Natural landscapingNatural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the

use of native plants, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and

grasses which are indigenous to the geographic area of the

garden.

BenefitsMaintenance

Ecology and habitatHabitat challenges

TypesIn general

Wildflower gardens

Rain gardens

Advantages

Disadvantages

Effect of new construct ion

Land reclamation

Native plant societ ies

See also

References

Further reading

External l inks

Natural landscaping is adapted to the climate, geography and hydrology and should require no pesticides,

fertilizers and watering to maintain, given that native plants have adapted and evolved to local conditions

over thousands of years.[1][2] However, these applications may be necessary for some preventive care of

trees and other vegetation in areas of degraded or weedy landscapes.

Native plants suit today 's interest in "low-maintenance" gardening and landscaping, with many species

vigorous and hardy and able to survive winter cold and summer heat. Once established, they can flourish

without irrigation or fertilization, and are resistant to most pests and diseases.

Many municipalities have quickly recognized the benefits of natural landscaping due to municipal budget

constraints and reductions and the general public is now benefiting from the implementation of natural

landscaping techniques to save water and create more personal time.

Natural landscaping using Pine,

Redbud, Maple, and American

Sweetgum with leaf litter.

Natural landscaping with pine leaf

litter mulch

Contents

Benefits

Maintenance

Native plants provide suitable habitat for native species of

butterflies, birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. They provide

more variety in gardens by offering myriad alternatives to the

often planted introduced species, cultivars, and invasive

species. The indigenous plants have co-evolved with animals,

fungi and microbes, to form a complex network of relationships.

They are the foundation of their native habitats and ecosystems,

or natural communities.[3]

Such gardens often benefit from the plants being evolved and

habituated to the local climate, pests and herbivores, and soil

conditions, and so may require fewer to no soil amendments,

irrigation, pesticides, and herbicides for a beautiful, lower

maintenance, and more sustainable landscape.

However, while local provenance plants have adapted to local conditions (which includes climate, soil,

and other native plants and animals), there will often be instances, especially in cities, where one or more

of these will have been radically altered.

Examples include:

Building rubble used as landfill may raise soil pH (i.e. create alkaline soil), which can be problematic in regions ofacidic soils (with local plants adapted to acid soils).

Buildings cast a substantial shade, this may give rise to conditions substantially shadier than needed by localplants.

Soil which is high in organic material and nutrients is often introduced into gardens, or many gardeners willhave used fertilizers. Plants from some areas may not thrive under these conditions. For example, manyAustralian plants are particularly sensitive to phosphorus.

Many native plants are adapted to, and benefit from, periodic wildfires that occurred before and during pre-modern settlement. These fires can be simulated in the garden by either "high mowing" or a controlled burnevery few years.

Many weeds in an area are usually the result of imported plants. These plants become invasive because

there are no natural controls such as disease, weather, or fauna in their new environment. They take over

native habitats, reducing shelter and food for local fauna. Using local provenance plants increases the

biodiversity of and is important for the health of a region's overall ecology.

Much of the wild areas have been destroyed to make room for urban development. Housing

developments have replaced native habitats with ornamental plants and lawns, pushing the wildland-

urban interface further out. While development won't be stopped, gardeners can keep wild areas and

green spaces filled with native species on their lots and in their communities.

Despite this, there are usually plenty of indigenous or native plants which will grow and thrive in the area

one is trying to establish a native garden.

Ecology and habitat

Banksia spinulosa, a Sydney, Australia

local plant which attracts wildlife

Habitat chal lenges

Types

Native gardens include the following kinds:

Fully forested with leaf debris on the forest floor, including coarse woody debris if possible;

Desert with arid loving plants and succulents;

Grassy meadow with a variety of wildflowers and water features;

Lowland savanna with grasses and native trees; and

Oceanic dunescape with tall, salt tolerant grasses.

"Wildflower" in some nations denominates the numerous showy flowers from some drier climates, most

notably southwest Western Australia, southern Africa, and North America.

Rain gardens that absorb rainwater from gutters and impervious surfaces function much better when

planted with native plants which tolerate the alternation of flooding and drying.

Some wildflower gardens attempt to recreate a prairie, including native grasses along with flowering

plants, i. e. forbs. Such gardens benefit the local wildlife, often attracting birds, butterflies, and small

mammals. By carefully choosing the plants for the garden, some of these animals can be encouraged to

visit the garden. One popular type of wildflower garden specializes in attracting butterflies and is thus

denominated a "butterfly garden".

The native plants cultivated in wildflower gardens often have deep roots, and therefore are effective

selections for absorbing surface runoff and allowing the water to infiltrate into the local water table.[4]

Wildflower gardens cultivated for capturing runoff in this mode are denominated "rain gardens".

no fertilization required

no additional water

more water available for other uses and other people

zero to near zero work needed for maintenance

no lawn mowing

erosion reduced to a minimum

natural landscaped plants take full advantage of rainfall

when water restrictions are implemented, natural landscaped plants will survive, while more traditional plantsmay not

increased habitat for native flora and fauna

increased beneficial insect population reduces pests

where heavily forested, provides shade on homes and businesses saving energy

native plants rarely become invasive

not good for outdoor games that require a manicured turf.

increased wild animal intrusion

in certain areas, wildfires or brushfires may be of great concern.

may look less attractive due to reduced available range of plants to choose from.

may be hard to find native plants which produce adequate quantities of edible matter.

In general

Wildflower gardens

Rain gardens

Advantages

Disadvantages

In new construction, builders can either avoid clear cutting or clearing an entire property and disturbing

other large flora or builders can completely clear an area of all flora to save construction time and replace

the clearing with juvenile specimens once the job is complete. The downside to this is additional costs

involved with purchasing replacements. The builder may also choose to plant additional native trees and

other flora after construction to help the property blend with natural surroundings.

In some planned developments, natural landscaping is the requirement. Builders may not remove trees

larger than a specific diameter and owners may not arbitrarily cut trees without a permit.

Throughout the world, forested areas were turned into cattle grazing or farmland. Often this land is then

turned into residential or commercial use property . By returning the land back to its original state prior

to human disturbance, vast amounts of energy usage and increasing pollution can be reduced. Natural

landscaping costs less to install than traditional landscaping and, after the initial few years, reduces

maintenance costs, combats erosion, and accommodates storm and flood waters better.

In many parts of the world there are societies, clubs or local groups, such as Bushcare or ASGAP in

Australia, the North American Native Plant Society , or the California Native Plant Society , which are

made up of gardeners interested in growing plants local to their area, state or country. In the United

States, Wild Ones--Native Plants, Natural Landscapes [5] is a national organization with local chapters in

many states. New England Wildflower Society ,[6] and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.[7] provide

information on native plants and promote natural landscaping. These organizations can be the best

resources for learning about and obtaining local native plants. Many members have spent years or

decades cultivating local plants or bushwalking in local areas.

Permaculture

Piet Oudolf

Terroir

Wildlife gardening

Xeriscaping

North American Native Plant Society

1. Henry W. Art (2007), "A Gardener's Ecology", in C. Colston Burrell, Wildflower Gardens: 60 Spectacular Plants

and How to Grow Them in Your Garden (https://books.google.com/books?id=E1d1aKyE_R0C&pg=PA6), Brooklyn

Botanic Garden, p. 6, ISBN 9781889538310, "Native plant gardens that are designed to take advantage of local

conditions and reflect prevailing ecological processes often are less work than high-maintenance formal beds

and borders, and they blend more gracefully into the landscape."

2. Tallamy, p. 12

Effect of new construction

Land reclamation

Native plant societies

See also

References

John Diekelmann and Robert M. Schuster (2002), Natural Landscaping: Designing with Native PlantCommunities (https://books.google.com/books?id=fmajmru4g98C), University of Wisconsin Press,ISBN 9780299173241

Thomas Christopher, ed. (2011), The New American Landscape: Leading Voices on the Future of SustainableGardening, Timber Press, ISBN 9781604691863

Sara Stein (1993), Noah's Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Back Yards (https://books.google.com/books?id=aKcSsRjdB00C), Houghton-Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-65373-8

Booth Courtenay and James Zimmerman (1972), Wildflowers and Weeds, Van Nostrand Reinhold,ISBN 0442217048

Plants of the Chicago Region, by Floyd Swink and Gerould Wilhelm.

Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America, by Roger Peterson.

Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers; Eastern Region, by William A. Niering. Alfred A.Knopf. Soft Cover.

Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, by Lawrence Newcomb. Little. Paperback.

Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs, by George A. Petrides. Houghton., paperback.

Field Guide to the Ferns, by Roger Tory Peterson. Paperback.

Kane County: Wild Plants and Natural Areas, by Dick Young. 3rd ed. Kane County Forest Preserve District,2007

Peterson First Guides: Caterpillars. Trees. Shrubs.

A Georgia Native Plant Guide, Tina M Samuels, Mercer University Press, 2005

National Wildlife Federation: Gardening (http://www.enature.com/gardening/)

Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes (http://www.wildones.org/)

The Environmental Protection Agency's fact sheets on landscaping with native plants and background articleson native plants (http://www.epa.gov/docs/grtlakes/greenacres/nativeplants/factsht.html#Native%20Plant)

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3. Douglas Tallamy (2009), Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants (https://books.

google.com/books?id=szK9uNKvTkQC), Timber Press, p. 25, ISBN 9781604691467, "Because food for all

animals starts with the energy harnessed by plants, the plants we grow in our gardens have the critical role of

sustaining, directly or indirectly, all of the animals with which we share our living spaces. The degree to which

the plants in our gardens succeed in this regard will determine the diversity and numbers of wildlife that can

survive in managed landscapes."

4. Lynn M. Steiner and Robert W. Domm (2012), "Using native plants", Rain Gardens: Sustainable Landscaping for

a Beautiful Yard and a Healthy World (https://books.google.com/books?id=YA53p0SG0LMC&pg=PA94),

Voyageur Press, p. 94, ISBN 9780760340448

5. [1] (http://www.wildones.org)

6. New England Wildflower Society (http://www.newfs.org)

7. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (http://www.wildflower.org)

Further reading

External links