Fill your garden with plants that are meant to be there

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 6/16/19

Did you know that some of our most popular landscaping plants don't actually belong here? Bigleaf hydrangea (the one you probably think of when you think of hydrangea) is actually native to Japan …

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Fill your garden with plants that are meant to be there

Posted

Did you know that some of our most popular landscaping plants don't actually belong here?

Bigleaf hydrangea (the one you probably think of when you think of hydrangea) is actually native to Japan (though the oak leaf variety grows naturally in New England.) Wisteria, another Asian import, whose graceful, purple and pink flowers look magical hanging from a trellis, are actually highly invasive. Introduced to forests, often accidentally, they quickly spread, creating dense thickets that strangle out native saplings. Left unchecked, they can even pull down large trees. Beautiful trumpet vines, native to the southeast, are often planted to help disguise an unsightly fence. But turn your back on them, and they are liable to take over your yard.

Not so native species, which have evolved in harmony with the environment, other plants, and wildlife, creating a local habitat unique to a region. Native plants support the insects that feed local birds and pollinate other plants, and they support the animals, like bats, that help keep mosquitos, ticks, and other pests in check. They also aid in critical natural processes like water purification, flood and storm protection, soil fertility and climate moderation.

The Rhode Island Wild Plant Society is at the forefront of efforts to get Rhode Islanders to rethink the plants they choose in their landscaping plans, with educational workshops and programs about the aesthetic and ecological value of native plants. They also cultivate native plants for sale, and they sold over 4,000 native plants in 2018. Their website has information on wild plants that attract birds, butterflies, and pollinators. They also maintain a list of searchable databases where you can access information on virtually every native plant species.

Interested in bringing more native species into your landscape? The RIWPS recommends taking the following steps:

In your daily life
• Enjoy the great outdoors, and learn about the plants you see
• Grow plants native to RI’s ecoregions as the centerpiece of your garden and replace your non-native lawn with native perennial ground covers
• Minimize your use of fertilizers and pesticides, which pollute water and kill pollinators
• Use leaf mulch rather than commercial mulch which contain dyes and chemicals that kill native insects
• Identify and control non-native invasive plants on your property
In your community
• Urge your local garden centers to sell our ecoregion’s native plants grown from seed
• Advocate for your schools, environmental centers, and scout troops to teach botany and ecology
• Encourage local farms to use low-impact or organic methods, without the use of pesticides that harm pollinators
• Talk with town officials about the value of using native plants in public projects and along roadsides
• Get involved in your town’s planning process to advocate for ecologically sensitive development
At the state and national level
• Advocate for funding for land protection, management, and restoration
• Support strengthening laws that protect wetlands and other sensitive habitats from unwise development or use
• Advocate for laws that protect endangered species
• Support legislation to reduce greenhouse gases and pollutant emissions

For more information and resources on "going native", visit RIWPS.org.

Rhode Island Wild Plant Society

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.