Native Plants in the Highlands
Written By Liz Scafidi
If you walk down Ogden Avenue towards Bryant, you are likely to notice the large native plants garden in my front yard. Especially if you visit in the summertime, it will be alive with red, lilac, yellow – a veritable rainbow of blooms. But you might not recognize some of my plants, as they are not the usual garden staples. This is because native plants, although beautiful and naturally adapted to our ecoregion, are not frequently used in traditional landscaping, which favors cultivated imports. Native plants are special and important because they evolved in our ecoregion, and therefore support our local pollinators – the birds, bees, and butterflies that are critical for pollinating our food crops and helping protect our planet from the effects of climate change. And native plants are beautiful! Some of my favorites are false indigo, celandine poppy, anise hyssop, blue-eyed grass, golden Alexander, orange jewelweed, and clustered mountain mint.
Pollinator Pathway
When you take that walk past my garden, you might notice that it is abuzz with activity – bumblebees pollinate flowers, caterpillars live in and feed on the leaves of the plants, and butterflies flit from blossom to blossom, drinking the precious nectar that they rely upon. Some of the insects in my garden are what are called specialists – they coevolved with and therefore rely upon specific species of native plants. The most well-known of these associations is the monarch butterfly, which lay their eggs only on plants in the milkweed family. Once hatched, their caterpillars only eat the leaves from milkweed species, making them unpalatable to predators. But monarch butterflies are now considered endangered, their numbers in 2023 being some of the lowest ever recorded. But not in my garden! Monarchs visited my native plants garden all last summer, and we were able to raise eight caterpillars as they metamorphosized into butterflies. It was a joyous and exciting thing, to allow a newly emerged monarch to rest briefly on my hand, before it flew off, high into the trees!
Monarch Butterfly
Unfortunately, native plants are not sold at many nurseries, and many that can be found are, ironically, treated with pesticides that kill the very insects and birds that they naturally attract. Luckily, we in White Plains have many wonderful resources for native plants, in town and nearby. The Native Plants Center at WCC is holding its yearly native plants sale on April 27th, from 10 am to 1 pm. Experts will be on hand to guide you through the hundreds of beautiful, pollinator friendly plants for sale. Additionally, the Native Plants Center has a demonstration garden, offers classes, and hosts a yearly native plants weekend sale and workshops each Fall at Rosedale nursery in Hawthorne. The White Plains Sustainability Committee will be holding a Sustainability Fair on May 11th, from 10 am to 1 pm, at the Recreation & Parks building on Gedney Way, where members of the White Plains Sustainability Committee and the White Plains Beautification Committee will be providing native plants plugs and making native plants seed balls, amongst other activities. Last year the WP Sustainability Committee planted a lovely native plants garden in front of the Rec building on Gedney. Also on May 11th there is a Pollinator Habitat Nature Tour from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM at the Battle Hill Pollinator Habitat. Registration is free and can be done online or by calling 914-422-1336. Parking is available in the Central-Tarrytown Lot at the corner of Tarrytown Rd. and Central Avenue. And if you ever want truly stunning inspiration, visit the native plants garden at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx – it will take your breath away!
False Indigo
Neighbors all over White Plains are embracing native plants, as are more and more people all over the country. I hope that you will join us! If you ever want to chat more about native plants, just wander down Ogden Ave. on a weekend summer day. You will likely find me enjoying and tending to my beautiful, beloved native plants garden.
