The right plant in the right place: explore native plant landscaping with gardener Betty Sharpless.

Standing on the north side of a Swannanoa, NC hillside last fall in a swirl of snowflakes, I got into quite the discussion (that's Quaker for major disagreement) about using appropriate plantings for a well-integrated, successful landscape plan. This landscape designer from Los Angeles, California refused to believe that I would walk away from a lucrative job offer rather than agree to plant a clump of paper birch on the north side of a North Carolina mountain top. I explained to him that it would not survive in this microclimate and he scoffed saying that this was "ridiculous" and that he uses them all the time in Hollywood. I was incredulous! You keep paper birches alive in southern California?! Well, apparently you can, if you can provide extensive irrigation and are willing to hand pick the leaves off in the fall, since the tree is too confused to drop them naturally.

It is probably a good thing that I don't do any work in Hollywood. I was fortunate to inherit several gardens in the early Eighties that had been installed by a landscaper who firmly believed in using native trees, bushes, and flowers in his work. In the twenty years since then, I too have become a firm believer in native plants. This doesn't mean that I haven't tried to push our zone a little closer to zone seven on the sunny side of a garden; it does mean that I don't like to use plants that must be pampered and sprayed to survive. Successful landscapers use successful plants ... it's as simple as that.

One of the best ways to see how effective native plants are is to take a hike on the Mountain to Sea trail off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Nobody planted those woodland acres, yet they are beautiful .all year long, presenting interesting color combinations that change with every season. In fact, one of my favorite native plants, dog hobble, was introduced to me by a park ranger in the Great Smokies National Park. With its dark green, glossy leaves and prehistoric fern form, this is a great evergreen for shady dry areas. This native plant has become so popular that breeders have developed several different varieties--dwarf, speckled, and variegated--all extremely popular in nursery outlets. Although the external characteristics have been fiddled with, the Tennessee mountain resilience remains. Other sturdy native evergreens that we frequently use are various mahonia, laurels, and viburnums.

Another reason to use native plants is to add seasonal colors to your garden without having to change plants every three months. One of my favorite winter color plants is the humble blueberry bush. These also have the advantage of providing blueberries for your pancakes! They are attractive all year long with lovely foliage, reddish purple woody stems, and clusters of husky blue berries in the late summer. They also add color by attracting birds to your garden. Be sure to plant twice as many as you think you need. Other shrubs that I like for winter color are the red and yellow twig dogwoods, rugosa roses with hips left on, and coral berry.

Looking for something with a little more height? Instead of a kousa dogwood, stick with the native white (ok, ok, red and pink are good too ...) dogwoods that grow so well in our part of the Blue Ridge. Fancy varieties of dogwoods are cool to look at, but none of them really give you that floating flower look that led one of my customer's little girls to run in for hat and mittens so she could run through the dogwood petal snow in her yard. Instead of a pink flowering almond that will get frozen in the early spring, use a plain old redbud for the first blush of pink. Both dogwoods and redbuds do well as smaller understory urban trees. Add a crabapple tree and the birds will be choosing your all-you-can-eat buffet over the neighbors'.

Native plants increase the success of your garden when you use the right plant for the right climate and zone. Native plants can be used to augment color and form naturally, thus improving the flow of your garden design. Native plants are often much less expensive than the "species" trees that have been bred and pruned to look like a torture survivor with a bad case of osteoporosis. Native plants require very little chemical pest protection. Those of us who like to graze as we garden can enjoy chemical-free snacks as we work. (The birds enjoy the chemical-free treats as well.) Most importantly, by using native plants in your garden, you are helping to prevent the rampant spread of non-native species in the few remaining virgin wood and wetlands in your neck of the woods. National parks from east to west are all combating the "decorator grasses" that have become so popular for "winter interest." The entire state of Wisconsin has banned pink loose strife, a plant that has run rampant through the all important Wisconsin farms and wetlands. Each individual gardener, no matter how small the garden, makes an impact on the earth with each plant choice. Besides, who has the time or the staff to pick leaves off of confused paper birches?

Betty Sharpless is a professional freelance gardener who is still being paid to have fun in other people's gardens all season long--much to her amazement.