Context Is Important

Cockspur haw - Crataegus crus-galli

Much has been written lately about the importance of choosing which native trees to add to a landscape designed for wildlife. Included in this are lists of the 10 best trees. It is a thinking that I find no real fault in, but it ignores one very important concept - the importance of context. Landscapes do not exist bereft of one's surroundings unless you live in a space surrounded by nothing. That is highly unlikely. Neighbors have plants too even if they are largely devoid of native plants. These plants add something to your landscape. Your landscape is not alone in the universe. As we plan for our wildlife-friendly landscapes we need to consider much more than our planting zone and our own growing conditions. We need to evaluate the context of our landscape.

I have never been a proponent of planting zones. It is true that where we live must determine what is possible. As I moved to the deep south, I had to give up on plants I loved from my native Wisconsin. Lilacs do not grow here, but I would add one if I could, simply in remembrance of my mother who loved them deeply. No more tulips and daffodils. No lily of the valley. No pin cherries. None of these belong here and they would quickly perish if I tried to add them. Zones are not the real reason; it's the growing the conditions here that preclude their use. Florida is a harsh climate for a great many things and the perfect place for species native to my adopted state. 

To my mind, native plants, regardless of their natural zone in Florida, are possible choices IF I can provide the growing conditions they require. The native mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) that I added last year has died. I could try it again in a new location, but there is no need. It was an experiment that failed. A mountain laurel, in all honesty, would add very little additional value to what I am doing here. Its demise was mourned for a few minutes and I moved on. I have added a great many species that do not occur naturally in my part of the state that are thriving. I seemingly have added them to the right conditions. Some of these have prospered for nearly 30 years in other landscapes I've designed in the past. Adding them here seemed appropriate as they add wildlife value to my overall plan. My landscape is not a restoration project, but an attempt to create wildlife habitat. I believe that there is a difference.

What I've also considered is context. I've often remarked that I moved into a wildlife desert. My tiny plot of land surrounding this home is largely devoid of native plants and is overwhelmed by nonnatives that do little to support wildlife, but even here there are native plants in the lots within reach of my birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. There was no reason to add them here when they are available elsewhere. Diversity is a major consideration to any living landscape. Adding plant species that occur relatively nearby is a waste of the limited space I have here.

Across the street and in every poorly maintained yard nearby grows the ubiquitous Spanish needle (Bidens alba). I understand that this species is widely used by pollinators, but I don't need it here. I've assiduously weeded it out of my yard and added other wildflowers also useful to wildlife. That simply seems sensible to me. The world around me does not need more Spanish needle, but it lacks nearly every other wildflower. I've added them.

Oaks (Quercus spp.) make the top of the lists posted about trees for wildlife, but my neighbor behind me has two large ones. There is no reason to add another. Birds that favor the caterpillars oaks help to produce simply have to fly over my backyard fence to reach one. In a typically small yard, an oak would greatly limit what else would fare well here. I avoided oaks for this reason. I've also not added a red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) for the same reason. No cherry laurels (Prunus caroliniana) either. A very large sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) stands directly behind me as well. It serves as a larval host for the beautiful luna moth and sapsuckers would visit it if they were here. They can use the ones not in my yard.

What I've planted are species with attributes that don't exist elsewhere. That is the importance of landscape planning.  My basswood (Tilia americana)  has different attributes than anything else that existed in my neighborhood prior to my arrival here. My understory trees and shrubs do the same. They produce a wealth of flowers in the spring that are significant to my pollinators and after they are through with them, they produce fruit important to many of my birds. Both my red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) and my firebush (Hamelia patens) do not naturally occur in my geographic location, but they are significant to the hummingbirds that visit. My downy serviceberries (Amelanchier arborea) and hawthorns (Crataegus spp.) produce copious amounts of bird and squirrel food. I love them for their flowers, but they are significant for far more than their aesthetic qualities.There are no plants like these elsewhere in my neighborhood.

Before planting your landscape, take time to explore your neighborhood. Add those native plants that have ecological value to your landscape goals and consider if you really need to add species already present nearby. You likely do not. Diversity is a very important consideration. Add the missing elements, not the common already-existing ones.