Is Your Yard NIIT?

It would be an understatement to say that plants occupy a significant part of my every day thinking. However, I recognize that is not true for most people. Plants are often simply the outside decoration of one’s property (the house being the inside). For most people, plants are something to have and to control (“I have to mow the lawn.”). It often doesn’t even matter what the plants are.  As result, plants that were not even planted by the owner come into the landscape and benefit from one or more of the components of NIIT: neglect, indifference, ignorance, and tolerance.

Plants will pop up anywhere they can ...

Neglect: as in not maintaining the property; it is often associated with properties where the owner does not reside but it can also be the property of someone not physically able to address it.

Indifference: as in not caring about what is there perhaps due to lack of interest (“just need to have some bushes and grass”).

Ignorance: as in not being knowledgeable about the different plants (“A tree is a tree is a tree, right?”). Or "If it came in by itself then it must be native." Or "It was already here when I got here so it must be native." No, no, and no.

Tolerance: as in knowing what you have, notably something invasive, and being ok with it (“that English ivy growing up the trees is fine”).

Tolerance

While neglect is not something we can always improve, except perhaps by volunteering to help the owner (especially an elderly or disabled owner), the other 3 components are something we can overcome. The key is learning why it matters to care, to learn, and to act.

Why care:

Our yards are home to thousands of native bugs, birds, and critters. In heavily developed areas, our yard (and those of our neighbors) can provide small pockets of refuge for creatures that depend on native plants because of their specialized diet. Think of the monarch butterfly and her need to lay eggs only on milkweed. There are many other insects like that. Or think of the baby birds who need insects to grow; a robust insect (and bird) population depends on native plants. Some of my earlier blogs include:

If Not You then Who?

Why Native Plants Help Birds Better

Why Native Plants Are Better for Bees and Pollinators

How to learn what you have:

It has never been easier to identify plants in your yard thanks to smartphones and tablets (e.g., iPads) and the internet. Plant identification groups on Facebook are numerous; I participate in one called Georgia Native Wildflowers and Plants. Here is an earlier blog about using apps and the internet to figure out what you have. Parks and public green spaces can be just as guilty about the ignorance aspect. If you notice invasive plants there, contact the park and let them know (and volunteer to help remove); plants can spread further from public spaces when left to grow.

Ignorance (this is Tree of Heaven)

How to act on what you have:

Remove invasive plants from your yard to make a place for the native ones. Often the native plants are there, waiting to recover once the invasive plants are removed. If not, we now have more native plant nurseries than ever; find one and add some life to your yard. Here are some of my earlier blogs on removing invasive plants. It is easier to remove when the plant has first arrived than after it has spread a lot.

Declare Independence from English Ivy

Remove Invasive Plants Early for Best Results

I hope you will take charge of knowing what is in your yard and root out unwanted invaders. Don't be the NIIT one!