Above: Black-throated Green Warbler in a native oak tree feeding on a caterpillar by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren (CC by 2.0). This migratory bird breeds in the White Mountains.
What are Native Plants?
The simple answer is that these were the plants likely to have been growing here before Europeans arrived.
NATIVE PLANT TRUST
For horticultural purposes, we define “native plants” as those that naturally occur in the ecoregion containing New England. Ecoregions are large areas that share similar climates, geology, landforms, and hydrology, giving rise to communities of plants that have adapted to these conditions over millennia.
Though designating a time marker for “native” is complicated, most botanists agree that the arrival of the first European settlers makes sense, in part because that makes it easier to determine which plants migrated on their own and which were introduced from outside the region.
Species migrate constantly; in fact, every plant species in New England has migrated northward since the last ice age. When plants migrate into an area on their own, they do so slowly, typically by natural movement of seed by wind, animals, and water. Natural migration is obstructed by geographic barriers, like oceans and mountain ranges. When people move plants, they can do so rapidly and across great distances, introducing species that may become either naturalized (that is, benignly established in the wild) or invasive
.
Why does it matter if we plant natives?
Insects
Most animals, including birds, rodents, spiders, amphibians, and reptiles, depend on insects for food. Insects, in turn, mainly depend on plants for food and to complete their life cycles. Many species of insect rely exclusively on specific native plants – like the Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar (Spicebush), or the Monarch caterpillar (milkweeds). Nonnative plants are very popular, and in some places are the only plants available to these insects. Research has shown that in yards where most of the plants are nonnative, there are fewer species of insects and fewer insects overall. As a result, the study found, birds breeding there have fewer chicks.
The problem with insects is, however, much bigger than that. Global warming, fertilizers, insecticides, fire, storm intensity, droughts, pollution, introduced species, urbanization, agricultural intensification and deforestation are leading to “death by a thousand cuts” in insect populations. In light of that, does what we do in our own back yards matter?
Professor Douglas Tallamy Believes Our Yards are Critically Important to Insects
Professor Douglas Tallamy, a Professor of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, one of the authors of the study cited, says it absolutely does matter what we do in our yards. He urges people to use their yards, decks and patios to help address the decline of insect populations. We have taken such a large percentage of the natural environment in the United States and turned it into cities, suburbs, roads, airports, shopping centers, power and pipelines, golf courses, agriculture and other isolated fragments, that we are at risk of losing the vast majority of the species that lived once lived there. “We are at a critical point of losing so many species from local ecosystems,” he writes, “that their ability to produce the oxygen, clean water, flood control, pollination, pest control, carbon storage, etc., that is, the ecosystem services that sustain us, will become seriously compromised.”
How is it possible to restore enough of the needed habitat? Tallamy believes planting natives in our own yards or on our decks is a huge part of the solution and has spearheaded a national movement – Homegrown National Park – to make that happen. It is vitally important that people from all over the country participate, as every area has its own native plants and insects.
His video “What’s the Rush?” is a compelling explanation of how restoring native plants can help to solve our biodiversity crisis. Tallamy’s website is a fantastic source of information and contains much of the backup research he relies upon. His article “Gardening for Life” is an easy read and great introduction to the topic.
Other opinions
The US Forest Service recognizes the vital importance of native plants.
Yale School of the Environment – How Non-native Plants are Contributing to the Global Insect Decline, December 8, 2020.
A beautiful, showy native plant garden
One of the most beautiful native plant garden in the country is just hours from the Mount Washington Valley. Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts is a 45 acre property showcasing New England native plants. They have a wonderful virtual tour on their website. Although not all the plants there will be suitable to the Valley, this Garden demonstrates how gorgeous native plants are. The Native Plant Trust also has six sanctuaries in northern New England, with two in New Hampshire.
Above: Garden in the Woods photos by Dan Jaffe, Native Plant Trust