NATIVE PLANTS – CANADIAN EH?
Terrie Greco, B.A.; HLT Dip.
Terrie Greco, B.A.; HLT Dip.
Using introduced plants instead of native plants is not wrong, it is a matter of preference. But gardeners should educate themselves and avoid the use of introduced plants with aggressive root systems, or plants that are prolific seeders. Plants such as Yellow Flag (Iris pseudacorus), Periwinkle (Vinca minor) and English Ivy (Hedera helix) are widely used non-native landscape plants that have escaped into waterways and forests and are crowding out native Canadian species.
Make gradual changes to your garden to increase native plant use. Ask yourself if some of your existing plants have not met your expectations – if you can think of a few right now – analyze why they don’t work. If they are not thriving, then the choice is clear – select a native plant that is better suited to your garden environment! If a plant does not meet your design objectives, then research native plants that can provide a more appropriate architectural form. Avoid plants that are invasive or aggressive under any circumstances, and ensure that the plants are truly native. Accurate lists of native plants should come from a reputable source, such as a government agency, botanical garden or organizations dedicated to environmentally sound garden practices. Here are a few great links:
http://nativeplants.evergreen.ca/
http://www.rbg.ca/cbcn/en/projects/invasives/i_list.html
http://nature.ca/discover/ntvplnts/ntvplnts_e.cfm
Native plant species will vary widely between ecoregions. The beauty of using native plants in your garden is that you will create a more natural habitat for indigenous wildlife, and have fewer ̏cultural̋ problems.
Attention all passionate gardeners! Canada Blooms, North America’s largest garden show opens its doors to the public from March 17th to March 21st in Toronto, Canada. It’s well worth the trip to enjoy landscapes, floral displays, attend workshops and shop till you drop in the marketplace. The theme? You guessed it – ‘Passions’. See you there! http://www.canadablooms.com/
I’ve recently read Darwin’s “Origin of species” and this authoritative work promotes the idea that the best adapted species for a given environment will thrive as the others will gradually disappear or migrate.
This leads me to think that an evolving ecosystem incorporating new, better adapted species might actually be a good thing as it will certainly be stronger than one in which organisms are being artificially protected.
The idea also covers the perspective of biodiversity. Indeed, Darwin observed that species with more individuals and wider geographic coverage also experience the higher number of evolutionary steps, hence creating creating over time new species.
As a conclusion, isn’t our attempt at preserving species that aren’t best suited for a given environment an attempt at stopping evolution?
Here is a very good manual for gardening with native species The Garry Oak Gardener’s Handbook (http://www.goert.ca/at_home_introduction.php). It is produced by the Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team (www.goert.ca) in BC. The garry oak meadow is an endangered ecosystem that has lost 99% of the area it once occupied to urban sprawl and agriculture. Many of its component species are at risk of extinction or extirpation. The manual is an attempt to increase habitat by encouraging urban gardeners to grow native plants.
In answer to Eco Pat’s comment, who is to say that human preference for certain species or traits isn’t a part of natural selection.
Very interesting comments, and I applaud you for reading a work which created such a stir in it’s time. Yes, you’re right – change is inevitable – we live in transitional times in the midst of the tidal wave of invasives that are overwhelming our natural landscape (because of our meddling with the environment). We must restore the balance.
These non-native invasive species are achieving their success under unatural and destabilized conditions. It is completely appropriate to redress that balance by re-introducing native species. This by the way, also helps preserve the richness and possibility of genetic diversity. We don’t need mono-cultures of invasives. I hope this addresses your question – feel free to write again!
Thanks for contributing to this very interesting topic. Hopefully Eco Pat has stayed tuned.