only in your yard but also well in your area of the country! Natives offer you a good supply of flowers (and pollen) from early in the season until late in the year and feed pollinators and provide host plants for beneficial insects. If you live in warmer areas then you can offer a source of pollen year-round.
- Fewer Chemicals
You can’t control the way others handle chemical use but you can make a difference in your yard! Cut back on your chemical use especially when it is not needed, or use only as a preventative. There is a better approach using safer alternatives or home remedies that can help solve some simple problems with insects or diseases in your yard.
- Improved Adaptability
There is a reason a plant grows best in a location in your yard that mimics where it does in nature. Your landscape can even have microclimates of its own. Hot, dry, south-facing sites create a very different growing situation than the north-facing slopes that have cooler soils. Shade brings a new situation to deal with and low areas can carry support plants that need more moisture.
Check out your yard and see what different areas your landscape offers, then use plants that are appropriate for them.
Make sure the plant will get the right amount of sun or shade, and the type of soil in that location will best support healthy establishment and growth.
Drought or climate change causing problems in your area? Natives adapt to these changes and are naturally better at enduring drought! What better choice can there be than to use the plants that have naturally migrated to or evolved with your region, allowing them to thrive in the conditions that your area offers?
- Easy Landscape Style
Look at how gardens are being planted for new construction projects and in commercial displays because you know those are going to be the latest trends and offer the newest designs - plus be chock full of the easiest and lowest-maintenance plants around! (Hint: many will be natives!)
It’s no wonder they include Native plants in their displays because of their hardiness and adaptability! There is no reason you can’t borrow those ideas for your yard. Natives need less water and care once established and quickly grow into their new settings!
- Designate No-Mow or Low-Mow Areas
Create areas for wildlife and insects to thrive in your yard by creating Meadows or Prairie gardens using native wildflowers and native grasses! Choosing lower growing plants and groundcovers as paths that wind through the plot means you’ll rarely need to mow. Native Buffalo Grass or turf grass alternatives work great as well!.
These naturalized areas provide habitat and winter shelter for a wide range of local wildlife and insects … but mostly are incredibly low-maintenance! You only need to mow them a couple of times a year or just once after everything has finished flowering or in the early spring.
This is a great option for that location in your yard where the water-hungry lawn struggles to grow!
- Native Edible Gardening
From Paw Paw to Sand Cherry, Hazelnuts to Nut Trees, native fruiting shrubs and trees abound and adapt more readily to your area! Cranberry Viburnum, Elderberry, and Aronia are all considered superfruits. While others like Serviceberry and Walnuts not only feed us but also a wide range of local wildlife and songbirds!
These native edible landscaping plants are more adapted to local droughts, heat waves, cold and snow, and thrive despite local pests and diseases in the area!
- Planting Carbon-Capturing Plants
Planting trees and large shrubs are the very best at capturing carbon from the air and soil and sequestering it into themselves, scrubbing them from the environment! Natives not only do well in your climate but also have many that seem to be incredible at handling urban pollution and city environments.
Cleaner air and soil, filtering water runoff, or stopping it entirely in a Rain Garden makes your landscape healthier and keeps you happier!
- Save Money With Natives!
Not only do Native plants save you money by needing less water and fertilizers, but Natives grow fast, fill faster, and can be divided every few years! This saves you money by not needing to buy as many to fill your space!
Plus many Natives produce seeds or fruit that local songbirds recognize as food, saving you money on bird seed! Anything they don’t eat will grow and - boom! More free plants!
When Choosing Plants, Take Your Lead From Nature!
When you are out doing your daily routine or errands, pay attention to what is growing well in your local area and utilize those plants into your landscape. Watch and see what looks healthy and offers color at a time of the year when your yard needs it most.
Get familiar with native Trees, Shrubs, Roses, Vines, and Perennials that grow naturally in your area. The native range for plants changes by region and by the climate in a region. Nature Hills offers many natives, all you need to do is find out the natives where you live.
You can ask your local County Extension Office, Master Naturalist and Master Gardener groups, or other garden clubs for insight, or ask a neighbor or local plant lover who might be a good source for what plants perform well in your immediate area.
Right Plant For The Right Location
You can plant native trees in your town or city and they will thrive and live forever, right? Not necessarily.
Planting an Oak tree in a sidewalk area in a downtown concrete jungle is most likely not going to mimic where that Oak tree would grow natively.
It is so important to look at where healthy plants are growing because there is a reason it is doing well in that location. Just because a plant is native, doesn’t mean it will do well anywhere or in any location.
All plants need the appropriate amount of:
- Sunlight
- Soil Type and Soil Drainage
- Moisture Access
- Be Planted in the Right Hardiness Zone
Be aware of the plants around you, and how they are being used where you live. Watch for interesting design ideas that you too can borrow for your own landscape.
Easy Peasy Native Options
Incorporate native and “nativars” in your yard and then kick back and relax! The bees and pollinators will thank you.
Learn to watch and appreciate the plants in your environment and the wildlife they attract. Use less water, enjoy lower maintenance, longevity in the garden - and most of all…ultimately save you time and money!
Nature Hills has a wide variety of fantastic Native Plants for you and we even make it easy for you to find Natives that commonly grow in your State!
