Native Plants Add Beauty and Support Wildlife 

wild bergamot flowers are lavender color
Native wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) attracts pollinators from butterflies to hummingbird moths and is both deer and rabbit-proof. Photo: Elmer Verhasselt, Bugwood.org

I love native plants. I garden for beauty and wildlife and nothing supports healthy habitats better than native plants. 

So what are native plants? They are beautiful, resilient plants that naturally occur in an area.

Having evolved over millennia with native wildlife, they naturally support them best. A native white oak supports 557 species of butterflies and moths while a non-native gingko tree supports just five.  

So if you want to support bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects that help control pests, native plants are the way to go. 

They also support larger wildlife such as birds with their seeds, fruit, shelter, and places to raise young. Again, native plants evolved with them, so they naturally provide what they need.  

According to conservationist, author, and entomologist Doug Tallamy who penned the bestsellers “Bringing Nature Home” and “Nature’s Best Hope,” native plants support 29 times more wildlife diversity than non-native plants.  

Well adapted to our soil and climate, native plants are resilient with a capital “R.” They’ve persisted through many hot, dry, wet, and cold years, surviving all previous climate change that has occurred, positioning them well to adapt to future changes. 

Adapting over eons makes you tough. Native plants have fewer pest and disease issues and some have deep roots which make them drought resistant. That means less watering, fewer chemicals, and a healthier landscape. 

Did I mention how beautiful they are? There is a nasty rumor out there that native plants are weedy. Bosh and balderdash.   

Native coral honeysuckle trumpets red/yellow/orange flowers that welcome hummingbirds. Threadleaf coreopsis wafts a riot of petite yellow daisies in a drift of lacy foliage.  

Wild blue indigo sports 4-foot stems of deep blue sweet-pea-like blooms. Cardinal flower flashes brilliant red and is a magnet for hummingbirds and butterflies.  

Bees love to rummage among the pure white blossoms of native foxglove. And goldenrods carousing with purple asters are the very definition of fall beauty.

Don’t get me started on native trees and shrubs. I love ninebark’s white pompoms, the red dangling fruit of chokeberry, the deep maroon flowers of Carolina allspice (native from our South), skinny willow oak leaves, and the giant leaves of pawpaws

red flower of Carolina allspice
Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus). Photo: Miri Talabac

How can you find out what native plants might work in your landscape?  

Discover many resources – including recommended native plants for Maryland on our website and on the Maryland Native Plant Society website.

My favorite native plant reference, “Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping,” has color photos and plant profiles. Download it for free.

Where do you find native plants? Visit your favorite garden center. Native plants are becoming more common. If they’re not there, ask. Nurseries grow and buy based on client interest.  

The Maryland Native Plant Society website also lists native plant sales and nurseries on their website.

Many Master Gardener groups – including ours – hold spring plant sales that include native plants. Contact your county/city coordinator to learn if one is scheduled near you.

I hope I’ve encouraged you to include some native plants in your landscape to add beauty, invite wildlife and support a healthy ecosystem.  

By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension. This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media. Read more by Annette.

The value of a pile of sticks in your yard or garden

With spring coming up, many of us are already starting to get our yards and gardens ready for the growing season. Among the activities we may take on, there can be the managing of branches, sticks, and wood that may have been trimmed from trees and shrubs in the fall, over the winter, or just recently. In today’s post, I want to talk about how to integrate these resources into our green spaces, to support wildlife and the natural services they provide.

a pile of stick in a yard
Wood and stick piles can provide welcoming habitat to beneficial organisms. Photo: A. Espíndola

Increasing the diversity of our green spaces

In several of the posts that we publish on this blog, we recommend different actions that can be taken to increase biodiversity in our green spaces (see local ecotype plants, helping pollinators in small green spaces, and conserving parasitoids for some ideas). We know that increasing biodiversity improves the ability to control and restrain pests, increases wild and crop plant pollination, and in many cases leads to better soil quality. Among these practices, there is one that increases the physical complexity of our green spaces, providing nesting, shelter, and food resources to beneficial organisms. The practice I’m talking about consists of building wood and stick piles that can be established in our green spaces. The idea behind this practice is to create a space where birds, small mammals, insects, and even pest predators can find their preferred resources, and thus be attracted and present in our environments (learn more about the landscaping rationale for using dead wood).

What organisms are attracted by these piles?

Depending on the size of the pile and its composition (e.g., large logs, smaller sticks, a mix of them), different organisms will be attracted and may establish themselves in our green spaces. The presence of a mix of logs and sticks usually attracts birds, which may nest within the pile or may just spend time within the pile searching for food or finding shelter at different points during the day. These birds will certainly contribute to increasing the diversity of animals present in our green spaces and can also in some cases participate in the control of insect pests that we may not want in our gardens and yards.

Carolina wren bird with a caterpillar in its mouth
Carolina wrens are very attracted to shrubby habitats, meaning that piles of wood and brush represent a great way to provide resources to these little cute birds who in turn can help us keep herbivore populations in line. Photo: Shenandoah NP.

Other animals we can observe in these piles are a variety of insects then may be associated with the decomposition of wood or that may use wood as a nesting or overwintering resource (e.g., bees, solitary wasps). While the former can help recycle the wood material and reintegrate it into the habitat, the latter may participate in the pollination of plants and crops that we may grow in that area or predate on unwanted pests.

Similarly, ground-dwelling invertebrates like millipedes and ground beetles can also find shelter under these piles, while the brush can also contribute to the nesting of pollinators such as (ground-nesting) bees, the overwintering of some butterflies and moths, and help improve the quality of the soil in that part of our yard.

Larger organisms may also be attracted to these piles, such as small mammals, amphibians, and even reptiles. Although we may tend to dislike these groups of animals, many of them feed on unwanted soil organisms and may help with soil quality, while others can actually control vermin through their predatory abilities. This is particularly the case of snakes that may find shelter in these spaces, which, while harmless to humans (the vast majority of snakes in Maryland are non-venomous, readily feed on rats and mice that may be present around the house.

a pile of wood branches and sticks in a yard makes a habitat for beneficial organisms
A mix of thick and thin pieces of wood can provide a diverse habitat to many different organisms. Photo: A. Espíndola.

How to build these piles?

These piles can take many different shapes and sizes, which depend in part on the materials and space available. When very large spaces are available (e.g., in the woods), it is recommended for these piles to be relatively large – at least 10 to 20 feet in length, and up to 8 feet in height (read more about these larger brush piles). In smaller spaces such as in urban or suburban gardens, these piles can be much smaller, occupying areas that may not be regularly used for other purposes. In all cases, it is ideal to build these piles using a combination of different types of materials, such as twigs and branches of different thicknesses, some logs, and even some branches that may still have dead leaves attached to them…always using healthy materials.

An important consideration when putting together these piles is that they should not be built leaning on or very close to wood-based structures or the foundations of our buildings. This is because of the potential risk of termite infestations of buildings if the piles are not physically separated from them. However, it is important to stress that establishing these piles has not been shown to be associated with higher termite infestations if the pile is not in contact or very close to the built structure. (You can read a very good discussion about mulch and termites from Iowa State Extension).

So, as you work on your spring garden, I encourage you to think about plant stems, logs, and branches not as waste that needs to be cleaned up, but as beneficial resources that you can incorporate into your available space.

By Anahí Espíndola, Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park. See more posts by Anahí.

Anahí also writes an Extension Blog in Spanish! Check it out here, 
extensionesp.umd.edu, and please share and spread the word to your Spanish-speaking friends and colleagues in Maryland. ¡Bienvenidos a Extensión en Español!

Cardinal Flower Is for Hummingbirds

Cardinal flower
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis). Photo: C. Carignan

I gave up on my hummingbird feeder years ago. It was more than I wanted to do to keep up with changing the sugar solution every two to three days, as recommended to keep the food free of spoilage that could be harmful to the birds. I saw that hummingbirds would visit some of my garden flowers just as much as the feeder, so I decided just to provide flowers for them. More flowers for me, more natural nectar for them. A win-win.

In my garden, ruby-throated hummingbirds most often fed at my scarlet bee balm, blue salvias, brilliantly colored zinnias, and orange butterfly weed. This year they have an additional choice that appears to be their new favorite. It is the flower whose color resembles that of a different bird, cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis).

This Maryland native plant produces 2-4′ tall spikes of bright, cardinal-red flowers that are irresistible to hummingbirds in mid to late summer. In fact, hummingbirds are an essential pollinator of these plants.

Cardinal flower was easy for me to grow from seeds sown directly outside. In the fall of 2016, I scattered seeds in a low area of my yard where water frequently would puddle after heavy rain. They sprouted and grew low foliage and a few small flower spikes the following season. This year I have plants that are well established and the flower spikes are tall and brilliant. Cardinal flower grows best in moist to wet soils, so this has been a fabulous year for it!

If you have a shady or partially shaded area that tends to stay moist in your yard, cardinal flower might be a great choice for you. Allow these plants to reseed naturally so you’ll have flowers — and a natural hummingbird feeding station — year after year.

Additional Resources

By Christa K. Carignan, Coordinator, University of Maryland Extension Home & Garden Information Center