Invasive Plants Give the Wrong Impression of Native Plants

 

The average person doesn’t know native plants from non-native plants. Their perspective is that plants are green things that grow and perform services: they provide oxygen, they hold the soil around your house, they have pretty flowers, and they might even bear edible fruit (or veggies). People find plants to buy in big box stores and nurseries in nice, tidy containers; these are the ‘good’ plants.

Outside of their home and landscaped businesses, people see wild plants on the side of the road and in waste places like vacant lots. Those wild plants can be very messy (think kudzu); these are the ‘bad’ plants. Since they are in the wild, they must be native, right? It’s an unfortunate assumption that many of us try to correct through education.

English ivy at roadside

Thorny olive (Elaeagnus pungens); Photo by Douglas Goldman, USDA

Edges of roads are often have good light, allowing for good seed germination. They are perfect places for wind-blown and wildlife-carried seeds to land, sprout, and grow without much intervention. These can be both native and non-native plants. Roadside edges are not always maintained, especially along smaller roads where much of the land is privately owned. Here thickets of privet (Ligustrum sp.) thrive, autumn and thorny olive shrubs (Elaeagnus sp.) fill in the spaces, and vines like kudzu, Japanese honeysuckle, and English ivy scramble over anything standing still.

Privet thicket next to park walkway, obscuring the beauty of the native forest

When I talk to new people about using native plants, it is the perspective of those wild, roadside plants that they envision. The idea of incorporating native plants into their yard invokes a vision of messy, tangled growth. When you’re talking to folks about native plants, be aware that this perception might be at work. 

Native plants can be used in designs, purchased, and planted just like non-native plants. Most of them grow in well-behaved arrangements just like non-native ornamentals. When properly used, native plants simply are plants that can be chosen to satisfy landscape requirements as much as any plants while also contributing to the health of the local ecosystem.

January 2023 Moment in Nature

I have a new sunny place in my yard that is waiting to be transformed into a pollinator garden. A mature red maple was there but I removed it because it - a young tree when we got here - had gotten too big for the space. Like many other folks, I was busy and the space sat vacant. 

We know that nature won't let it stay that way and by late summer the area was sprouting with what I thought was a fine-textured sedge. This week, I walked over to the area and realized that sedge was actually poverty oatgrass (Danthonia spicata) which develops distinctive curled foliage in the winter.

Danthonia spicata with curled leaves

Poverty oatgrass spreading on vacant soil

I am happy to have this, although I'll probably move it around as I plant the area. Until then, its curly blades are my #momentinnature.

A Flower for Every Month

 

A question was recently posed about finding 12 native flowers to paint. Of course, that made me think of a calendar and flowers that might bloom in each of the 12 months of the year. Given the size of Georgia – from the northern counties in the mountains to the southern counties near Florida – it shouldn’t be a surprise that we could have something bloom in every month of the year, even the winter ones.

While I'm in the metro Atlanta area, this post includes a few plants that would be in the southern part of the state. Note: flower to the left is Rudbeckia fulgida which is a late spring or early summer native perennial.

January: In northern Georgia, it is not unusual to find the tiny Hepatica americana (syn. H. nobilis var. obtusa) blooming where it is nestled up close to large tree trunks and somewhat protected. You can read more about it in a January 2013 post that I did. You might also find this in parts of the Coastal Plain, but for south Georgia I want to highlight Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) which can start in January and go for several months.

February: Trout lily (Erythronium umbilicatum) has to be my choice for February. I have written about it several times, once for north Georgia and once for the fantastic population in south Georgia at Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve.

March: Spring ephemerals are in full swing in this month but the one I think of the most is bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). It is featured in a number of previous blog entries about spring wildflowers, but this is a good one.

L-R: Hepatica, Trout Lily, Bloodroot

April: Another busy floral month but I always think of native azaleas when I think of April. Two of my early favorites with good statewide distribution are Piedmont azalea (Rhododendron canescens) and Florida flame azalea (R. austrinum), both of which are wonderfully fragrant (why not get double duty out of your plants with beauty and fragrance?). Read more about native azaleas here.

May: This month finishes up spring plants and starts to move us into summer. The hydrangeas start to bloom and oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is the most well-known native one. There are certainly a lot of other May shrubs I could have chosen, but oakleaf hydrangea is worthy of its selection for May.

June: Milkweed has to be one of the 12 and the pink species Asclepias incarnata is certainly a popular one in Georgia. It is one of the later ones to bloom for me so June is a good month for it. There are approximately 20 other species of milkweed in Georgia.

L-R: Piedmont azalea, oakleaf hydrangea, swamp milkweed

July: In this month, temperatures rise and there seems to be a little bit of a lull in what's blooming. That allows blooming plants like sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) to really shine and it is my choice for this month. I have written about it many times, including my posts about double-duty trees as well as underused native trees.

August: I've got to feature one of our latest-flowering beebalms and the new 2023 Plant of the Year: spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata). It probably blooms earlier in south Georgia but in my area late summer is its time.

September: Goldenrod is one of my favorite native perennials; we have quite a few species and they are so important to wildlife. Gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) is the one I'll choose for its clumping habit and beautiful form. Here is one of my earliest blogs about goldenrod.

L-R: Sourwood, spotted beebalm, gray goldenrod

October: What would fall be without our native asters? Dull and disappointing to many, many insects! Learn about them, appreciate them, plant them in your landscape! Even those tiny white ones.

November: If you've not heard about our fall-blooming witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), let me be the one to encourage you to seek it out. We found beautiful patches up it blooming at Vogel State Park in November.

December: The blooms in December depend a bit on whether we get early cold spells but I have seen both soapwort gentian (Gentiana saponaria) and climbing aster (Ampelaster carolinianus) blooming in December. In the south, reports of tickseed sunflowers (such as Bidens laevis) are common.

L-R: Georgia aster, witch-hazel, soapwort gentian

Prairie Up (the book)

 

Why would a Georgia blog review a book about prairies? The heart of this book is in the subtitle: “An Introduction to Natural Garden Design,” and its ability to educate and inform on that is the reason I am reviewing it. I am also familiar with the author, Benjamin Vogt, from my early blogging days, and he is booked to be the keynote speaker at an upcoming virtual conference with the Georgia Native Plant Society and Georgia Audubon. One of his early catch phrases was ‘rethink pretty’ and it has always resonated with me.

This is not a big book but it is packed with information, good photos, helpful illustrations, and resources. One of my favorite features is at the end: A Candid Q&A that helps answer some tough questions that you might have or which others might ask you.

Here are some of the reasons why I think this book is useful to people in Georgia. In the beginning he offers some powerful statements about “gardening from a prairie perspective” but they are just as meaningful to say “gardening from a native plant perspective.” 

He showcases a few southeastern photos on pages 6-7 as he talks about grasslands (yes, we have some), and there is useful information in that section about grasses in general such as how they sequester carbon and support soil health and growth.

Understanding the role that native plants provide in plant communities is covered thoroughly in Chapter 2. He finally pulls out that phrase I love – rethink pretty – which is to say the gardener learns to value ‘ecosystem function as much as aesthetics.’ He then covers in detail some of the ecosystem services that we should appreciate. This chapter includes a plug for plant diversity and includes some examples of plants from functional groups: cool-season grass, warm-season grass, nitrogen-fixing legumes, plants that bloom in different seasons.

Most of the plants listed happen to be southeastern natives but don’t feel limited to those; use them to find others (for example, there are other native species of Lespedeza and Liatris plus there are many other grasses). Focus on the idea of what function the plant is providing. If you need suggestions on Georgia plants that bloom in different seasons, check out the charts I’ve created in the past:

Spring Bloomers

Summer Bloomers

Fall Bloomers

The dive into understanding plant communities is a good and the quote by John Weaver on page 43 is a great one about how plants work together “by sharing the soil at different levels, by obtaining light at different heights, and by making maximum demands for water, nutrients, and light at different seasons of the year.” Vogt’s subsequent sections on plant layers, layers of seasonality, and layers of succession help explain this further.

Ready to get started? Chapter 3 provides guidance on planning, installing and maintaining. This chapter includes tips on working with HOAs and – for those who need it – a full page on ‘how to pass a weed inspection’ (something he has personal experience with!).

Not many books cover starting landscapes from seed but this one includes it as part of Chapter 4. It also covers using plants and plugs and has a number of illustrated layouts to help inspire and guide. For those of in the southeast, find equivalent plant swaps for the Midwestern plants, choosing southeastern species suitable for your ecoregion.

In summary, I think this is a book with well-explained concepts and ideas that are useful for Georgia gardeners. Our journey to using more native plants in our landscapes requires many steps and resources and this book can be part of your path.

On January 24^th, the publisher is sponsoring a Virtual Book Launch at 12 pm Central Time. The link to register is below if you’re interested. On Facebook, follow him on the community page called MILK the WEED.

Prairie Up Virtual Book Launch: Getting Started with a Lawn to Meadow Conversion with Benjamin Vogt

2022 in Pictures

I take a lot of pictures throughout the year and not all of them make it into a blog post. At the end of the calendar year, it’s a good time to reflect on the beauty of nature as well as share some of the extra pictures.

I believe that each day is an opportunity to find and appreciate something beautiful in the native plants and creatures of Georgia.

We had a little snow in January. My grandson and I had hung these ornaments on an Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) near the driveway and this made for a nice photo. The snow was light and didn't last long, just how I like it. By February, blooms were already starting including this early sedge (Carex sp). This pollen on the male flowers may support early insects.

March is a huge month for blooms but these are two of my favorite photos from that month. I've been delighted with the deer resistance of our native pachysandra (Pachysandra procumbens) and the blooms are a real treat. This Piedmont azalea (Rhododendron canescens) was especially beautiful at Bert Adams Scout Camp in Covington where I was helping with ideas for native plantings.

In April, I released a few overwintered butterflies as they eclosed. This is a female Black swallowtail, held by my grandson before releasing. This orange azalea (likely a natural hybrid between a Piedmont and R. flammeum) fooled my husband several times into thinking the dwarf palm behind it was blooming.

We took a trip to Ohio in May and it was during cottonwood (Populus deltoides) season so the fluff was really flying. This plant's natural range does include Georgia, but I've not seen it here. In June, I spotted this bee checking out old holes on my mailbox. This is the giant resin bee, a non-native bee that was first discovered in North Carolina in 1994. Learn more about it and how it impacts native bees here.

July and August brought some critters. After a disappointing year for butterflies, I found this question mark butterfly flitting through the woods in July (they like to take nourishment from tree sap and other non-floral sources so the woods is a good place for it).  In August I finally found a spring peeper frog; I had been hearing them but this was the first time I've seen one in my yard. 

A new plant for me bloomed in September: halberd-leaf hibiscus (Hibiscus laevis). I had purchased it at one the GNPS chapter plant sales in the spring. I spotted a gorgeous stand of poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) on pine tree near me in October.

Vaccinium reticulatum

Osteomeles anthyllidifolia

In November, we celebrated my retirement with a trip to the Big Island of Hawai'i. We chose that island for its natural beauty and the chance to see volcanoes. While I was there, I bought a native plant reference to help me identify the plants. The two plants I'm showing have Georgia relatives: on the left is a blueberry relative: Vaccinium reticulatum. It was quite abundant on the moist side of the island, including being found in the middle of old lava flows. Its Hawaiian name is ʻōhelo ʻai. On the right is a member of the rose family: Osteomeles anthyllidifolia; it looks rather like a hawthorn and some plants had a dull fruit. Its Hawaiian name is u‘ulei.

Red-headed woodpecker

To close out the year, I was excited this week to have a rather uncommon bird (for me) visit my suet feeder several times: red-headed woodpecker. I see red-bellied woodpeckers often but this one rarely despite it being a year-round Georgia resident.

Wishing you a good year in 2023 and more native plants and critters in your daily life.