Native Plants To Be Thankful For In Your Landscape

Using Native Plants In Your Landscape Will Make You Thankful

When you use native plants in your landscape, there is a lot to be thankful for. The biggest advantage of using native plants is that they are already used to our environment and can generally withstand the challenges of our weather and pests. By choosing the right species for the right place it is also possible to reduce maintenance tasks such as pruning and even watering.

What Is A Native Plant?

Native plants are the species that have evolved in this area and are adapted to the growing season, local climate and soils. They often require less water, fertilizer, and pesticides than the exotics, or non-natives, and hybrids. More importantly, native plant species are critically linked to native wildlife. Our local insects, birds and small wildlife have evolved alongside native plants. These long-standing relationships allow our ecosystem to function at its best.

Support Pollinators…

Research shows that using native plants is the best way to create a haven for pollinators like native bees and butterflies, and even to attract beneficial insects that will help the rest of your garden. Why? Over millennia, native insects and native plants have co-evolved and reached an intricate balance. Many insects can only eat the plants they co-evolved with.

And Song Birds

Native plants provide the abundance of seed, berries, and habitat required by our native bird species. Not only that, but by supporting robust native insect populations, native plants are indirectly responsible for providing the insect food that most baby song birds require.

Links to Native Place Sites:

University of Maryland Extension – Native Plants

Maryland Native Plant Society

Use Native Plants – Rockville

In next weeks  blog post we will write about some of our favorite native plants to use in landscapes in the Montgomery County, Maryland area.

Gaithersburg, Boyds, Germantown, Clarksburg, Ijamsville, Urbana and Frederick.