Where to start when trying to be a good steward of our land

Gardening with nature in mind.

Where to start when trying to be a good steward of our land

Homestead at Red Barn on day 1

Identify what you already have. The good, the bad and the ugly. In the past few hundred years we have filled our yards with plants from everywhere else in the world, but here. This has led to yards with plants that range from harmless, to plants that are actively destroying our native ecosystems.Lets look at some examples.

In many cases plants are not necessarily harmful to our native ecosystems, they just don’t do anything to help. For example, peonies are an imported species and a garden favorite. You plant them once, might divide them to create more, but they don’t go reproducing and sending themselves out to populate wild areas. These plants can stay in a thoughtful garden redesign. Planting for nature does not mean excluding all our favorites.

The next level of troublesome plant would be something like a Pachysandra or Lilly of the valley, these plants spread, and spread, and spread. Once established these plants can be very troublesome to remove and they out compete and smother any other plant in their path. These plants are not welcome in new plantings and should be on our lists of plants to eliminate so they can be replaced with native alternatives.

The worst plants in our landscapes are the active spreaders. These plants include burning bush, Norway maple, euonymous, nandia, rose of sharon, Callary/Bradford pear and Japanese knot weed. These plants are waging a war against our native ecosystems, and in some cases like nandia, are actively killing wildlife. In addition to providing zero beneficial habitat, they grow and spread throughout our wild spaces, taking up space where native plants once lived. These plants should be removed immediately and have no place in responsible gardens, native or otherwise.

As a side note, the argument is often that people don’t see the invasive spread and this is an unacceptable line of reasoning for keeping these plants. You don’t see the spread because birds are the most common transport vessel. The seeds are deposited in wooded and wild areas for miles surrounding just one terrible invasive species. A drive around rural New England in the season of the burning bush will reveal these opportunistic invaders and the extent that they have infiltrated our woods and under stories.

If you don’t know what you have in your yard, we can help. Contact us for a walk through of your property where we will help you know your space better.


     

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