Native plants: fad or functional? Gardening pro Ron Lance gets friendly with the natives.

There have been many articles and speeches singing the praises of native plants in the last several years. Myriads of horticultural publications, nature study guides, essays, and seminars have fueled a native plant movement that steadily gains momentum among folks that like to read and learn about any and all types of plants on this globe. But why is this slant on native plants given so much attention when we have such a seemingly unlimited supply of vegetative life forms to adorn our private landscaping and gardening projects? Is it a fad, or an unscrupulous plot against favorite exotic ornamentals like privet or barberry, or perhaps a revelation borne from scrutinizing eyes on the workings of our natural world?

The answer to why native plants deserve to be a fad, plot, and a revelation all combined into one can easily be found by observing plain old human and natural history. We can look first into the native vs. exotic plant issue, to see the importance of native plants in the environmental scheme. Native plants are simply those that have occurred in a particular area before the influence of human settlement. Exotic plants are those introduced to an area through human action. In every region of the earth, humans have impacted plant life that was in place before their arrival. As we've moved, so have our food and exotic vegetative companions like apple and burdock. Many such exotic plants have colonized in natural environments in ways that shadow our own trends of naturalization. That is, the environment now has exotic plants: everything from waifs like crape myrtle to aggressively invading types such as kudzu and melaleuca. Amid all this relatively recent naturalization and habitat impact, the truly native plants represent a stabilization that was previously established through many thousands of plant generations. Every natural community has its collection of native plant species that typifies its appearance. The native plants are adapted to soil, climate, and disturbance cycles in ways that have allowed them to perpetuate themselves in a balance with other plant species, and with animal species that have utilized them for food or shelter. By favoring native plants in our land management decisions, natural balances are more sup ported rather than disrupted.

When it comes to adaptability, native plants haw a history undeniably predictable for each region our cultivation or curation. Remember, they have already been around longer than you have, so don't doubt they are more tolerant than you are of freaky weather patterns, droughts and floods, and soil depths and fertility ratios. Notwithstanding the damaging exotic insects and diseases which we have introduced to our native plants, for the most part our native plants are better adapted to shun the adverse effects of native organisms that bug them.

The historical use of native plants in food and medicine is currently in a period of rediscovery. Much of the traditional and hard-earned lore of native peoples that utilized native plants in their respective regions of aboriginal dwelling has been lost through a cycle of devaluation during the spread of civilization. Fortunately, we are seeing a turn in this cycle today, with new scientific and holistic benefits of plant ingredients constantly in the news. There is so much to learn and re-learn about our native plants in regards to their hidden internal food and drug stores. Often, pharmaceutical surprises await in regions where a diversity of native species occur, and pollinators and soil/nutrient dynamics of plants in their native habitats may affect their physiology in different ways when they are moved to another environment.

Why then, should you favor a native plant in your casual efforts to "buy something" or "plant something" within your own landscaping management? First, try to remember that there is likely a native equivalent to that exotic, and the native will be as much or more appreciated by native birds and other wildlife, and survive those late spring freezes and summer droughts better than your potential exotic selection. For example, in western North Carolina, planting native serviceberry, dogwood, hawthorn, viburnum, or fringetree rather than exotic crabapples, cherries, or plums will give you a hardier flowering display that is more wildlife-friendly. It may take you extra effort to research, or to locate knowledgeable help in determining what native plants can locally fit your needs, but such time spent in careful selection may reward you later not only in regards to plant hardiness and longevity, but in a sense of environmental stewardship on your own piece of earth.

Many native plant web sites can be accessed on the internet, and locally, you may also contact your Agricultural Extension Service, publicly-accessible botanical garden or native plant nursery for help in native plant selections and information.

Ron Lance is a long-term grower, photographer, researcher, and observer of native plants and natural history. Currently, he care-takes a retail native plant nursery facility at Chimney Rock Park in North Carolina, 800-277-9611, www.chimneyrockpark.com.