As spring gardens are planted, experts urge use of native plants – The Times Herald

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Eve Meddows talks about some of the wildlfowers growing in her yard Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in Fort Gratiot. Some experts are recommending people stuck at home during the quarantine to garden and landscape with plants native to Michigan, which offer ecological benefits for insects and the animals that eat them.(Photo: Brian Wells/Times Herald)

With winter's cold fading away,Jeanne Mackay can see the wildflower blooming along the treeline of her Fort Gratiot home. The retired first-grade teacher at Pine River Elementary and master gardener still helps maintain a mostly-native flower bed at the school. She also helps maintain flower beds at Goodell's County Park.

Master Gardener Jeanne Mackay shows a patch of Dutchman's Breeches growing in her yard Monday, May 4, 2020, in Fort Gratiot. Some experts are recommending people stuck at home during the quarantine to garden and landscape with plants native to Michigan, which offer ecological benefits for insects and the animals that eat them.(Photo: Brian Wells/Times Herald)

With greenhouses and nurseries open for the beginning of spring, gardeners may be making plans for the season. Some experts recommend gardening and landscaping with plants native to Michigan, which offer ecological benefits for insects and the animals that eat them.

"By planting exotic species, we're depriving (wildlife) of a food source," Mackay said. "So the first asset is the ecosystem benefit."

Ellen Meadows of Blue Water Garden Club said she's been incorporating more and more native plants into her garden each year. Right now she's growing cone flowers, different colors of black-eyed susans and more.

"The native plants are good because it brings extra butterflies and moths to the area," Meadows said. "And it also brings different birds."

Most of the native flowers in Meadows gardens are perennials, meaning they come back each year without having to be replanted.

This time of year, Meadows is seeing some of her perennials pop up. The native plants are also fairly low-maintenance compared to some non-native plants.

"You don't have to take care of them like you do certain roses, or like my petunias and things like that need a lot of water every day, especially in the heat," she said. "The native plants are pretty much self sufficient."

Michigan Audubon Conservation Program Coordinator Linnea Rowse said native insects are closely tied to native plants, with the Monarch butterfly being a notable example.

"There's many insects that are tied to one specific type of plant," Rowse said. "Monarchs are tied to milkweed, their caterpillars can only survive off the leaf."

Healthy insect populations are particularly important during bird breeding season, when they need the food for their young. Black-capped chickadees, for example, need between 5,000 and 9,000 caterpillars for one set of nestlings.

Black-capped chickadee(Photo: TIMES HERALD)

Native trees such as oaks, can host more than 500 species of caterpillar, Rowse said. The gingko tree, native to Asia, has been found to host about five species of caterpillar, Rowse said. Native wildflowers provide nectar for hummingbirds and seeds for other birds.

"If everyone in a block, for example, could set aside just a little bit of their yard, even just a corner. Then that would make a huge difference if everyone did that in that community," Rowse said.

To those looking to use native plants in the future, Rowse recommended people get seeds and seedlings that are not treated with pesticides.

Esther Durnwald owns Michigan Wildflower Farm which produces seeds for sale from it's location in Portland, Michigan.

"We're finding our seed used a lot are people taking a portion of their lawn and putting in a meadow and cutting back on the mowing and maintenance,"shesaid.

Often, these meadows will be on the edge of someone's property. Perennial flowers will sprout up every year once established, but take two or three years to establish themselves.

It's important to eliminate other competing plant species in an area before trying to establish a wildflower meadow, Durnwald said.Space can be cleared for a wildflower meadow using tarps, tilling and other methods.

A flowering red trillium, photographed Monday, May 4, 2020, grows at the base of a tree in the yard of Master Gardener Jeanne Mackay. Some experts are recommending people stuck at home during the quarantine to garden and landscape with plants native to Michigan, which offer ecological benefits for insects and the animals that eat them.(Photo: Brian Wells/Times Herald)

A lot of Michigan-native plants are hardy and have deep root systems. This makes the plants drought resistant and they do not need irrigation. This can make them difficult to grow in a pot, but Durnwald said flowers like black-eyed susan or purple cone flower might be good for this purpose.

To those looking for larger landscaping plants, Durnwald recommended juneberry and red bud trees as good options. Native oaks, pine,cherry and maple trees are also good, she said.

"It's like a smorgasbord for birds if you have an oak tree,"Durnwald said.

Audubon Michigan maintains a web page on bird-friendly Michigan plants and a landscaping guide atbit.ly/2WyqzQf. The Michigan State University Department of Entomology offers lists of plant recommendations, broken down between southern Lower Michigan, northern Lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, available atbit.ly/2WJhbcL.

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Contact Jeremy Ervinat (810) 989-6273 or jervin@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @ErvinJeremy.

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As spring gardens are planted, experts urge use of native plants - The Times Herald