Native and Nice: Michigan’s Indigenous Plants Flourish for Gardeners

You’ve likely heard or read all about the benefits of eating locally grown food and supporting area farmers. Flower enthusiasts can also jump onto this regional wheelbarrow of sorts by cultivating local, as in native, blooms.

"The benefits of growing native plants are many,” said Maureen Tobin, manager of the Garden Mill in Chelsea. “They are hardy and flourish with less fertilizer and watering, provide food and habitat to wildlife and contribute to biodiversity. Also, they're beautiful."

Native picks to get started

Ready to get started with a native-plant garden? Jen King, a spokeswoman for stores, recommends red twig dogwood and yellow twig dogwood, which are already in stores. “We have plants and shrubs being delivered to stores starting now,” King said.   

King’s other favorite native picks (available at Home Depot):

• Arborvitae shrub
• Blueberry, blackberry and raspberry shrubs  
• Hypericum shrub
• Physocarpus shrub
• Potentilla shrub
• Flowering crabapple and dogwood trees
• Red oak and red maple trees
• Redbud tree
• Spiderwort
• Panicum ornamental grasses

Easy to grow, attract butterflies

“Native plants are easy to grow because they’ve adapted well to area soils and climate," said Michael Saint, advanced master gardener and owner of Good Earth Landscape Institute.

Saint’s favorite native picks that also attract butterflies (available at various garden centers):

• Red twig dogwood, “which blooms multiple times throughout the season.” About 4 to 8 feet tall, the plant features white berries “and lovely white flowers.”
• Swamp milkweed blooms with pink blooms. “This can be invasive, but it’s worth it for all its benefits to Mother Nature,” he says.
• Spiderwort opens with a purple-blue flower. “Scientists have discovered that it is a good indicator of pollution and radiation, as the flowers’ stamens change colors when the soil is contaminated.”
• Whorled milkweed features delicate leaves with green-white flowers. “This makes a great companion plant to the giant white allium.”   

For more on Michigan wildflowers, visit www.wildflowersmich.org.  

Nurseries in Macomb

Macomb Township is home to several nurseries and garden centers, which sell a variety of native and imported plants and flowers. Many of these centers are scheduled to open the first week in April.