Native Plants as Part of the Sustainable Landscape
By Scott LaFleur and Tom Smarr
The Importance of Sustainable Landscape Design
A sustainable landscape preserves and protects nature’s balance. As we learn more about the complex relationships within ecosystems, we become better informed on ways to minimize our destructive impacts, while also creating beautiful, healthful places for our enjoyment.
Developing a sustainable landscape requires a design that addresses all aspects of the environmental process. All facets that involve the livability of a community – such as energy, materials, buildings, water, air, and site – must be incorporated into a holistic planning approach. Plants are an integral part of the sustainable landscape, as long as the species used are well suited to the existing light, moisture, and soil conditions, and require low inputs of labor, fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides to thrive.
Why Use Regional Native Plants?
We at the New England Wild Flower Society feel strongly that a successful sustainable landscape incorporates native plants into the design. “Native” is broadly defined as a plant that existed before European settlement in North America. There are several distinct habitats and climatic environments found throughout the country. To gain the full benefit of using natives in the landscape, we should choose plants found regionally. By understanding the habits of endemic plants in these communities, we can better understand how to use them in specific growing conditions in the designed landscape. Some species will tolerate a range of landscape conditions, while others are more specific. In New England, for example, we enjoy the adaptability of the native blueberry bush (Vaccinium corymbosum) that grows in wetland-like conditions, but that also tolerates average garden soils. We can also choose the low-bush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) for mountainous or drier conditions.
The choice of native plants is essential although not exclusive. Plants that are exotic or not native to a local region or place may complete a process or need (such as food) that natives do not provide. However, these plants need to be evaluated for their overall impact on the immediate and surrounding landscape. Although a plant may perform wonderfully in a specific garden, it may seed and cause havoc in surrounding gardens and natural areas. These invasive plants, which limit biodiversity and create dysfunctional ecosystems, costs billions of dollars in resources and labor to control.
Using native plants has an immediate positive impact on the environment -- and also embraces the regional cultural identity that has been so readily lost in conventional garden design. Currently, large suburban neighborhoods displace healthy native habitats with vast stretches of lawn, dotted with a handful of plants that are heavily dependent on water, fertilizer, chemicals, and gasoline. This is not a sustainable practice. Creating “regional style” landscapes can foster a diversity of habitats for plants, animals, and human experiences. Not only do these “local” plants perform better without wasting high inputs of energy, but they also are part of the local food web and provide nectar for insects, shelter for birds, and food for wildlife. Thus, native plant culture enhances the existing natural biodiversity of our diverse regions. By being sustainable we participate in the conservation of flora and fauna of our region.
In order to enjoy all of the benefits of a sustainable landscape, we have to be willing to accept some level of insect damage, avoiding pesticides whenever possible. For example, the voracious caterpillars of the Checker-Spotted butterfly feed only on the native white turtlehead (Chelone glabra) and cause some damage; however, the plant recovers after the beautiful butterflies emerge.
Designing with Native Plants
The choice to design a sustainable landscape in our own yards does not mean we must have a wild and untamed landscape. Native plants -- when planted, sited, and maintained properly -- have a stately and refined appearance. In fact, you may already be gardening with some native species without knowing it. There is nothing more refined than a nicely clipped hedge of American holly (Ilex opaca), a driveway alee of sourwood (Oxydendron arboretum), or the white foamy flowers of Euphorbia corollata in the cottage perennial border. Some of our stateliest shade trees are the native oaks and maples, each offering their own unique and interesting features of growth, branching habits, and seasonal color.
You do not compromise color and interest when you choose native plants, which display an abundance of flower colors in every hue, striking leaf textures, dramatic branch shapes, and curious fruits. I often find people are amazed when they discover that the wild pink (Spigelia marilandica) is a northeastern native; are astonished to discover the powerful color of purple love grass (Eragrostis spectablis) that is often dismissed as a road-side weed; and are mystified by the four-sided. egg-shaped fruits of the silverbell tree (Halesia tetraptera). Cultivars can also be fun, providing lots of color choices in foliage and flowers. For example, foam flower (Tiarella) ‘Black Snow Flake’ has dark vein leaves, and the Carolina spice bush (Calacanthus) ‘Athens’ shows off strong “green apple” fragrant flowers.
You can achieve other benefits by using native flora. You can replace part of your lawn with a mosaic of groundcovers such as grass-like sedges or fescues or other perennial favorites. Select plants that have root forms that hold soil and prevent erosion. Such garden spaces are more efficient at capturing rain water than lawns, thus preventing waste water runoff. Turn problem sites into design opportunities by transforming low wet spots into rain gardens or dry hot spots into arid rock gardens. If you minimize soil disturbance during construction, you will maintain the local soil life web to continue healthy nutrient cycling that is essential for the plants’ prosperity.
Regional Habitat by Design
Creating sustainable landscapes will regenerate our connection with the living environment, so quickly being lost to the “virtual reality” of our urban and suburban lives. One of the greatest modern threats is the fragmentation of large tracts of natural lands. Although we cannot solve all of the environmental damage being done, we do have the power to make holistic decisions in our landscape. Selecting regional plants will keep the unique character of our particular cultural places alive and vibrant. Encouraging diversity will promote balance and healthy environments for us and our wildlife neighbors. We can do this without compromising on the style, mood, and feeling we are trying to convey in our garden. To sustain ourselves we must sustain our habitats. To sustain our habitats we must work within the environment and live to become a part of the ecosystem.
Footnote:Several great hardcopy and online references are available to educate the homeowner and professional about the use of native plants, either in specific regions/states or nationally. William Cullina has written several encyclopedic books about nationally popular native plants. Contact your local botanic garden or native plant society for more information. Also, we recommend that you support nurseries that offer native plants.
Scott LaFleur and Tom Smarr are horticulture staff members at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA, the botanic garden of the New England Wild Flower Society. You can find out more about native plant horticulture at www.newenglandWild.org.
Don’t forget to check out The Underground’s free referral service to find landscape professionals that specialize in using native plants and sustainable design practices.
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