Penn State Extension Master Gardeners: Why native plants are a must-have for any ‘fantasy garden’

Fantasy sports leagues are a popular pastime these days, in which players design their perfect team by choosing the ideal player for each position. Which plants would you select for your perfect “fantasy garden?”

For most gardeners, the list would include plants with attributes such as “easy-care,” “hardy,” or “long bloom time,” in addition to personal preferences of color, shape and fragrance. Native plants possess these qualities in abundance. Whether you need a player for sun or shade, wet soil or dry, native plants offer good choices for every position on your roster. And they come with an additional signing bonus: They attract and sustain native pollinators.

Native plants have co-evolved with native butterflies, bees and birds over thousands of years, and thus are perfectly adapted to supply our team of pollinators with everything they need to support their entire life cycle. The partnership between native plants and pollinators is the foundation of a healthy ecosystem, which impacts every facet of our lives. Pollinators face many threats, including loss of forage plants and nesting habitat, and the use of pesticides. It’s more important than ever for us to step up to the plate and provide good habitat for them.

Pollinators can be picky eaters — their larvae have very specific tastes. Without adequate resources for eggs and larvae, the garden becomes merely a pit stop rather than a home. Introducing more native plants into the home garden can have a positive impact on pollinators and all wildlife. If you plant it, they will come!

Many people are familiar with the monarch/milkweed connection. Milkweed (Asclepias) is the only plant that is recognized as food by monarch larvae. Adult monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed so that when the eggs hatch, the tiny caterpillars have a ready source of nutrition. Planting any of the many beautiful species of milkweed can support monarch populations —but it’s not the only special relationship that exists between native plants and pollinators. If we look at the plants we’re using in our landscape from a different perspective, we become more attuned to the presence (or absence) of this crucial interaction.

Who doesn’t love to see the cheerful yellow blaze of forsythia blossom in early spring? Although it’s a welcome and familiar sign of spring in our area, this introduced species is native to Eurasia and tends to become aggressive, pushing out important native plants. Even worse, it has minimal nutritional value for pollinators — and once the short bloom time is over, offers little interest in the landscape. By contrast, our native spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is a triple threat, boasting fragrant yellow spring blooms, an attractive rounded shape, and serves as the host plant for the (undeniably adorable) spicebush swallowtail caterpillar.

Many people enjoy watching the amazing array of birds that visit their yards, and spend plenty of time and money keeping feeders well-stocked throughout the year. But baby birds can’t eat seed — they eat insects. A pair of chickadees must find 6-9,000 caterpillars to raise just one clutch of babies! Native trees and shrubs ( such as oak and pussy willow) are excellent host plants for a huge variety of insects, and may also provide berries and seeds for winter sustenance. The best bird feeder of all is your landscape — and once it’s in place, it doesn’t require refilling!

Besides supporting pollinators, there are other reasons to root for native plants. Plants that are native to a region are adapted to local climate, soils and rainfall. A properly sited native plant — “the right plant in the right place” — rarely needs to be replaced. Additionally, a diverse native planting attracts beneficial insects, which help suppress pests.

Our gardens have the capacity to support pollinators, manage water, create beauty, and feed the soul. Whether you have a two-acre habitat or a back patio of potted plants, every choice you make matters. With our gardens, each one of us has an opportunity to create an all-star team.