Native Planting

According to the National Wildlife Federation, the percentage of people planning to transform a portion of their lawn to wildflower native landscape spiked from 9% in 2019 to 19% in 2021.

This increase is due to many factors, including easier maintenance, resistance to insects and less use of pesticides, and creation of beneficial wildlife habitats. Native plants also absorb and filter stormwater that feeds into our waterways and the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States.

But how can a person start a native garden? Hiring an expert is one way, but if that is not an option, how can someone weed through all the botanical information and figure out how to even begin? Fortunately, many local and online resources are available. With some reading and trial and error, creating a native habitat is possible.

First, select a small area to try out in your yard, maybe a section where you want to replace turf grass. Maybe you want to create a butterfly habitat around your mailbox or replace an area that has invasives, like English ivy.

Then, determine how much sunlight your area gets and whether it is full sun (direct sunlight for at least six hours a day), partial shade (three to six hours) or shade (less than three hours). Also check if the soil is dry, moist or wet.

If needed, you can also find out the type of soil and its pH level. The University of Maryland Extension’s website provides a table of labs that test soil and the “Ask Extension” tool answers questions about the results of soil tests and other garden concerns.

Then, based on sunlight, soil and moisture, make a rough plan or sketch with possible plants selected. It’s best to have backup choices because the supply of some native plants may be limited or not available.

How do you know which plants to select? A National Wildlife Federation online tool is being beta-tested with research partner Dough Tallamy at the University of Delaware. Simply plug in a zip code, and the site provides a list of plants and rankings by number of butterflies and moths that are native to that zip code.

Not all plants listed have photos, but if you have a list of plants and want to know what they look like, you can access the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s online guide, “Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping, Chesapeake Bay Watershed.”

The University of Maryland Extension recommends some natives and also identifies plants for specific areas like shady slopes, sunny slopes and for other situations like deer-resistant natives.

When you have selected some plants and are ready to make a purchase, the Maryland Native Plant Society lists more than 50 regional native plant vendors, about half of them in Maryland.

One caveat when selecting plants — if possible, do not pick cultivars or hybrids of native plants. More research is needed, but these plants may not have the traits of their wild relatives so that native insects may not be attracted to these plants or may not get the same benefits from feeding on them.

Some favorites that worked well in our yard — plants that butterflies, hummingbirds and bees loved — are cardinal flower, Joe-Pye weed, wild bergamot, bee balm and black-eyed Susans.

Once your additions are planted and you are watering and weeding, there are apps that can photograph and identify a plant from your phone, providing information about the plant. This was helpful when first maintaining our native garden to be sure we were pulling weeds and not our native plants.

The Maryland Master Gardeners are another great free resource and are happy to answer questions at their booth at the Severna Park Farmers Market every Saturday morning.

Hopefully, by starting small and seeing the beauty and wildlife that results, you might expand and convert even more of your area to natives.

As the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said, “Every action helps, no matter what size.”

Janet AlJunaidi is a Watershed Steward candidate with the Anne Arundel County Watershed Steward Academy.