After a weekend spent pulling garlic mustard weed, I am feeling quite enthusiastic about our native Virginia plants! (Do you know the wretched garlic mustard? It spreads like wildfire due to its many seeds and the fact that local fauna will not eat it. In addition, the roots of garlic mustard weed are thought to secrete a toxin that kills the soil fungi upon which our native plants rely.)
Douglas Tallamy, PhD launched the native plant movement with one simple observation: nothing was eating the non-native Multiflora Rose on his property. This observation prompted his thesis: wildlife does not value all plants equally, and native wildlife prefers native plants. In one famous illustration, native oaks sustain 532 species of native caterpillars, but the non-native Butterfly Bush sustains only one. How does this affect our local biodiversity? Caterpillars are necessary to birds; they are the most important food source for nestlings of 96 percent of all bird species.
More broadly, our native plants play an important role in supporting sustainable biodiversity. Native plants host necessary, specific insects and are crucial for pollinators. All fauna, including local and migratory birds, mammals, and invertebrates depend on these specific insects to survive. They also rely on our native plants for proper nutrition and shelter.
As gardeners, we can help recreate natural habitats that are lost to development by landscaping with native plants that support our local ecosystem. Furthermore, landscaping with native plants can save time, money, and water in the long run. After getting established, local native plants are self-sustaining, as they are adapted to local temperature and rainfall fluctuations.
Here is a short list of replacement plants, but see also the links below for more important native plant species to add to your garden.
Non-native ornamental plants Multiflora rose Oriental bittersweet Japanese honeysuckle Autumn olive Mile-a-minute weed Garlic mustard Norway maple Ox-eye daisy Red clover | Native ornamental plants Viburnum Hickory Oak Black walnut Black willow Elderberry Goldenrod Black cherry Red maple |
Resources:
https://www.plantvirginianatives.org/
https://www.audubon.org/native-plants
https://svswcd.org/native-plants-shenandoah-valley/
References:
