Tie Your Garden into the Local Ecosystem with Native Plants
The ideal environmentally sound garden has native plants and shrubs that thrive in your local climate. Native plants make the most of the local environment and bolster the local ecosystem. They don't need additional water and can withstand the local bugs and insects, so you'll have fewer reasons to even consider using toxic chemicals to keep the plants free of weeds and diseases.
Native plants also attract native species of butterflies and birds, which are key parts of your ecosystem. Grow as many varieties of native plants as possible to support the wildlife in your garden, and do a little research to find out if some of them can be grown together to naturally ward off each other's pests.
Talk to experts at your local garden center about the native plants that grow best in the climate and soil where you live. Other sources of information about native gardens can easily be found on the Internet.
The plant you think is a weed may be just a wild plant. You may not want it in your nicely cultivated flowerbed, but if it's a native plant, you can relocate it to grow in another part of your garden.
When it comes to deciding what to grow in the garden, it's impossible to generalize. You can go for trees, shrubs, fruit trees, vegetables, potted plants, or flowers depending on how much space you have, how much sunlight your garden gets, the soil quality, how much rainfall your area gets, how much time you have to spend working in the garden — the variables are almost endless. The best thing is to choose plant varieties that suit the conditions you already have; this makes it much easier for them to thrive. Group plants with similar needs together. For example, ask experts at your local garden center about how much water different plants need; some thrive in drier conditions, so you don't want to plant them in a low spot that collects water or next to flowers that may get watered often.
Gardening Glossary
annuals
Plants that complete their entire life cycle within one growing season. The plant germinates from seed, grows and blooms, and then produces seed and dies.
Gardening Glossary
biennials
A plant that take two growing seasons to complete its life cycle. It germinates and grows leaves and stems in the first year; produces flowers and fruit (seed) in the second, and then dies.
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bolt
When a plant flowers or produces seed prematurely.
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cold frame
A wooden or concrete block box in which you can grow plants or hold dormant during the cold winter months.
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cole crops
A family of vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts. They thrive in cooler weather.
Gardening Glossary
complete fertilizer
Any fertilizer that contains all three of the primary nutrients, N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium). Phrase is based on regulations governing the fertilizer industry. Does not mean that the fertilizer literally contains everything a plant needs to thrive.
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deadheading
The practice of pinching or cutting off spent flowers
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evaporative-pad humidifier
A humidifier in which fans blow across a moisture-laden pad that sits in a reservoir of water.
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harden off
The process of acclimating plants grown indoors gradually to the brighter light and cooler temperatures of the outside world.
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hardiness
The ability of a plant to survive is called its hardiness.
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humus
A stable end product of organic-matter decomposition that's believed to increase microbial activity in soil, improve soil structure, and enhance the root development of plants.
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Bacillus thuringiensis Bt
An effective bacteria that attacks only the larvae of caterpillar family insects. It is safe to other insects, animals, and humans.
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macronutrients
Mineral nutrients that plants need in the largest quantities: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.
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mulch
Organic or inorganic material placed over the surface of soil, usually directly over the root zone of growing plants. Used to conserve moisture, kill weed seedlings, modify soil temperature, provide attractive covering to garden beds.
Gardening Glossary
organic matter
Once-living stuff like compost, sawdust, animal manure, ground bark, grass clippings, and leaf mold (composted tree leaves). Used to enrich soil and improve soil texture.
Gardening Glossary
perennials
Any plant with a life cycle of three or more years. Herbaceous (non-woody) perennials include flowering plants and herbs, mainly. Woody perennials include trees and shrubs. Longevity depends on the plant and growing conditions.
Gardening Glossary
pH
The measure of soil's acidity. Soil with low pH means it's too acidic; soil with high pH means it's alkaline. Most plants grow best in soil with a pH value between 6.5 and 7.2. Neutral soils measure 7.
Gardening Glossary
photosynthesis
The process through which plants take nutrients from the air and from the water in the soil to produce sugars that fuels the plant's growth.
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primary nutrients
Nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium are the three nutrients plants need in the largest quantities.
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root crops
Plants with edible underground roots such as onions, carrots, beets, potatoes, turnips. Most root crops are cold-weather crops.
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self-blanching
A type of cauliflower with leaves that naturally curl over the head and exclude light. Requires cool temperatures for leaves to curl effectively.
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sets
Small onion bulbs, about 1/2-inch wide, that were started from seed the previous year. Grow onion sets with the pointy end up.
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side-dressing
The act of adding a small amount of fertilizer around or "on the side" of plants after they're growing.
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succession planting
Planting small, 2-to-4-foot patches of plants every two weeks throughout the growing season so that you can harvest a crop over an extended period of time.
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thinning
The act of cutting the least robust seedlings in your garden to give the healthier plants more room to grow.
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vining crops
Crops that grow on vines, such as cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, and winter squash. They usually require support (staking, trellising, etc.) to keep them off the ground.
