Back Home and Restoring My Native Garden

Since I’ve been back in town after more than a decade of traveling around the world, one of my primary hobbies has been restoring my garden after years of neglect. My renters took great care of the house while we were away, but the garden had gotten over-run with English ivy, bush honeysuckle, and masses of prolific little clumps of Spanish Bluebell, Hyathinthoides hispanica (also comes in white, which is even more invasive!) After years of research and training as a tree steward, I became convinced that growing a local native perennial woodland habitat in my yard was the way to go. Because native plants are adapted to our soil and climate, they require less maintenance and watering once they are established. If they are planted in the right spot, they keep coming back year after year. Native plants evolved with native wildlife. The plants provide food and shelter for wildlife including migratory birds and essential pollinators. Native plants and trees can prevent erosion on a hillside as well as or better than English ivy, which is a highly invasive non-native species that chokes out native plants and kills trees if it is allowed to climb up the trunk. Alternatives to English ivy are listed in the brochure ―Native Alternatives to English Ivy‖ published by Plant Nova Natives. Here is a link to the article: https://www.plantnovanatives.org/groundcovers  

According to the EPA, converting a traditional formal landscape and lawn to a natural landscape saves time and money and reduces water pollution, flooding, air pollution, noise pollution and your carbon footprint. It takes a while to establish a native garden. Do it little by little. Each year, convert a little more grass to garden. Each year leave a little wider leaf mulch area below every tree. And each year have fun by adding a few native plants, shrubs or trees. So far my best growers have been golden ragwort (a great English ivy alternative), sedum ternatum, greenheaded coneflower and purple aster. I haven’t had much luck with my phlox or my miniature Joe-Pye Weed, but I haven’t given up hope.

One of my greatest inspirations throughout my journey with native plants has been Douglas Tallamy, entomology professor at the University of Delaware. I met him at a conference just before leaving to go overseas, and he encouraged me to spread the message of the importance of native plants to sustaining life in self, everywhere in the world I go. And I believe I have done so. Read Doug Tallamy’s newest book, Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard