Going native
So, what exactly is a native plant? Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills will be holding its 19th annual native plant sale and seminar Saturday, so it seems like the right time to ask this tricky garden question -- and one for which there is no certain answer. "Most people define a native plant as one that was growing here before we colonized the country," said Rob Mardiney, director of education at Irvine.
But what do you mean by "here?" In this country? In this region? In this state?Do natives include plants that may have originated in other areas, like Pennsylvania and Virginia, but do just fine in Maryland? Does that include the cultivars of natives - plants that have been hybridized to change their color or size, like the Joe Pye weed cultivar, "Little Joe?"
"That just makes the native plant debate even worse," said Mardiney.It might be easier, he said, to talk about what is NOT native. And what is not good to plant in your garden. Exotics, of course, would not be native. And invasives, such as English ivy or Japanese honeysuckle, are so aggressive, they will outcompete the natives.
What makes natives so important? They have evolved over years in tandem with animals and insects to support each other."We know that the birds and the bugs eat the berries and the fruit that the plants provide and drink the nectar," said Mardiney.
That's why we should think about "going native" in the garden. Keep reading for information about the Irvine Native Plant Seminar and Sale, which will include lectures and 15 vendors with hundreds of varieties.Photo courtesy of the Maryland Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education
Irvine Nature Center plant sale is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fee for morning seminars is $60 for Irvine members and $70 for non-members.
For the afternoon workshops from 2:30 to 4:30, the fee is $25. ($35 fee for Creating a Bog Garden, including materials.)
Native Plant Seminar and Sale Schedule.
7:30 a.m. Registration and Early Bird Plant Sale*
for Seminar Registrants
(free plant-sitting during the seminar)
9:00 a.m. Plant Sale Open to the Public
9:30 a.m. Welcome (at Garrison Forest School)
9:45 a.m. Dr. Donald Leopold
Natural Communities as Templates for Native
Plant Selection …for Gardens, Urban Plantings
and Restoration Projects
10:45 a.m. Ned Tillman
From Trees to Fungi... The Role of the Natives in
Saving the Bay
11:45 a.m. Break
12:00 p.m. Claire Sawyers
The Authentic Garden
1:00 p.m. Seminar Concludes; Lunch and Shopping
(at Irvine)
Enjoy lunch, shop at the region’s best native
plant nurseries, purchase native plant books at
Irvine’s Nature Store.
2:30 p.m. Workshops (at Irvine)
Pre-registration required, space limited,
additional charge
1. Invasive Plant Identification and Control –
Sylvan Kauffman
2. Fern Identification – Dwight Johnson
3. Adding Natives to your Existing Garden:
Shifting the Balance – Chris Upton
4. Creating a Bog Garden – John Mark Courtney
(ends at 4:30 p.m.)
4:00 p.m. Workshops Conclude (except #4)
Native Plant Sale Ends
