Gardening with native plants is an ever-increasing trend nationwide as many folks seek an ecological alternative to our traditional non-native landscape species.  However, many of us are faced with some challenges as we add a whole new pallet of plants to our garden spaces.

I’ve been obsessed with native gardening for well over a decade now and much of my interest came from past work I’ve done in conservation.  I was lucky to have time and training to carefully observe these plants in nature with the intent of recreating native plant communities in a restoration setting. Even with that knowledge in hand, a garden setting presents a whole new set of challenges, and I have certainly had my fair share of trial and error. 

Understanding the Challenges of Native Gardening

Most gardeners have plenty of prior plant knowledge, although it can be tricky integrating natives simply because they are different species than most of us are used to in the garden.  While we all know the ornamental beauty of a daylily and when to expect its blooms, but who knows exactly when a particular goldenrod species might flower?  Learning these new plant characteristics can be fun yet it presents a challenge when designing a garden space that seamlessly integrates natives.

I’ve typically focused on the ecological aspects of native gardening, with a huge emphasis on supporting pollinators.  In this context, gardens are designed with a season of blooms to provide a steady food source.  Groupings of the same plant are encouraged to limit the distance an individual pollinator may need to travel from bloom to bloom since flight takes energy.  Host plants are often integrated to support larval forms of pollinators. 

In general, I recommend adding a wide diversity of plants in all shapes and sizes, from short herbaceous plants to tall native trees.  This also applies to flowers, so consider a variety of shapes, sizes and colors of blooms. The more diversity of plant life you can integrate, the more diversity of pollinators and other wildlife your garden will support. 

When you also throw in the fact that most gardeners want a design that is visually appealing as well, all of this can be quite overwhelming.  

Join Our Native Garden Design Workshops

To ease the adaption of natives into local gardens, Illinois Extension is offering a series of workshops this winter focused on the layout and design of native gardens. 

The series begins with an online session where we will focus on the basic concepts of ecological design. Participants will learn more about the needs of pollinators and how the plants we place in our garden spaces provide support.  We will also cover some aspects of classic landscape design, helping you understand how to arrange ecologically valuable plants into a design that is both visually appealing and functional.  The session will conclude with a variety of resources you can use to help select plants and learn more about native gardening.

Part 2 of this series will be an in-person design drawing workshop, with several workshops on the calendar in both Champaign and Vermilion counties.  In these sessions, we will put pencil to paper and create a scaled drawing of your planting. Whether it’s an area in the real world you intend to plant or a hypothetical setting, we will help you arrange plants in space to maximize pollinator benefit while also creating an attractive planting. Local experts, including Extension Staff as well as Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists, will be at each session to help guide you through the process. 

These free workshops offer a fun, inviting atmosphere of discussion and collaboration with local experts as well as like-minded gardeners and other community members interested in native plants.  For more information and registration, please visit go.illinois.edu/NativeDesignWorkshop