Here is some great news for native plant lovers:

FREE Native Plant and Seed Swap
JAKES BRANCH NATURE CENTER
SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2012
10:00 am to 1:00 pm

This sounds like a super event.  Local organizations will be on hand with displays, literature and resources on the benefits of native plants and "green" gardening.  There will be nature walks, free seeds and seedlings, and you can even make your own seedling pots!
Also, you are encouraged to bring your own native plants or seeds to swap.  Please label each item with the common and scientific names, collections date and location.

For more information call Jakes Branch County Park 732-281-2750 or visit their website www.oceancountyparks.org.   The event is sponsered by Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Ocean County Department of Parks and Recreation.

The Importance of Native Plants
by  Judy DeFiglio

Garden like your life depends on it- it does.  That’s my message today after hearing a riveting lecture by Douglas Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home- How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants and chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware.  I highly recommend that everyone read this fascinating book. It gives such insight into the crucial role of native plants in our environment. There are lots of beautiful pictures as well.

“Plants are not optional on this planet.” Says Tallamy, “With few exceptions, neither we, nor anything else, can live without them.”  He continues to explain that because food for all animals (man included) starts with plants, the plants that we grow in our gardens have a critical role. Unfortunately, when a home is built, the native vegetation is totally cleared, and replaced with a large lawn and a few ornamental plants of alien origin.  Often we don’t even know what is growing in our garden because a landscaper just planted some pretty, popular plants from who knows where.  We have 40 million acres of lawn in the US. Only 5% of the land in the US is undisturbed habitat.

There are over 4 million miles of road in the US.  Then add in all the parking lots, driveways and other paved surfaces and you see why we have a rapidly growing problem.  An example of this impact according to Tallamy is that between 1990 and 2000 the Delaware Bay Watershed saw a 40% increase in impervious cover.  By 2002 41% of all native plant species in Delaware are threatened and 41% of their bird species that depended on forest cover are rare or absent.  Our own Barnegat Bay watershed could be facing similar problems.

Why is it so important to grow and/or preserve native plants? The food web depends on it. Many of our native insects will only feed on specific native plants. They cannot eat the alien species. In addition, many of our alien ornamentals were specifically bred to be insect resistant so they do not support insect life.  Add to this, that many birds need specific native insects to survive and so forth up the food chain.  While most people are correct when they think birds eat seeds and berries, actually 96% of our terrestrial birds eat insects in the spring and need them to feed their young. Other mammals also eat insects.

Too often gardeners are taught that insects are bad.  They grab the pesticide as soon as they see a bug.  If we eliminate every insect in our garden, we also eliminate the birds, the frogs, the hummingbirds and the butterflies.  Studies have shown that planting native plants and encouraging biodiversity in our gardens will keep the insects in check without having to resort to insecticides. Insects may nibble on the plants but birds & toads will come to eat the insects.  Yes, caterpillars will eat some of your leaves, but, you need caterpillars to have butterflies!

I hope you will go outside today and evaluate your landscape.  See where you can make some simple changes.  If you have a plant that needs replacing choose a native.  If you are adding to your garden explore the wide variety of native plants available instead of choosing alien species. Reduce the size of your lawn and replant the area with natives.  Each of us can make a difference in the environment by just making these simple choices.

As mentioned in my previous blog, the native plant trail and demonstration gardens at Jakes Branch County Park are progressing. Most of the native plants for the trail have been planted and the demonstration gardens are scheduled to be planted in the late spring. What great news for all of us who are interested in using native plants, bayscaping and helping to protect Barnegat Bay.  Workshops on native plants and protecting Barnegat Bay will held this summer and I’ll post that information as soon as it is announced.  

 Enjoy this great spring weather and the beautiful Eastern Redbud Cercis Canadensis blooming right now.