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Plant Natives
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this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2024
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Steve never did plant his garden, instead he put it off feeling like too much if an amateur to even begin buying seeds, and instead invasive creeping Charlie and thistles colonized his decaying garden beds.
I know those guys are trying to be helpful, but to a newb they can feel like you’re not ready to even start your hobby, when the best way to start any hobby is to go and get something started, even if it isn’t perfect.
If you go to a local seed store they’ll probably be able to point you to native wildflowers, or there are lots of sellers online for seeds.
The local plant centers are wonderful sources of knowledge. Bring them some pictures and there will be some nerd there ready to geek out. This is community building. :)
Eh, maybe, but native plants tend to be a way better option for new gardeners because they grow so much better. My mom and I tore out all the grass in our front yard and put in native plants and they're the first plants I didn't manage to immediately kill. If I'd tried roses, they probably would've died and I'd have given up. Instead, I have catmint thriving maybe a little too much and it's full of bees!
That's not what the first 2 guys said though, they just criticized his choice of words(even though he's an amateur) and started ranting about colonizers. It's not helpful. Comments like that just push new people away and make the community look unwelcoming.
You are right, we pulled a ton of invasive weeds and every spring I go to war with the garlic mustard that’s trying to take over my yard.
Native species are coming back and we just planted 3 beds of native flowers last fall, and I’ve got a bunch of native herbs to plant this spring.
A lot of the stuff we’ve planted just takes care of itself with no watering after it’s established which is nice.
It's a mixed bag. Some natives grow easily, as they are naturally adapted to the climate, but some can be tricky little bastards as they are only adapted to very specific conditions that may or may not exist in your home yard (or they would do well once established, but getting to that point is difficult). Introduced species can be easier to grow, because they're overadapted to the climate (that's what makes invasive species so, well, invasive!).
Your example of growing catmint is a bit of luck on your part: mint is often considered a weed for growing so vigorously, so it's a great choice for novice or "brown-thumb" gardeners. These are the types of plants we should be specifically promoting, so new gardeners don't have to rely on luckily stumbling upon easy-to-grow natives.
On that note, might I advertise my namesake plant, "fireweed" (Chamaenerion angustifolium)? Beautiful flowers, easy to establish, self-sufficient once established (it's called fireweed for a reason!), and beloved by bees. Native to much of Canada and the United States (and maybe northern Europe/Asia?). https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/chamerion_angustifolium.shtml
We actually have a non-profit where I live that grows and then puts together sets of native plants that will cover a certain amount of space and all grow in the same light/shade. We used their boxes, so less luck with the mint and more that we sought out plants like that. We also have some tall grasses, coneflowers, penstemon, about one million ice plants, and some others I can't remember.
I don't know if other states have similar orgs, but it's a really great way to make native/pollinator-friendly gardens accessible to novices. All I had to do was plant them and weed them.
That's a great resource! I know some places put together "native wildflower seed packs," but I've heard mixed reviews. Some plants in the pack inevitably outcompete others (leaving you with minimal variety), and I've seen packs that contain species that aren't actually native to the region. Your group's version sounds like more work on their part, but likely with better end results.
Don't let other people hold you back.
If you're trying to start a new hobby and you get put off by people giving you information because you think they're being condescending, learn to put aside the personal feelings so you can focus on the thing you wanted to focus on.
New information is useful regardless of how it was presented to you. You can't control how other people act, but you can control how you react to it. Learn to take the good and leave the bad.
There's such a thing as too much information, and it's not always relevant to a beginner.
And that’s not even accounting for all the armchair experts in various online groups for the hobby. They will VERY confidently tell you stuff that is wrong or at least sub-optimal.
I’m thinking more of hobbies that involve animals rather than plants, but still the Dunning-Kruger effect and the black & white thinking are a hell of a combination.
You're absolutely right and I would've commented something similar. What held me back is that we're in ScienceMemes, not HobbyMemes, so we're seeing advice that's more scientifically-based rather than hobby-based or even human-based.
The damned context