Learning from Nature

Taking some Tips from the Master

Gardens enhance our wellbeing and the wellbeing of the natural world. When we have a green space nearby we can connect to plants and trees in an emotional and personal way. And to the wildlife it supports!

But how to begin to create such a space? Or how can we enhance what we have? The key to planting design, in my opinion, is to create places of beauty and natural vigor, where people and plants both flourish. With this aim in mind, we should ‘co-create with Nature’ in making resilient and inviting outdoor green spaces.

The native Swamp Milkweed grows in mucky clay soil. It is a pollinator favorite! Grows three feet tall. Attracts aphids so it feeds your little ladybugs.

Sometimes, when we leave nature to her own devices, we can see how plant colonization and succession works. This is evident in open lots where blackberries and thistles pop up on their own, or a roadside where Queen Anne’s lace, asters and loosestrife form a gorgeous display.

Queen Anne’s Lace mixed with the annual flower, Gomphrena - A lovely minimum maintenance combo.

In these cases, the spontaneous plant community shows us how Nature cleverly arranges plants to their best advantage. We can learn so much from this. For example, red cedars and black locust trees may appear in an open field offering habitat for wildlife and shade for other saplings. We can add similar or same species to this native planting to aid the development of a natural ecosystem. This is the minimum intervention, ecological approach. Learning from Nature is the first step in planting design.

Of course, if there is a denuded steep slope that is prone to erosion, you may want to speed up the process by planting suitable native plants that are know for their erosion control abilities such as Gro-Low fragrant sumac. Or look for native grasses with deep roots that hold soil well. Try Little Bluestem grass on a slope. Its roots reach 5 to 8 feet deep! You can buy plugs for this grass or purchase seed - check out Native American Seed in Junction, Texas.  You could add some wildflower seed too.

Standing Ovation Little Bluestem grass is a stunner! And great for hillsides too.

Learning from Nature requires that you see and appreciate the natural native plant partnerships in your area. Some plantspeople make this the overarching goal in planting design—plant native plants only—while at the other end of the spectrum, some gardeners prefer a manicured garden of exotic species that requires consistent horticultural intervention.

My personal preference is for somewhere in-between. I believe planting design can help maintain native ecosystems and we should strive to do this whenever and wherever possible. Native plants that feed our birds and insects, and are best suited for the habitat, should be preferred. And planting straight native species rather than their cultivars also helps our pollinators.

But I do love plants and so I give myself some wiggle room - I enjoy having plants of exotic origin as long as they are not ‘thugs’. I mean Kirengeshoma is so cool:

Kirengeshoma on the right and Royal Fern on the left - a perfect paring for shady moist situations.

This may be anathema to some plants people - I am a heretic to some. But I will always lean toward natives first. I suggest you go to Plant Delights Nursery on line and see their offerings in Natives - quite a cornucopia of plants! Go here: Plant Delights Nursery .

So look to Mother Nature first and see how she intertwines a tapestry of plants at ground level or creates a biodiverse woodland that sings with life. She is the master and we have so much to learn from her.

Woodland in spring - You can feel the energies upwelling!

BTW - my substack has given me major problems of late! still working on it - cannot post!! I figured this fix out on my own. I apologize for the delay in posting. I will post a little more often to make it up.