Native Plant Gardening 101
Carol Quantock
May 15, 2022
Carol Quantock is a CDHS member and became a Cornell Cooperative Extension (Saratoga County) Master Gardener in May of 2021. Her interest in native plants began after she did some landscaping around a new backyard in-ground pool in 2008. Over time, the landscaping evolved from non-native plants to a mixture of native and non-native plants. She discovered that native plant gardening: has become “trendy” during the pandemic; is environmentally sound; is low-maintenance compared to non-native plants; and supports native insects, birds, and wildlife. Native plants (trees, flowers, grasses, and other plants) have co-evolved with the insects and animals in each locale. Proponents of native gardening accept that some non-native plants are fine to use as long they are not invasive and don’t overwhelm the native plants.
Even though some people think that native plants are “weeds,” native plants can provide an amazing variety of colors and textures. Each gardener can use a varied pallet of native plants to attract different insects and wildlife throughout the growing season. Carol noted that it is fine to a dd non-native plants for sentimental, ornamental, or other reasons as longs they don’t overwhelm the native plants. Native plants are easy to grow because they evolved in an area and like to live there. Carol suggested that a good way sustain a native garden to let the leaf litter remain in place rather than bagging up the leaves and disposing the bags. Excess leaf litter can be managed by spreading in wooded areas. Native plants also support native insects, such as ladybugs, dragonflies, various bees, ground beetles, and fireflies. These native insects are the primary pollinators of the plants (fruit trees as well as others) in most areas.
Invasive species, whether they are insects, animals, or plants, can spread very quickly and overwhelm native species. They can also attack and kill various trees and fruit crops. In many cases the invasive species spread because there are no natural predators for them in the areas to which they have been introduced. Using native species in gardens instead of imported species helps to reduce the likelihood of invasive species taking over and crowding out native species.
Carol indicated that are nurseries in the area (Wild Things Rescue Nursery and Catskill Native Nursery to name a couple) that specialize in native species and urged anyone that is interested in native gardening to check them out.