In the landscaping industry, there’s been a lot of buzz in recent years about native plants. It is something more and more homeowners are paying attention to, and in this blog post, we’ll explain what native plants are, how they can heal our Ohio Valley landscapes, and why they are so heavily ingrained in our design philosophy at Our Land Organics.
A happy bumblebee dining on a native milkweed plant
What Are Native Plants?
Let’s begin with a simple definition from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which defines a native plant as “one which occurred within this region before settlement by Europeans.”
Before the settlers’ approach to agriculture and industry began to change the American landscape, plants that grew here had evolved over centuries, adapting themselves to local climates, soil types, and wildlife. These native plants co-evolved with insects, birds, and other wildlife, while plants that did not provide a sustainable food source died out due to lack of pollination.
In short, precolonial America featured a finely tuned but delicate balance of complex and interdependent ecological systems, of which native plants were a central component.
Unfortunately, short-sighted agricultural practices and large-scale development had a dramatic impact on the American landscape in the last 150 years. What’s more, the horticultural industry itself played a large role in transforming America’s variously textured indigenous landscape into ecologically dead lawns and gardens during the 20th century.
Introduction of Invasive Species
To add a third layer of impact, many endeavoring (and well-intentioned) farmers and gardeners introduced a number of non-native invasive species to the American landscape in the 19th and 20th centuries, making it increasingly difficult for native plants to flourish. Contrasted with the dense, biodiverse forests and meadows of precolonial America, the landscapes we have today are often damaged, neglected spaces that do little to sustain wildlife or promote ecological health.
Luckily, it doesn't have to be this way.
Each year, Our Land Organics restores acres of woodland and plants acres and acres of pollinator gardens with the goal of healing America’s landscapes one yard at a time.
Whether you are looking to update an existing landscape project or dig something entirely new into the ground, incorporating native plants into your project is an easy way to help restore your corner of the world into a haven of ecological good.
Native trillium erupts after invasive honeysuckle has been removed from this woodland
Why Do Native Plants Offer So Many Benefits?
To understand the importance of introducing native plants back into our region, we first have to better understand the ecological history that led to their removal in the first place.
In our forests, roadways, wildlife refuges, and other untamed areas, the largest threat facing the existence of native plants is the proliferation of invasive species.
In 2017, the US Forest Service reported that invasive species “disrupted natural processes on nearly 100 million acres in the United States” (US Forest Service). Given how aggressively many invasive species spread, this rate of disturbance is only predicted to increase, unless drastic steps toward eradication are taken.
Many naturally diverse areas were cleared and planted with monocultures for the sake of agriculture in the early 20th century. In other places, land was cleared of native trees, shrubs, and perennials to be replaced with European style lawns–an ostentatious display at the time since few families had the time and resources to plant and maintain an entirely non-useful crop such as grass.
Beyond clearing the land of its natural biodiversity, however, humans during this time period did further ecological harm by introducing a number of species native to Asia and Europe. Seeking exotic showpieces or easily growing groundcovers, American farmers and horticulturalists introduced some of the invasive plants that are most prolific in our region today: Bush Honeysuckle, Japanese Kudzu, Japanese Privet, Lesser Celandine, English Ivy, Winter Creeper, Multiflora Rose, Miscanthus, and a host of other extremely aggressive plants.
To many gardeners, the above is a list of the Midwest’s most feared plants, but nearly all of them were sought after and introduced to the Ohio Valley region by well-meaning horticulturalists. Still many are sold at local nurseries to a public that might not be aware of the aggressive nature of these plants.
Invasive bush honeysuckle overwhelming a forest understory
In an article on invasive species written by the Urban Ecology Center, one story about the proliferation of lesser celandine is particularly illustrative of the problem:
“In Cleveland, Ohio, lesser celandine was planted in flower beds of (just) two residences in the 1970s. It escaped the confines of those two yards, and less than 40 years later, it had taken over nearly 300 acres of parkland along the Rocky River, with 183 of those acres having lesser celandine cover of more than 50%.”
In other cases, the use of non-native plants introduced harmful diseases and pests to our ecosystems. In fact, Chestnut Blight, which almost completely wiped the American Chestnut off the face of the planet, was introduced from Japanese varieties of Chestnut introduced in the 1800s. Similarly, the Japanese Beetle–known to many gardeners as a noxious pest–was likely imported to the region in the rootballs of plants traveling from Japan.
Effects on Native Ecosystems
The short-sighted introduction of so many non-native species into the highly evolved American landscape of precolonial times has had a dramatically negative impact on the world we live in today.
These invasive plants undermine or completely overtake native plant species, such as Paw Paws, Spicebush, and spring ephemerals, ultimately resulting in an overwhelming loss of biodiversity. The trickle-down effects of this loss disturb natural processes ranging from wildlife habitat to soil stability.
As mentioned above, many of our pollinators co-evolved specifically to feed off certain native shrubs and perennials. Bees, butterflies, and songbirds, which we rely on to pollinate our crops, find less and less of the food they need to survive available to them. Bush honeysuckle, for example, provides no nutritional value to local wildlife; yet it has supplanted many of the native understory trees in shrubs that once thrived in our woodlands.
Many organizations are seeking to remedy the damage done to our planet by encouraging native trees, shrubs, and perennials to reclaim the area in question.
In Ohio, the State Agricultural Department has recently banned the sale of a number of commonly used non-native plants due to their negative impact on local farmlands and woodlands. Yet many of the items on the banned list, such as Barberry, Loosestrife, and Callery Pear, are commonly found in Cincinnati landscapes.
Nonetheless, opinions are changing, and more and more people are turning to native plants to help heal the land they inhabit. Our Land Organics installs acres of pollinator gardens each year, using a palette of exclusively native plants, and our clients reap the long-term benefits of these choices for years and generations.
How To Incorporate Native Plants in Your Landscape
At Our Land Organics, we have honed our design process over the years, gathering a time-tested palette of the most versatile native plants in the process. We won’t settle for designing a beautiful project for the sake of beauty alone.
Instead, we select beautiful plants that also provide ecological gains to the local ecosystems they encounter. Instead of viewing our clients’ yards as burdensome places we have to maintain, we see them as opportunities to create mini oases across the region.
A completed Our Land Organics landscape design. An abundance of opportunities presented themselves for restoring this overrun woodland with native perennials, shrubs, and trees.
All the native plants we use day in and day out have this in common: they are both beautiful and ecologically functional:
We love Paw Paws, Serviceberry, Spicebush and Aronia for the food they provide to our clients and the birds that pass through their yards.
We love Clethra, Columbine, and Penstemon for the number of pollinators they attract and feed throughout the year.
We love ferns, sedges, and switchgrasses for the habitat they provide to overwintering insects.
Deciding to plant a garden bed with native plants is a decision with compounding benefits over time:Native plantings require fewer long-term inputs because they evolved to thrive in the Ohio Valley climate. This means our clients use less water and fertilizer to keep their gardens looking great. Imagine all the fertilizer, much of which is synthetically manufactured and ends up in our stormwater system, our clients have kept out of the Ohio Watershed!
Over the long term, the cost savings associated with the switch to native plants is considerable.
Switching to native plants also carries a plethora of benefits for the local insect and wildlife communities. America’s traditional landscapes have become literal food deserts where pollinators cannot find consistent sustenance. Introducing native perennials into your yard is like building a little pollinator grocery store in your backyard.
If you are ready to introduce native plants back into your local environment and begin the ecological healing process, we are happy to help! Our Land Organics has converted numerous barren Ohio and Kentucky landscapes into outdoor havens, restoring biodiversity in the Ohio Valley region one yard at a time. Contact us any time to join us in restoring native ecosystems.
By: Wesley Sexton, Client Relationship Manager