Native Plants

Now that spring time finally seems to arrived and plants are slowly pushing their leaves out of the ground many of us are planning what to do in our gardens this year. Everybodys goals from new gardners to experienced ones with established gardens have different plans. These plans will vary from vegatible gardens to flower gardens to those of us that have both vegatables and flowers in our yards,we plans and interests. Over the last few years,my interests have included the use of native plants in my yard,both flower and vegatables. Native plants can vary from region to region,but all of them have some common points. They tend to survive best in their own region due to their establishment in each region,they tend to use less pesticides than other plants and many of them will attract various birds,insects and other animals with their flowers,fruit and or as sources of pollen and nectar for local wildlife. They also can be easier to tend thab non native plans due to their compatability with local soil conditions and weather patterns. There are numerous trees,shrubs,grasses and trees to pick from and most gardeners can easily select a wide range of plants to accomidate any size of garden or one that is wet in nature,dry or various degrees of sunlight or shade.Some of these plants will due best in the spring time,summer or fall. There are a number of good plant groups beyound local plant stores. They include: The New England Wildflower Plants Society (www.newfps,org) Tower Hill Botanical Gardens(www.towerhillbg.org) The Rhode Island Wild Plant Society(www.riwps.org) or Project Native (www.projectnative.org) Feel free to visit their site as well,ask for advise or visit their plant sales and garden tours. Happy Gardening