Why Natives?
Less than 2% of original Texas landscapes remain. With those losses, much of our natural as well as cultural heritage has been lost, and the plants replaced with mostly alien species. But you can improve or restore your landscaping, yard, or ranch property with native trees, shrubs, ground covers, and flowering plants that are attractive to both you and wildlife!
How about a countdown as to why native plants are the way to go?
10. Native plants generally need less water. That’s great if you’ve checked your water bill lately or if you are wondering how your turf is going to stay green when watering is restricted to one day a week, at most.
9. Native plants require less maintenance; generally, pruning is a process that you will need to do only once or twice a year.
8. Native plants generally don’t need any fertilizer: our alkaline soil makes it difficult for plants to uptake nutrients, but the native plants here are adapted to work around the problem. Moreover, rain contains all the nitrogen our plants need, and its neutrality washes away some of the alkalinity in the soil, which is why rain is always better than tap-water for our gardens.
7. There is probably a native substitute for any situation or favorite plant you may have. There are over 5000 species of native plants in Texas, and if you do a little searching… *(see below)
6. Native plants are generally disease-resistant, and if you give them compost and mulch annually, they will be happy and generally weed-free.
5. Native plants are great at sequestering carbon: if you establish their root systems they will not only survive and come back each year, they will also pump a lot of carbon underground, which will feed the underground flora and fauna, which will in turn keep your plants happy.
4. Native plants are beautiful, with leaves and blooms offering a wide range of textures, colors, arrangements and colors. Many native perennials have a double season here, so you may get a bloom in both spring and fall!
3. Native plants provide food, nesting material, and insects that are crucial for our birds and other animals here. At last count I had about 150 species of plants in my yard, and insects are encouraged. The birds and natural predators feed on them and keep them from doing any real damage.
2. Planting natives in your yard will impress and hopefully inspire others to do likewise. With rampant development and clearing of vegetation all around us, our yards become even more important for our remaining wildlife. Author, conservationist, and scientist Doug Tallamy has created a program called “Home Grown National Park” to encourage people to make their yards part of a larger network to sustain wildlife. I highly recommend reading his book Nature‘s Best Hope to learn more about how and why to go native!
And finally, the number one reason to landscape with native plants…
Drumroll…
1. They won’t die on you! Native plants have had millennia to adapt to all that the Central Texas climate can throw at them, and even though conditions are changing, natives are your best bet for having a sustainable, long-lasting landscape.
If you have questions about gardening in Central Texas, feel free to contact me at avitropic@sbcglobal.net. If I can’t answer your question, I might be able to refer you to someone who can.
