Native Plant Myths and Misconceptions

Article by Carole Rubin

I am continually surprised by Sunshine Coast folks' assumptions, myths and misconceptions about native plants and native plant yards. So this article will deal with the most common myths, and the real truths about gardening with these gorgeous specimens.

Myth 1: Native plants produce pollens that are allergens, increasing hay fever in humans.

Fact: Conventional turf grasses, especially Kentucky Blue cultivars, produce more numerous and stronger allergens than any native plant. And speaking of pollen: can you say "Scotch Broom???!!!"

Myth 2: Native plant yards attract vermin and disease.

Fact: Vermin like garbage, not native plants. Field mice like grain, and the ticks that carry Lyme disease are carried by wild and domestic animals.

Myth 3: Native plants are invasive. They will take over my garden, and then move on to the neighbours.

Fact: They should be so lucky! Most, if not all invasive species were imported from another part of the country, or another country altogether. Again: Scotch Broom is the worst offender for invasion on the Coast, closely followed by English Ivy.

Myth 4: Native plants and native gardens are drab and colourless.

Fact: The colours and textures in a native plant garden are restricted only by the designers' taste. Period. There are hundreds of hues and shades of every colour, hundreds of textures, shapes and sizes of native plants to choose from.

Myth 5: Putting in a native plant yard or garden is too expensive.

Fact: I just put in a native yard at my mother's home in South Surrey where a boring front lawn once struggled to survive. The cost of removing the old turf, buying, trucking and spreading bark mulch, purchasing, shipping and planting a fabulous variety of 100+ native plants came to about $1,000.00.

Now, factor in zero water after this season, zero fertilizer, zero herbicides, zero fungicides, and zero insecticides, as well as the lack of mowing and mower maintenance, gasoline, oil, labour, de-thatching, aeration, weeding, ornamental annuals, etc., and you have a huge, beautiful return on your small investment.

Myth 6: Native plants are hard to grow. They are too finicky.

Fact: These plants have been evolving for millennia before we came along with our trowels, fertilizer blends and chemicals. They like our soil and climate just the way it is. If you do your research properly, and plant species where their requirements will be met in your yard (ie. Shade for shade lovers, wet areas for those that like damp feet, etc.) your native plants will thrive for many lifetimes to come. In fact, too much care in the form of fertilizers or pesticides will kill them.

Myth 7: Native plants harbour mosquitoes.

Fact: Standing water harbours mosquitoes. Make sure your dishes under potted plants are empty, and that all rain barrels have lids to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. Put up bat houses on your property to provide homes for the best winged mosquito control going. And plant natives to attract the fauna that feast on mosquitoes.

Myth 8: Native yards and gardens look like the forest or the bush. They are too wild and messy.

Fact: You can have as manicured a native yard as you like, using low-growing ground covers with borders of taller plants, shrubs and trees to look like a conventional yard, or branch out (pun intended) and use colour and texture to design a structured and formal bolder look. You have only to look at the photos of the native plant yards in any of the books on the market to see that dramatic sculpturing and manicured yards are easily achieved by plant selection and placement.

Myth 9: My municipality/Regional District/Official Community Plan will only allow turf grass lawns.

Fact: thankfully, on the Sunshine Coast, no such rules exist. So start now: fall is the best time for planting natives.

Myth 10: Native plants are not easily available. Where do I get them?

Fact: Many local nurseries are stocking more and more native plants each year, as the trend takes off. If your nursery has yet to offer a variety of local natives, encourage them to get what you want in. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT go out into the wild and dig up plants for your yard! And do not shop at a nursery that is not 100% certain of the origin of their stock. There are sufficient growers of native plants to supply nurseries. Let's not destroy wild habitat to recreate it in our yards!

Happy planting!

Carole Rubin lives at Mission Point in Sechelt, where she maintains a native plant garden. She is the author of How to Get Your Lawn Off Drugs and, most recently, How to Get Your Lawn Off Grass - A North American Guide to Turning Off the Water Tap and Going Native. Both are available from Harbour Publishing of Pender Harbour.