The Horticulture Industry, Consumers and Healthy Habitats
Our team at the Gardening for Life Project believes that individually and collectively, we can improve the health of our communities and our planet, and that improvement starts right in our own yards. That is the focus of our March 4th Gardening for Life Celebration. We believe that by making simple changes, such as choosing native over exotic plants and removing invasive plants, we can begin to restore habitat at home, at our businesses and throughout the region. To that end, we promote resources, tools and organizations that help to make these changes possible.
While our primary focus has been empowering individuals to create healthier habitats, we must rely on collaboration with the nursery industry, as well. When industry and individuals together become more habitat-savvy it is a win-win for all.
In an ideal world consumers look to the neighborhood garden center for both plants and for education about what grows best where. But two trends are driving change in our literal landscapes.
The first trend is the awareness that a dramatic loss of habitat over the past few decades has resulted in the extinction of, and threat to, countless populations of birds, mammals, insects and plants. While many factors contribute to habitat loss, two specifically related to the horticulture trade are an emphasis on the cultivation and sale of exotic and hybridized plants and the promotion and sale of invasive species. This made sense both to consumers who fueled the demand and to sellers who helped to create the demand, back in the day when we knew little about the long term impacts of so dramatically altering our native landscapes. Fast forward to 2022: study after study shows definitive links between habitat loss and species decline and these our shared practices of filling our yards with “ornamental” outsiders. Kudzu was once seen as the cure-all for erosion control, English ivy brought a bit of the charm of the “old country” to our “new land” and on and on.
The second trend, in response to the above, is the growing consumer demand for more native species and the call-to-action to eliminate the cultivation and sale of invasive species.
At this juncture it is safe to say we have all been a part of the problem. Moving forward we can collaborate in a more empowered way to be a part of the solution.
For consumers that looks like:
1) Become a native plant advocate. Ask your local seller to supply more natives. Share successes you have had and your favorite recommendations. When you find a great source of native plants spread the word.
2) Get grounded in great information by reading books like Doug Tallamy’s Bringing Nature Home and Native Plants of the Southeast by Larry Mellichamp. You can see lots more great book titles on our Resources Page.
3) Strive for the 70/30 rule on your patch of earth at home. 70% in natives and 30% exotics will go a long way to support biodiversity. (Ecologists Have this Simple Request to Homeowners—Plant Native - Smithsonian)
4) Learn to identify invasive species and take steps to remove them, as and where you can.
For the Horticulture Industry and Local Growers and Sellers:
1) Get up-to-date on the latest information regarding our critical need for nurturing native plant populations.
2) Clearly identify the natives that you offer for consumers to assist them in their buying decisions.
3) Provide information for your customers on exceptional native plant options for some of the popular ornamentals.
4) Stop selling invasive plants. Specifically those that are NC listed as Rank 1 (Serious Threat) or Rank 2 (Significant Threat). This, in turn, can provide new avenues for marketing your business as a Non-Invasive Plant Seller.
Resources for Buyers and Sellers: