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Native plants have some obvious advantages, particularly with informal garden style. They have fascinating variety and can help the gardener understand the ethno-botany of the region we're in by linking us with people who lived here before the 19th century explorers arrived. Once adapted to the garden environment, native plants may require less summer irrigation, and may be less susceptible to pest problems than plants originating in some other climate zone.
For saving money, saving time, and reducing fertilizer and chemical use in the landscape, choosing native plants can be one strategy. It's only part of a total garden management strategy to garden with the environment in mind.
Talk with nurseries and walk in parks and arboretums looking at native plants. Several local parks including Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle and Point Defiance Park in Tacoma have collections of native plants, either throughout the park or as a separate planting. At Point Defiance Park, there is a native plant garden, worth visiting at any time of the year.
Native plants can be small herbaceous perennials, such as the native spring-blooming trillium (Trillium ovatum), mid-size shrubs like red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium), moderate sized trees like vine maple (Acer circinatum). Many native trees, though beautiful, grow very large. Huge trees like Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) aren't adaptable to small gardens. Do some planning before acquiring plants, and know what ultimate size they will reach.
A good resource for learning how to use native plants in gardens is the book, Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest, by Arthur Kruckeberg, (University of Washington press, 1982.) This is a readable, lively, and thorough look at native plants for both sides of the Cascades. This is one of the indispensable books for Northwest gardeners.
Getting the plant in the right place for it is the most important requirement. A native plant, such as a madrona tree (Arbutus menziesii), cannot tolerate summer watering. Madronas are stunning trees, with elegant shiny leaves, and attractive mahogany bark. If a madrona were placed in the middle of an irrigated lawn, or if new lawn is installed over the roots of an existing madrona, it will not thrive.
A flowering shrub like oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor)grows naturally along meadow edges in sunny, dry locations. Its white summer blooms, named oceanspray for their frothy appearance, are familiar to travelers in the San Juan Islands. Oceanspray won't grow well if it's tucked under a Douglas fir in a deep, shady location. But the native sword fern, (Polystichum munitum), will do just fine in such a shady place.
Many gardens contain combinations of native and non-native plants. Be sure to group them according to their cultural requirements for soil conditions, light, and water.
Native plants, according to Kathy Hutton of Plants of the Wild, a nursery in Tekoa, Washington, will respond to garden care by growing more vigorously, putting on more leaves, or blooming more. Nutrients and water, the tender loving care of the gardener, will quite often alter the growth habit of a native plant. Again, it's important not to over feed them with fertilizer or over water those that are naturally dry-land plants.
Learning about and using native plants is a fine adventure, one that opens new worlds for gardeners. Another useful book to carry in a pocket or backpack is Plants of Coastal British Columbia, including Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. (Pojar and MacKinnon, BC Ministry of Forests, 1994.) This text mentions intriguing details about natural habitat and traditional uses of local native plants. Combining it with Arthur Kruckeberg's work on siting plants in gardens, the reader can become aware, and even enlightened, about native plants.
Hortsense: Managing plant problems with Integrated Pest Management
