Last post I commented on the conference and the book I bought about bringing nature home. This book is so awesome, not only discussing the statistics of our flora and fauna, but giving actual names of which plants are native, and which are alien. Funny how some of our common plants have both native and alien cultivars, and so we need to try to replace the aliens with natives.
WHY? This is where it gets really interesting (for geeks like me). Tallamy discusses how nurserymen have found some cultivars which are praised for their “insect resistance.” Which is the very thing we need to avoid. In nature, plants and insects and animals all evolve together to bring a balance that works. When we change one component of the scenario, the balance is upset. If we consider that due to human expansion, we are losing thousands of acres of the naturally balanced environment. So our job, as home owners, is to replace what we can with natives. The first step is to replace aliens with natives. For example, if you have beautiful “pest free” Chinese Azaleas, they may have a Chinese insect that only eats it, but there are no predators to keep that alien insect in balance.
Another aspect which is very important is we need to bring in more diversity. In the example above, in a formal garden, there are no other plants around to support more insects to keep the balance, so we want to add more plants to bring in the diversity. We can do this in a formal way, so as not to upset the “look” we wanted.
The more diversity, the more different species of both the flora and fauna, the better the balance. So why is this so good? Because the insects are the ones who can eat the plants, then the invertebrates eat the insects, and the birds eat the invertebrates, and on up the food chain to our dinners. With out the bottom of the food chain, it is hard for us to use the solar energy that fuels our world. Literally, we need our insects.

Friday I spent all day at this conference in Ithaca, New York.  The subtitle was “Creating Sustainable Landscapes for The Finger Lakes & Upstate New York.”  This is a special interest for me, hoping to incorporate more native plant materials into the landscapes I design. It was an exciting time for me, from the bird watch walk at 7 am, to the incredible speaches of the conference: Stephen W. Kress, “Creating Habitats for Birds on Properties Large and Small;” Donald J. Leopold, “The Grand Tour….of Upstate New York Plant Communities;” Larry Weaner, “Natural Landcaping Techniques;” Dan Segal, “Native Plant Communities as Models for Natural Landscapes;” Krissy Faust, “Common Species Delight in All Seasons;”  and Larry Weaner, “Wildflower Meadows: Let’s Get Real.”  All these speakers were wonderful presenters, and I learned so much I really don’t think spring can come soon enough!!!  One of the best things I learned is that as cool as they sound, the “canned wildflowers” do not work.  Even tho’ wildflower meadows are a natural occurrance, because of all the invasives, we need to prepare the area, and work it for the first couple of years.  But I did learn what to do when, so I have one spot already in mind!

People wonder what the big deal is, or why bother, with incorporating natives into our landscapes, the answers are easy: we need to get rid of the invasives to let the natural flora and fauna return.  Am reading the book Bringing Nature Home, How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens, by Douglas W. Tallamy, which I picked up at the conference.  Tallamy presents the data about how many species we are losing in our neighborhood at exponential rates because of our suburban sprawl.  It is a very scary senario, which hopefully we can start changing one neighborhood at a time.  And I hope to be there doing my part!

image from Amazon.com

This is an awesome book I found one day, and I wish it were written for more states and areas around the country. It is written by Andre and Mark Viette, with Jacqueline Heriteau. Lovely large paperback, lots of facts and history and little tidbits to make gardening easier and more fun. The layout is by plants: annuals, bulbs, herbs, etc; and in each section it tells what to do month by month! Really brings out the Virgo in me! And lots of blank note pages at the end.

One of the things I enjoy is designing gardens. There are so many aspects to consider, yet it is a good feeling to see how colors, textures and all aspects of plants come together to form a beautiful, useful landscape .

Thinking about design, there are many things to consider:

Lay of the land, including sloping areas, rocky, sandy and wet areas with their own special needs.

Condition of the soil, and drainage factors which affect which plants will do better

Climate of the area, or the temperate zones, and which plants to best.

The little eco-systems around the area to be planted, from the sunny flat open area, to the closed areas next to buildings, and pockets between concrete walkways and foundations.

Color, texture, size, growth rate, and the plain love of a particular plant.

This is a love of mine, and hope to discuss all these in future posts, so stay tuned!

photo via Creative Commons