by Renee Kjartan

Going Native

Native Plants in Your Backyard Mean A Carefree Garden (And Help Mother Nature)

by Renee Kjartan, Free Press Contributor

o you get the urge to do a little gardening. You want some color in the yard and some contact with nature. From the seed catalog you pick out a favorite shade of red for a rose bush in the front, where it will get a lot of sun.

You order it and some other plants and then go to the nursery to buy some pesticides and fertilizer and a hose that will reach the plants.

Whoops! What's wrong with this picture?

The answer is that you didn't consider, at least for a moment, that your garden is part of an ecosystem, that your bit of land in its natural state contained native plants that served as a habitat for wildlife. Do you want to continue to alter it so drastically?

"If we lose our native plants, we lose the wildlife that are dependent upon them," says Catherine Hovanic, a spokesperson for the Washington Native Plant Society.

"People fail to realize the impact of overdevelopment and the removal of native vegetation," she said. "There is a tendency of people not to recognize the importance of native species and how they are endangered. It's easier to get behind endangered animals because people can relate to them. They are cute and furry. But without native plants, the endangered species won't survive."

Many native plants are ideal for specific sites, Hovanic said, especially if you have areas that dry out in the Washington summers, and that get a lot of rain in the winter. Because native plants are just that ­ native ­ they can do without pesticides and herbicides that harm wildlife, waterways, and people too. Any you don't need to water them much after they have taken root. Of course, you can plant the exotic rose bush but consider native plants, too, she said.

The Washington Native Plant Society, with 12 chapters across the state and some 1,800 members, was organized in 1976 by Arthur Kruckeberg, now professor emeritus of botany at the University of Washington. Kruckeberg, author of Gardening With Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest, said that the first native plant society started around the first international observance of Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, and that now there is one in every Western state. The Washington society has three objectives, he said: to enjoy native plants, preserve their habitat from destruction, and educate people on how to identify native plants.

Saving Our Botanical Heritage

In a big push to preserve native plants, the society played a key role in the creation of the Natural Heritage program, which is part of Washington's Department of Natural Resources. Among the accomplishments of the Heritage program was its work to preserve part of the Big Beaver Valley from being flooded by Seattle City Light, which would have wiped out 1,000 year old cedars. The Heritage program and the Native Plant Society have also worked to call attention to the destruction caused by mountain goats that were introduced into the Olympic National Park in the 1920s. A comprehensive list of native and rare plants maintained by the Heritage program aids land managers and planners in protecting Washington's sensitive plants. The society also participates, with several other organizations, in the "Celebrate Wildflowers" curriculum. This program has taught hundreds of teachers how to incorporate information about native plants into their lesson plans.

Among the research projects supported by society funds is a study on the return of plant species to an area of volcanic destruction on Mt. St. Helens since the eruption of May 1980. The society also has developed the Native Plant Stewardship program, which trains volunteers in recognizing, restoring, and landscaping with native plants. In return for their training, the volunteers donate many hours of service in a variety of ways, including educating others about native plants.

Kruckeberg said native plants are "....trouble free. Once established, in our modified Mediterranean climate, they require no care, for the most part." He said he likes Penstemons, Vine Maple, and Serviceberry.

"Natives take care of themselves," he said in an early August interview, and added that his Serviceberry was beginning to set fruit, "And I haven't watered it for 20 years."

To join the Washington Native Plant Society, call 206-323-3336 or 888-288-8022, or write PO Box 28690, Seattle, WA 98118. Members receive the quarterly magazine Douglasia, and newsletters about get-togethers and outings to enjoy and identify native plants. Also available is a list of native plants that are available in many nurseries in Washington state.