Indiana Planting Guide
Planting all native species and avoiding invasive species is all well and good; how else are our ecosystems supposed to survive while so many people are planting and plotting exotic plants that tend to take over (not to mention those that are accompanied by insects and such)? Most environmentalists agree that going native is the best bet when it comes to planting a garden.
But how do you figure out what’s native and what’s invasive? It’s not like every pouch of seeds or bulb comes with a label. You’d like to think that anything you buy from your local nursery is of a local nature, but that’s simply not the case. Florists and other growers and sellers are keeping the consumer in mind when they sell their goods—and as consumers demand non-native species, they will certainly get what they request.
So you have to be proactive when it comes to identifying native species. This means doing a little research before going out to Lowe’s or wherever to buy plants. (And while that does take a little of the fun out of impulse buying—especially when you’re after anything pretty that catches your eye!—it does make you a more responsible grower.)
According to the Nature Conservancy, Indiana has several optimal flowers to use in native plant gardens. Here are just a few of them.
Swamp Milkweed: This pretty plant sports lavender to deep-rose flowers during the summer months.
Following the bloom, seeds are released from silken parachutes, effectively spreading the native plant easily.
Red Maple: If you’re looking for a gorgeous Indiana shade tree, this is your best bet. Its leaves are a blazing display of red to burgundy during the fall months. During the summer, the leaves have an attractive spread of silvery leaves, making this a year-round beautiful tree.
Swamp Rose: For an almost lily pad type look, add some of these pretty pink flowers to your yard. As a bonus, their sweet nectar attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, making your garden an oasis for wildlife. Red hips, the fruit of the Swamp Rose, will also feed local birds and other fauna.
Wild Ginger: For an exotic, wild look, don’t add jungle plants that will only perish in your garden (or kill your other flowers); go for this weaving vine of vibrant foliage instead.
On the reverse side, there are also several species to definitely avoid. These include Japanese Barberry, Norway Maple, Periwinkle, and Bush Honeysuckle.
