Native Plants Can Work Magic In Your Landscaping

This photo shows how a butterfly garden installed by Chapman Lake Nursery filled in around a sculpture in Ker Park in Warsaw, Ind. (Provided by Chapman Lake Nursery)

Want to help save pollinators and the environment? You can start in your own yard.

Growing native plants, shrubs, and trees in your home or business landscaping builds connections to other natural areas and helps draw nature to your property, said Laura Stine, design director and owner of Laura Stine Gardens. The Fort Wayne landscaping company, laurastinegardens.com, focuses on connecting people back to nature.

“You can plant and directly see results in a season or two,” Stine said.

Native plants look visually pleasing in a landscape and require minimal maintenance once they are established. However, Stine said, your goal should be to produce lots and lots of insects. The more insects, the more food available for birds to feed their young.

“We’re building a food web at our houses,” she explained.

Her basic design tips:

• Frame the house with your plantings.

• Draw people’s eyes to the front door.

• Plant taller plants in back and shorter ones in front so all can be seen.

• Use native plant species known to attract the types of insects and wildlife you want to see. Most insects, for example, lay their eggs on only one type of native plant.

• Feel free to add non-native plants to your landscape if you really love certain ones, such as peonies.

• Grow one or more large trees, with at least one being a native oak. Stine says that oaks provide food and habitat for various insects and wildlife.

• Make the native plant landscaping accessible so you can enjoy it.

Stine, for example, has a large rock she likes to sit on at the edge of her patio. From there, she can watch and listen as bees buzz away happily while collecting pollen from native plants just inches from her.

“The more we can pay attention to it,” she said of nature, “the more we can tune into it. That’s where the fun is. That’s where the magic is!”

Stine says you don’t have to select native plants so you always have some plants in bloom from spring through fall. However, planning for sequential blooming ensures species diversity in your landscaping. A greater variety of plants attracts a wider range of insects and wildlife.

Like any gardening or landscaping, planting native flowers, shrubs and trees does involve some trial and error, Stine noted. A plant may seem a good fit for a certain location. However, it may not like the spot if, for example, the soil stays just a little wetter than you thought. If that happens, try the plant in a different location in your yard, she advised.

For ideas on what to plant, check out the Indiana Native Plant Society website, indiananativeplants.org. Under “Landscaping” in the navigation bar, you can find tips for using native plants in your landscaping. The drop-down menu also includes a link for “Native Plant Palettes,” which lists native plants suitable for growing in four types of plant communities — Woodland, Wood’s Edge, Water’s Edge, and Prairie Grassland.

“One of the great benefits of natives is how well they handle the hot summer months compared to cultivated plants or grass lawns,” Jacob Macke, who started Chapman Lake Nursery last year, said via email. “Their deep roots allow them to keep flowering even when all the grass has turned brown.”

Macke launched his business after gardening with native plants to control erosion on a slope and to attract monarch butterflies. “The native plants worked great to hold the soil in place, and we immediately had monarchs on our milkweed,” he said. He saw an opportunity to help when he discovered he had to drive an hour away to buy native plants.

Some of his favorite native plants for northern Indiana include butterfly weed, blazing star, coreopsis, purple coneflower, and cardinal flower. He also likes using native grasses such as prairie dropseed, little bluestem, and side oats grama.

Prices for native plants usually are comparable to amounts commercial nurseries charge for perennials, he said.

Using native plants also is relatively easy. They typically don’t require soil improvement, Macke said. You can plant them in spring or fall. However, native plant seeds normally do best if planted just before frost in the fall because they often must go through a cold spell before germinating.

Many native plants also do better when allowed to spread into each other, Macke noted.

“This helps support many flower species that might otherwise flop over,” he explained.

“Additionally, many of the prairie species do better when planted amongst grasses and other flowers.”

Some native species that land in a space they like can spread rapidly. Macke and Stine said you can thin them out, with Stine suggesting you share the extras with friends and neighbors. You also can take extras to the Plant Swap held annually by the Northeast Indiana chapter of the Indiana Native Plant Society, indiananativeplants.org/chapters/northeast-chapter.

So go wild when making your spring plant and landscaping choices. It can make a real difference.