The word patriot is used quite often in conversations today in our politically divided country. It seems both sides of opposing views believe they are the patriots, and the others are anti-American.
There is one issue facing our country on which we can all agree. It is an aspect of our lives over which we can have complete control. It is an action we can take to improve our country’s natural environment. It is the simple act of choosing to use American native plants in our landscapes.
Every plant in this landscape except for the lawn is native to North Florida, from the trees to the shrubs to the wildflowers. Photo by Donna Legare.
We need to go beyond our personal desires. Rather than selecting a flower color because it is our favorite, choose a plant for its value for bees. Rather than wanting variegated foliage for a splash of color, use a plant that supplies winter food for birds. Rather than a plant whose colors coordinate with the drapes in your living room, go for a plant that will support high protein insect life which is the necessary food for baby birds and countless other animals.
For instance, most favored bee plants are American natives. They range from diminutive wildflowers to huge shade trees. Not only are nectar and pollen important, but the timing of when it is produced can be critical to the survival of our pollinators. Examples are goldenrod, purple coneflower, wild azaleas, native blueberry, red maple, basswood, and Chickasaw plum.
For winter bird food, plant wax myrtle, bluestem palmetto, red cedar, winged elm, and yaupon holly. I love watching cardinals, catbirds, mockingbirds, and hermit thrush eating bluestem palmetto berries in our yard.
Native plants play a critical part in producing insects which, in turn, feed birds throughout the year. Native plants can be added to your existing landscape, or you can make space for them by removing invasive plants such as nandina from your yard. You may even want to make room by removing ornamental landscape plants that do not serve an ecological function. Choose a sparkleberry, greybeard, American plum, or redbud tree instead of a crape myrtle. Choose a mixed row of wax myrtle, Simpson’s stopper, saw palmetto, and yaupon holly instead of a loropetalum hedge.
This caterpillar is eating sassafras. The mated spicebush swallowtail female lays her eggs on spicebush, sassafras, and red bay which are all native to North Florida. Photo by Donna Legare.
Most of a moth’s life cycle takes place in the canopies of large trees. We ground-based humans are seldom aware of the insects living their lives in the tree canopy. Dr. Doug Tallamy, in his book Bringing Nature Home, informs us that there are 543 species of butterflies and moths that lay their eggs in the canopies of all the oak species in our country. In plum and black cherry trees native to North America, 456 species of mostly moths begin their lives. The eggs hatch into caterpillars which are basically soft bags of protein, the perfect food for growing baby birds. The other side of this story is that if you have a Chinese tallow tree taking up space in your yard, only three species of moths are known to use the tree in North America. If you had a crabapple, 311 species may use it.
There are two ways to be an American plant patriot. First is to add American native plants to your landscape, from wildflowers, grasses, shrubs, and small trees to towering shade trees. All of them have an important part to play which helps wildlife flourish. Our nation’s natural ecosystems have evolved over the eons with plants and animals living in a beautiful balance.
Secondly, learn to identify invasive plants such as Chinese tallow, ligustrum, Japanese privet, wisteria, coral ardisia, skunk vine, nandina, and others. Try your best to remove them from your yard. Have a zero-tolerance policy toward invasive plants. If unchecked, these plants will push out native plants and we will slowly become the United States of European or Asian Plants. Let us keep our natural and urban areas American.
Your yard in an urban or suburban setting can be critical for the survival of wildlife. Urban areas suffer the most from invasive plant infestations. Chinese camphor and ligustrum trees now dominate the tree canopy of some of our older neighborhoods.
Whether you are in the city, suburbs, or countryside let us all pull together and remove invasive plants and replace them with American native plants in our yards and gardens. Be a Plant Patriot!