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By Linda Smith Reprinted from The Understory, Jan.-Feb. 1994 Landscape design with natives is different from the landscape design to which we have grown accustomed. The greatest challenge is meshing the textures, soil, water, and sunlight needs of the available native plants with existing with preexhisting landscapes that are dominated by exotics. Our basic concepts of landscape design must shift in order to gracefully incorporate natives. The challenge is shaped by the mind's-eye view of our yards as lush (big leaves), deep green (over-fertilized) and full of pure colors (expensive beds of seasonal annuals). Natives provide new, finer textures, sharpen our powers of observation with subtle colors and save us time and money by functioning in new ways. Our first, and easiest, shift to make is to develop lushness through a canopy of treees. Replant trees according to what might have grown there originally, or according to what will grow there without irrigation. Lushness comes from deep green shade, moist soils, and lower temperatures. Trees protect homes from the weather, forming wind breaks and shields from the sun. Deciduous trees let the sun in during the winter and lessen heating bills and energy use. Leaf fall provides great and rare organic material that is essential for weed and moisture control, and for providing nutrients for our top soils. Where native trees prevail, as in our older neighborhoods, the subtle movements of birds andi nsects are found more often than in areas where the original canopy was eradicated. A second shift in our conceptualization is that our shrubs do not need to hug our homes, three feet wide by three feet high, and in straight lines. We can flex our rules so that we work less to maintain square bushes, and so that we make it possible for the natives to bloom and berry. One Simpson's stopper, allowed to grow in the natural growth pattern, and planted away from the foundation line, will provide cool shade for the exterior of the house, require the planting of less material, require less water, less pruning, save you money, save mowing, and give you some space to get near your home for maintenance! Such a deal! Curve your beds outward from your house to incorporate a native specimen shrub or tree and eliminate some grass in the process. Remove shrubs that detract from the new design. Step back and visualize new height and width dimensions, new texture, and a new source for life in your yard. The use of color in the landscape is a particular challenge. Our love for big, bright flowers is the very basis for our fascination with exotics. You can use non-natives like zonal geraniums in the cooler months, but color as a primary landscaping goal is an exhaustive and expensive high-maintenance quest. And here is a third shift in our perspective: the greatest delight comes from finding the most subtle things. Little red berries on the female yaupon holly, clusters of magenta tucked beneath the American beautyberry leaves, and flashes of iridescence as a darning needle enters the yard are sources for joy. Observation of seasonal change, crunching leaves under foot, textured branches against a winter sky, and dappled lght that sweeps around with the rustling breeze can be the most restful sights and sounds that we can encounter here in the city. Also, remember that most flowering plants, wildflowers, and butterfly nectar providers require about six hours of direct sunlight a day, so be sure to select the sunniest spot for flower gardens. In the shade, tune into the flight of the zebra longwing around the wild coffee blooms, or the grace of the wild fern. Another perception that must change is that it's okay to irrigate. We now know that it is not okay to irrigate. We must landscape based upon that knowledge, and you will find it enjoyable, too. As the Cooperative Extension Service has pointed out, group your water-lovers together so that you can collect some varied plants and provide supplemental water without utilizing a property-wide irrigation system. Finally, as we collect intriguing natives, remember some old landscaping principles that will always apply: repeat a theme throughout the yard, cluster severof the same thing together for the best effect, and balance the design around a focul point. A naturalized, wooded yard where established trees provide the theme allows more flexibility while formal landscapes are more work, less relaxed. Most of you will agree with these concepts, and are discovering them on your own. Congratulations to each of you who has taken the leap and begun to naturalize your yard. |
