Native Plants

“I learned at least to avoid anything that comes with a
full paragraph of instructions for its care.”
~ Sara Stein in Noah’s Garden

Winterberry holly in summer © Audubon Pennsylvania

No matter what you call it; habitat gardening, natural landscaping, birdscaping, or even small scale “applied conservation ecology”, the idea is to transform a property from a sterile, chemical-bound monoculture to one that is a living component in the natural mosaic of Pennsylvania’s complex ecosystems. Birds serve as visible indicators of vitality and native plants provide the foundation.

Attracting birds, insects and other wildlife is an admirable goal, but aiming to do more – to support them on your land – will have greater and more sustainable outcomes. This type of support requires the kind of plant diversity found in the specific plant communities; in most parts of Pennsylvania and across its seven physiographic regions that often means a forest type. Learn about the forest type(s) of your region and which can be replicated to some extent given the soil, sun, and water conditions of your property.

Exotic Invasive Plants

It’s difficult in Pennsylvania to find a natural area or even private property that has not been invaded by an aggressive exotic plant. There are more than sixty invasive exotic plants in the mid-Atlantic and they range from groundcover to trees and everything in between. The unbalanced deer population that finds most invasives unpalatable doesn’t help and is also detrimental to the native plants in their futile effort to regenerate. Yes, even birds, saddled with a selection often dominated by exotics, help spread the seeds. If exotic invasives are present in your yard or property it is recommended that they be removed and replaced with a native alternative. Here is a list of invasives along with recommended native alternatives: http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic

Insects, please!

Female Eastern Bluebird with prey © Sam Kulp

Native plants have many key roles in the environment and one of the most important is as a resource to insects. Native insects have co-evolved with just a few plant species and they seek out those particular plants. An insect might look to a plant as food source (nearly 40% of all living things are plant- eating insects!), a host for an insect nursery, or simply a familiar place on which to hunt, hide, or traverse. Large numbers of generalist insects are also attracted to natives. A healthy and diverse native insect population is key to bird habitat because most birds (including your winter seed-eaters) will feed their young on insects almost exclusively. Without a good source of insects on your property the likelihood of nesting birds sticking around is slim.

Plant Lists (use the search function [binoculars] in pdf documents to find a particular plant)

The Pennsylvania Flora Project, Morris Arboretum, University of Pennsylvania (includes a searchable PA Flora database): www.paflora.org

Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania (pdf) – Allegheny & surrounding counties

Lower Makefield List (pdf) – eastern counties