One of the most exciting parts of early spring is planning your landscape design for the spring and summer. Native plants are growing in popularity, and they offer a wide variety of benefits, from reducing erosion damage to requiring less maintenance and care. Why should you choose native plants for your landscape design?
The Benefits of Native Plants
Native plants are, as the name indicates, indigenous to a certain state or area. As a result, they are already adapted to the typical seasonal temperatures, moisture levels and climate. Native plants are proven winners that can survive in every season of your garden, since they have grown and adapted to your particular climate throughout the years. This means you are less likely to spend money in the long-term to replace them.
Native plants typically need less fertilizer, water and upkeep than non-native plants. They also are often more appealing to local wildlife, since they can be naturally found throughout the area. When you grow flowers and plants that are common in your state, you can attract beneficial insects, like butterflies, that will help your landscape by pollinating your plants. Native plants also tend to be more deer-resistant than non-natives due to their longevity in your area. Native plants are also comparable in price to non-native plants, but much more cost-effective in the long term thanks to their lower maintenance requirements.
Choosing Native Plants for Your Landscape
At Amber Freda Landscape Design, we can help you to choose native plants that will thrive in your landscape or garden. We start the planning process by seeing what you have now and evaluating what you would like to keep or change. Some of the factors we will consider when selecting native plants to incorporate into your landscape will be:
- Climate: Is your climate hot or cold? Wet or dry? We can also look at rainfall records to see how much rainfall you get over the course of an average year.
- Shade and Sun: Which parts of your yard get full sun, and which are shady? Some plants do well in full sunlight, while others thrive in a combination of sun and shade. We will think about where the sun moves through your yard at different times of the day to choose a combination of plantings that will thrive.
- Soil Texture: As with sun and shade, different plants grow well in different types of soil. We can examine the soil type in your yard, whether it is loose sand, loam or dense clay, and show you a selection of plants that will do well without the need for soil modifications.
- Drainage: In general, plants grow the best in yards that have good drainage. If you have areas of your yard without optimal drainage, you should choose plants that can grow in wet soil.
Once we work through these factors, we will survey your goals, find the right native plants for your needs and help you to plan your landscape. A beautiful dream landscape is right around the corner!
