Going Native: How Native Plants Can Transform Our Gardens
As any UP transplant can attest, a debate rages on over what qualifies someone as a true Yooper. Does a person have to have lived here for ten years to earn that distinction? Fifteen? Do they need to have been born here, pre-clothed in flannel garb with a Bud Light in hand? We may never settle on an answer. But to the relief of naturalists and philosophers alike, Michigan’s flora is far easier to classify than its people.
In the vegetative world, “native” plants (also known as indigenous or endemic plants) are informally defined as those living in North America prior to European settlement, occurring naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without human introduction. Like a Yooper in a flannel button-down, these plants have adapted to the specific environmental conditions surrounding them; hundreds of years of interacting with local climate, soil, and wildlife have allowed them to evolve seamlessly to their environments.
The opposite also holds: just as native plants have adapted to their ecosystems, ecosystems have adapted to their plants. While it’s easy to view plants as solitary entities, it’s important to remember that native plants are members of a community. Their existence is inextricably interwoven with other plants, animals, and organisms, and as such they play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and supporting the overall health of local ecosystems. A loss of native plants equates to a loss of soil stability, habitat, food, and pollinators, which can have devastating ripple effects on the wider web of relationships to which they belong. Unfortunately, this exact loss has been ongoing for centuries.
The gradual decline of native plants across the US has a complex and multifaceted history. The expansion of agriculture, deforestation, and overexploitation of natural resources that came with colonial settlement forever altered the North American landscape, but the changes weren’t to end there. The waves of European immigrants who flocked to the US during the 19th and 20th centuries didn’t come alone. The seeds, cuttings, and bulbs that accompanied them found their home in American farm soil, and as beliefs in the superiority of these new plant species became more widespread, exotic plants were also deliberately introduced by conservation agencies into wilderness areas as food and cover for wildlife. However well-intentioned, this foreign invasion turned out to be devastating for many regions, as many of these same species quickly became invasive pests that choked out the native plants around them.
Thankfully, we’re beginning to learn from our past mistakes, and using native plants in landscaping and gardening has gained increasing popularity in recent years as more people discover their benefits. In addition to the ecosystem support they provide, their location-specific adaptations make native plants well-suited to a specific area’s climate, translating to lower water requirements and making them excellent choices for water-smart, irrigation-free gardens. Similarly, native plants have evolved to complement local soil conditions. In addition to requiring fewer fertilizers and pesticides (including neonics, which are particularly harmful to birds and fish) compared to non-endemic plants, native plants’ deep root systems enhance soil structure, promote water and air circulation, and reduce erosion and runoff.
Their low maintenance needs, cost-effectiveness, and environmental benefits aside, native plants come with another major plus: climate change resistance. Temperature extremes, droughts, and unusual weather patterns are almost certain to become more commonplace as global warming advances, but native plants are relatively resilient to climate fluctuations. Given the catastrophe we’re currently on the brink of, we’ll need this resilience going forward if we want any chance of stabilizing our ecosystems.
So, who are the true Yoopers? Milkweed, goldenrod, bluestem, and aster are just a select few from a list numbering in the hundreds. Incorporating any of these into gardens and landscapes is an easy way for Michiganders to support the environment, protect pollinators and other wildlife, preserve biodiversity, and foster a deeper connection to the natural world—all while saving time, energy, and money.
In the vegetative world, “native” plants (also known as indigenous or endemic plants) are informally defined as those living in North America prior to European settlement, occurring naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without human introduction. Like a Yooper in a flannel button-down, these plants have adapted to the specific environmental conditions surrounding them; hundreds of years of interacting with local climate, soil, and wildlife have allowed them to evolve seamlessly to their environments.
The opposite also holds: just as native plants have adapted to their ecosystems, ecosystems have adapted to their plants. While it’s easy to view plants as solitary entities, it’s important to remember that native plants are members of a community. Their existence is inextricably interwoven with other plants, animals, and organisms, and as such they play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and supporting the overall health of local ecosystems. A loss of native plants equates to a loss of soil stability, habitat, food, and pollinators, which can have devastating ripple effects on the wider web of relationships to which they belong. Unfortunately, this exact loss has been ongoing for centuries.
The gradual decline of native plants across the US has a complex and multifaceted history. The expansion of agriculture, deforestation, and overexploitation of natural resources that came with colonial settlement forever altered the North American landscape, but the changes weren’t to end there. The waves of European immigrants who flocked to the US during the 19th and 20th centuries didn’t come alone. The seeds, cuttings, and bulbs that accompanied them found their home in American farm soil, and as beliefs in the superiority of these new plant species became more widespread, exotic plants were also deliberately introduced by conservation agencies into wilderness areas as food and cover for wildlife. However well-intentioned, this foreign invasion turned out to be devastating for many regions, as many of these same species quickly became invasive pests that choked out the native plants around them.
Thankfully, we’re beginning to learn from our past mistakes, and using native plants in landscaping and gardening has gained increasing popularity in recent years as more people discover their benefits. In addition to the ecosystem support they provide, their location-specific adaptations make native plants well-suited to a specific area’s climate, translating to lower water requirements and making them excellent choices for water-smart, irrigation-free gardens. Similarly, native plants have evolved to complement local soil conditions. In addition to requiring fewer fertilizers and pesticides (including neonics, which are particularly harmful to birds and fish) compared to non-endemic plants, native plants’ deep root systems enhance soil structure, promote water and air circulation, and reduce erosion and runoff.
Their low maintenance needs, cost-effectiveness, and environmental benefits aside, native plants come with another major plus: climate change resistance. Temperature extremes, droughts, and unusual weather patterns are almost certain to become more commonplace as global warming advances, but native plants are relatively resilient to climate fluctuations. Given the catastrophe we’re currently on the brink of, we’ll need this resilience going forward if we want any chance of stabilizing our ecosystems.
So, who are the true Yoopers? Milkweed, goldenrod, bluestem, and aster are just a select few from a list numbering in the hundreds. Incorporating any of these into gardens and landscapes is an easy way for Michiganders to support the environment, protect pollinators and other wildlife, preserve biodiversity, and foster a deeper connection to the natural world—all while saving time, energy, and money.
First published in the Pioneer Tribune June 15, 2023