Native Horticulture Design and Installation
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Native Horticulture Ecological Design considers all aspects of a living ecosystem and strives to achieve synergy with wildlife, the environment, and mankind.
02/25/2020
Native Plant of the Month:
Spring is fast approaching and many woodland perennials are starting to poke through the leaf litter. In my backyard, I have some Trillium cuneatum, Toadshade Trilliums (Photo 1), emerging for the 3rd year in a row since being relocated from a property in Jackson county where a house was being built. There are 22 different species of Trilliums in Georgia, and several are protected due to habitat loss. Finding Trilliums in the wild is an indication of a healthy and relatively undisturbed woodland ecosystem.
Check out this article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/home--garden/trilliums-the-floral-stars-early-spring-georgia-woodlands/vKVKOaVH1SZb6YAGpSGyGO/
Trilliums: The floral stars of early spring in Georgia’s woodlands
01/30/2020
Naturalized vs. Invasive
Native species are encouraged because they generally have adapted to their environment, finding and filling niche roles in the ecosystem, thus creating balance in the ecosystem in which they inhabit. This balance is not always maintained peacefully and harmoniously, predators kill and consume prey, animals consume and destroy plants, plants grow to exhaust available resources, but the cycle continues and balance is restored. Human interference often disrupts the natural balance by removing species and introducing others. These introduced species will persist if there is a role to fill, and often the newly introduced species becomes very successful inhabiting a new ecosystem and proliferating into the wild, becoming part of the natural ecosystem. These naturalized species have adapted to their environment and have now become "native". The term "invasive" implies that this proliferation has a negative impact on the balance of an ecosystem. The introduction of Pueraria montana, AKA Kudzu, is a great example of a naturalized plant becoming invasive, covering everything in its path, with no natural balance on population growth. On the other hand, a native species like Smilax lanceolate, Catbrier or Jackson vine, can become totally invasive in disturbed habitats, completely choking out the understory of a deciduous forest. Point being, introduced plants that have naturalized to fill a void in an ecosystem can contribute to the balance, and therefore should not be considered "invasive" only because they have been introduced. Photo #1 is Iris domestica, Blackberry lily, originally from China, but naturalized in the U.S. centuries ago. Photo #2 is Baccharis halimifolia, Groundseltree, a native to the U.S., but can be invasive in pastures and disturbed areas.
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Why your landscape matters...
According to a new study, the extinction rate for species on our Earth is 10 times worse than scientists previously thought with current extinction rates 1,000 times higher than natural background rates. Whether you acknowledge climate change or not, mankind is undoubtedly having a dire impact on all living things worldwide. Our urban landscapes displace natural ecosystems and destroy the balance of life on Earth. However, nature is resilient and can recover to some extent, but only if we change our ways. Our precious soil and water resources are terribly wasted on maintaining lawns and other non-native plants, and polluted with chemicals in the form of fertilizers and pesticides. Like it or not, our fate is dependent on the fate of the other species on the planet. Humans must reconsider how we treat the Earth or we will inevitable continue to destroy it.
I, Allan Cobb, have created the landscape design company, Native Horticulture, as a means to bring awareness to homeowners, businesses, and local governments to ways we can restore habitat and achieve a more sustainable landscape, starting in our own backyards. If everyone strived to maintain a balance with nature, we would ultimately conserve these precious resources of soil, water, and wildlife for many generations to come.
The goal of Native Horticulture is to serve the community as a resource for implementing sustainable landscapes through ecological planning and design. Through consulting, we strive to educate, inspire, and empower individuals to carry out these plans. With installation, we demonstrate best practices and strive to set an example for others to follow.
Earth is the best and realistically only planet mankind will ever have. We need to protect it.
