RAINY RAMBLES
GARDENING WITH
NATIVE PLANTS
Photos by Rebecca Lexa
TOP: Native plants can be grown in containers, like these rushes, just waiting for a bed to be
prepared for them. LEFT: Remove grass and weeds in preparation for a native planting bed
using layered cardboard, placed for six to eight weeks.
Support local ecosystems by considering history, interactions
BY REBECCA LEXA
Incorporating native plants in local gar-
dens is one of the best ways to reverse eco-
logical damage done by invasive plant spe-
cies. Native plant gardens also have the
added benefi t of improving local ecosys-
tems overall.
With the arrival of spring, many are gar-
dening, and it’s a good time to think about
working with native plants. A native plant is
one that has evolved in a given location for
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thousands, even millions of years alongside
a plethora of other animals, plants and fungi
in a complex, interrelated system. While
ecologists have been fi nding more ways
than ever that native species rely on each
other, it’s likely humans may never fully
understand just how tightly interwoven all
the beings in an ecosystem are, or just how
devastating the loss of even one native spe-
cies can be to the whole.
See Page 7