Native Plant Sale

 

Native plant gardening is a hot topic right now thanks, in large part, to ecologist Doug Tallamy. Through his book Nature’s Best Hope and his ground-roots Homegrown National Park initiative, Tallamy has brought a greater awareness to the plight of our local wildlife, particularly our native pollinators. According to Tallamy, we can reverse much of the damage caused to the environment if each of us takes action to regenerate biodiversity by choosing to plant native.

So, what is the big deal about using native plants in our landscapes?

  • Native plants support resilient communities of diverse life and sustain biodiversity
  • Native plants have co-evolved within their native environment so they can better adapt to environmental changes.
  • Native plants provide familiar and nutritionally valuable sources of food and shelter to wildlife, including our essential pollinators.
  • When planted thoughtfully and intentionally, native plants offer an abundance of color, texture, and seasonal interest to any landscape.
  • When planted in the right habitat, native plants require less watering and NO fertilizers.

What exactly does native plant mean?

All native plants once grew only in the wild, but not all plants found in the wild are native plants. Here are some definitions to clarify the differences:

  • Native Plant: any plant species that has evolved naturally in an ecosystem
  • Exotic/Alien Plant: through human intervention, a plant introduced from another area or country – accidentally or purposefully
  • Naturalized Plant: an exotic plant that has escaped cultivation and now grows in the wild.
  • Invasive Plant: an exotic/alien plant that competes vigorously with other species and has the ability to crowd out all other species, creating a monoculture and whose introduction causes, or is likely to cause, economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

To help folks on their native plant landscaping journey, Friends of Medina County Parks has teamed up with local native plant growers Camel Creek Natives to host an annual plant sale to provide access to reasonably-priced, ecologically important native plants. The sale doubles as a fundraiser with proceeds being used to help fund various projects and programs for the park district. In 2024, Friends received over $11,500 from sales!

The sale is held at Oenslager Nature Center during the months of June, July, and September. Check back for specific dates and times. 

“All plants are not created equal, particularly in their ability to support wildlife. Most of our native plant-eaters are not able to eat alien plants, and we are replacing native plants with alien species at an alarming rate, especially in the suburban gardens on which our wildlife increasingly depends. My central message is that unless we restore native plants to our suburban ecosystems, the future of biodiversity in the United States is dim.” ~From Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy