Landscaping with Native Plants

Landscaping with native plants brings opportunities and challenges while adding diversity and beauty to the home.  There are many factors that come into play to successfully grow plants.  As gardeners, we all want things to look exceptional for all to enjoy.  Native plants have evolved over long periods of time naturally in a given region without intervention, bringing much needed diversity to natural areas and landscapes.  A big plus for natives are the flowers presented for the local bee populations and other pollinators assisting in the continuation of the plant species potentially established over thousands of years.

Native plants have evolved in natural communities and are found to be interdependent not only plant to plant yet with soil type, soil microbial activity through bacteria and fungus, specific site location and others though biodiversity of these living communities.  Part of this community is often referred to as the soil web creating the connections of billions upon billions of organisms in the critical survival of the plants, insects and other animals we see.  The first steps when considering native plants for your landscape are to do your research and contact your local Extension office.  Some questions to consider may include: Does it grow best in well drained sand or wet soils or require high in organic matter?  Will full sun, part-shade to full shade be needed?

Plants that are native and non-native are often seen in the same landscape setting.  Consideration should be taken to determine if either of the groups are aggressive in expanding beyond the intended plant setting.  Before moving on, non-native is in reference to plants that are introduced to a plant community that came from a totally different plant location.  An example of that location being hollies from southeast Asia or South America or even a different area of the United States.  Many have been researched and observed for many years under managed situations before being introduced into the local landscape nursery markets.  Once in a while a plant is introduced that has not gone through a long rigorous study and can become naturalized outside of its normal plant zones and establish as an invasive species.  This highly adaptable aggressive habit can, and often will colonize a given location out competing the native plants.  Kudzu is a good example of an invasive exotic plant that is naturalized in the southeastern U.S.

As gardeners there are opportunities to have positive impacts on some of these diminished native habitat areas that can be threatened by growth of urban and rural areas in Florida.  Establishing native plants areas into the landscape with proper soil preparation, managed water needs and more gives that chance for this interdependent system of plants, animals and nonliving elements to remain established with big impacts.

Native plants can be a working part of the garden from wonderful flowers, season color change, leaf foliage of multiple sizes and shapes to feed the insects that feed the birds, leaves and nuts that feed so many other animals for us to enjoy seeing.  Balance is such a big part of being a successful gardener.  Remember not all native plants are suitable for landscape spaces, do your research and ask for assistance from the experts to determine if it is the right plant for the right place.