Our neighborhoods are more than just a collection of yards and parks; they are living ecosystems. This quarter, our community is focusing on making space for natives. Homeowners love a vibrant green garden, but the specific types of plants growing there determine whether our local birds, bees, and butterflies can thrive.

The Power of Native Species

Native plants are the foundation of the local food web. Having evolved alongside our regional wildlife, they provide the specific nutrients and habitats local insects and animals require. When we plant native, we aren’t just gardening—we’re “making space” for the entire biological heritage of our area to flourish.

The Invasive Challenge

The greatest threat to this balance is the spread of non-native, invasive species. These uninvited guests often lack natural predators, allowing them to grow aggressively and outcompete the plants our local wildlife actually needs to survive. To help our native ecosystem recover, we are targeting several key offenders that have begun to dominate our local landscape:

• Garlic Mustard & Swallow-wort: These herbaceous invaders spread rapidly through seeds, often altering soil chemistry to prevent native seedlings from taking root.
• Japanese Knotweed: Known for its incredible resilience, it can grow through asphalt and creates dense monocultures that choke out all other life along riverbanks and roadsides.
• Oriental Bittersweet & English Ivy: These “strangler” vines climb high into the canopy, weighing down trees and blocking the sunlight native plants need to photosynthesize.
• Pachysandra: While common in landscaping, non-native varieties can quickly escape the garden bed, creating a thick carpet on the forest floor that prevents native wildflowers from emerging.