Native Plants and Naturescaping      Piney Woods Journal Submission 2017

I had the opportunity in the late seventies and early eighties to live in Arizona. There were many obvious and stark contrasts between my native Louisiana ecosystems and those I found in Arizona. One very apparent contrast involved the high residential water bills in places like Tucson and elsewhere in much of the state. Many of those who settled in Arizona in the early and mid-twentieth century brought conventional notions of landscaping and lawns, but faced growing, and then astronomical, water bills to maintain their lawns and gardens. A trend toward “native or desert landscaping” had taken hold years before and could easily be observed then with many residential properties.

Louisiana and states in the Deep South have traditionally had abundant precipitation and water resources, so pragmatic or economic concerns that turned many Arizona residents decades ago to “naturescaping” hardly existed. Southerners truly loved their often large, luxurious and well-manicured lawns. Population and increased water demands, as well as periods of drought and depleting aquafers, in parts of the Deep South have been slowly changing our views about conservation and our natural environment. These and related concerns are influencing current decisions made by ranchers, farmers, and even residential landowners.

Just one example of this trend in Louisiana is the formation of the Native Plant Initiative (LNPI) in 2011. This multi-agency initiative is dedicated to helping conserve a vanishing state natural resource, our native plants. Partners include several state universities, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the National Wetlands Research Center, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry and Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, and a number of conservation societies. This initiative involves continuing research as well as efforts to encourage state residents to support more public and private restoration of native Louisiana plants.

The advantages of naturescaping are many, as summarized by information provided by the Folsom Native Plant Society and the Louisiana Native Plant Society. Native plants are acclimated to our climate and conditions, so they are almost care free, and they do not require commercial fertilizer or pesticides. Perhaps more importantly, native plants provide important and increasingly depleted forage for wildlife, especially attracting birds, butterflies and other helpful insects. Native plants also can reduce erosion and improve soil and water quality. The cost and time for naturescaping and using more native plants is much less over time than costs for traditional landscaping. One downside concern for at least some gardeners and landscapers is that native plants possess greater genetic diversity and, as a result, less predictability of plant shape, size and bloom colors. For those highly valuing well-defined geometrical plant or bloom patterns, this can be a disadvantage. Even this might actually have benefits for some, though, in a yard having a more natural look and also yield nice surprises in plant appearance as these mature. Websites like Plant Native (plantnative.org/how_intro.htm )and Wild Ones (wildones.org/learn/local-ecotype-guidelines/) offer instruction and advice to property owners who would like to try naturescaping or just introduce certain native plants in landscaping their yards.

One possibility for many property owners might be experimentation in devoting a part of their existing lawns to native plants. I have tried to do more of this myself recently. I contacted the Ecology Center at UL-Lafayette last fall about an area of our backyard that almost always accumulated excess water and was difficult to mow. I was looking for recommendations for landscaping a small area (only about 800 square feet) with native plants that would thrive in this area of often standing water. Since I keep one of my beehives in this backyard, I also wanted to use native plants that would offer some bloom forage for these bees. I had already decided on using cuttings from one native plant, Buttonbush, and wanted a couple of other appropriate recommendations. The Ecology Center representative suggested Clustered Bushmint and Rose Mallow from their seed stock. They planted these seeds, and I picked up 100 of these small plants in March. I’m hardly much of a gardener, but the photos show part of the small pond constructed and planting area then. Native plants need initial watering and time to get well established, so I’ve been led not to expect much apparent growth in this first year or so.

Near the small pond and planting area in one photo you can probably see a conservation gadget known as a native bee hotel/home. Many types of native bees use small holes or crevices in trees to propagate. Some rain and excess sun protection can be provided and small holes can be drilled (3-5 inches) into the ends and sides of small logs to offer native bees a potential nesting area. The design used here is a very simple one. Other ideas for constructing backyard native bee hotels can be found at the LSU Ag Center website, entomology.lsu.edu/assets/beehotels.pdf, in a short article written by Chrissy Mogren and Kristen Healy.

There are other steps that property owners can take to protect and enhance our state’s natural environment. Basic “permaculture” approaches, in contrast to typical small farming and gardening practices, can often offer Louisiana residents less reliance on and expense for water, commercial fertilizers, and pesticides. A trip to your parish library or a little time online can provide you with a good introduction to topics such as naturescaping and permaculture.