The Low Maintenance Myth

Native plant landscapes often get advertised as low maintenance or even sometimes, maintenance free. This is not the case! Native plants do require less water and less fertilizer but still need all the rest of the care that traditional gardens require. The native plant garden also tends to appeal to gardeners who want less lawn, less chemicals, and more diversity which all require more maintenance then traditional landscaping. Common garden center plants have been selected to be lower maintenance, wild natives have not. A wild plant has evolved to fill it’s ecological role and that is not the same as being a well behaved garden plant.

To keep the native plant garden lower maintenance start with a weed free garden bed, most common garden weeds are not native plants. Keep soil covered with living plant layers and dense root systems, competition will shoulder weeds out and not let new seedlings establish. Place plants in the conditions that are right for them, pay attention to soil moisture, texture, and sunlight, don’t force a plant to grow where it doesn’t want to. Select plants that will serve multiple functions in the garden beyond beauty, like erosion control, wildlife value, sweet smells, and movement in the wind. Keep your plant pallet simple while you learn your plants, big masses of plants are easier to care for as they fill in a space. Diligent maintenance early on will pay off in the long run while the native plants establish.

Establish a new garden in phases, each year expanding a little more. Since native gardens require the most work in the first years, start off small. Another benefit to starting small is that once plants get established they can be divided to be planted in larger beds, saving costs. Native gardening is a learning experience. There will be many lessons learned early that can be applied to more successful gardening in coming years. Gardens will change over time, as trees grow and the canopy layer fills in, and as soil improves from all the organic content the plants add. Plants will migrate on their own over time or will need to be moved to areas where they are adapted and can be healthy. To be a native gardener is to work with nature in a never ending ecological project.