Wednesday, July 4, 2012

America the Beautiful – Native plant species add to the beauty of our country

black_eyed_susanI love using native plants whenever I can because I think they have many benefits to the environment. Native plants, when selected to work with your particular site conditions, usually require less water, less chemicals and less labor while providing food and habitat for native wildlife. Because of my love of native plants, my ears perked up when I heard this particular comment while watching The Victory Garden on PBS the other morning. During a short clip on native plants, Jamie Durie, a horticulturalist and international award-winning landscape designer, said “Over 30 of America’s state flowers and trees have been pushed out of their state natural habitat through urban sprawl and climate change.” Wow. That seemed like a pretty dramatic statement so I did some searching on the internet to see if I could find anything that verified that statement and I couldn’t. I also asked for more info about the statement on the Victory Garden website but have not, as yet, received a reply. I did, however, find some information on the U.S. National Arboretum website that seems to indicate that many state flowers aren’t actually native to the states that designated them as such, but “were chosen because of their beauty or importance, not because they represent the natural flora of the state they represent.” So, I think this just might be another example of “you can’t believe everything you hear.” In any case, it’s always a great idea to use native plants when you can. Here are some of the great native plants lists we have featured on the Metro DC Lawn and Garden Blog: Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July, enjoying the beauty of the world around you.

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