Most gardeners end up planting a lot more flowers than shrubs, more shrubs than small trees, and more small trees than canopy trees. In part this flows from the shorter lifespan of herbaceous perennials, and in part this flows from the desire of gardeners to have “instant impact“.
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburum), rights reserved by milesizz
Because of their greater mature biomass, however, planting trees and shrubs has not only a larger aesthetic impact but a larger environmental impact as well. And when these trees and shrubs are native, they provide nesting sites for birds, host more butterfly larvae, sequester more carbon, and filter more groundwater.
Despite the growing awareness of the importance of using native landscape plants, the idea is not a new one. I happen to live in a Baltimore, Maryland neighborhood that was designed, in part, by the Olmsted Brothers company. The Olmsteds had a keen, if selective, appreciation for the use of native flora in defining the design of the new American landscape.
In one of the few surviving planting plans for Roland Park from the Olmsted Brothers (a 1901 planting plan for Ridgewood Road) the landscape architects made liberal use of native plants.
Rhus aromatica (fragrant sumac), copyright Fine Gardening
For example, within the design, the Olmsted Brothers specified four beds each consisting of the following plants: Cornus alternifolia (pagoda dogwood), Cornus sericea (red-twig dogwood), Rhus aromatica (fragrant sumac), Viburnum acerfolium (maple-leaf viburnum) and Viburnum prunifolium (smooth blackhaw).
The blackhaw and pagoda dogwood would be the tallest of these plants (up to 25 feet) and could be placed in the rear or middle of the grouping. The red-twig dogwood, fragrant sumac, and maple-leaf viburnum typically reach a mature height of six to ten feet.
These five native plants are all beautiful, all attractive to wildlife, and all readily available from modern plant nurseries. All five grow just fine in shade or part shade and provide year-round visual interest in my neighborhood whether placed in a grouping or in an informal – and historically accurate – hedge along a property line.
© 2011, Vincent Vizachero. All rights reserved. This article is the property of Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens. If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Vincent Vizachero
Vincent I so enjoy learning more about native shrubs. This year I planted 7 new native shrubs on my property….5 in the meadow..I have 5 red-twig dogwood in the garden and I let the deer roam and graze on them…they keep them naturally pruned even in summer….I continue to look for and replace other shrubs with natives…I love learning how the native shrubs benefit my little patch..thx
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That fragrant sumac looks very pretty in fall color. I should look into that a bit more. We have aronia growing which I love for color berries and it stays under 4 feet. Suckers but it easy to keep under control. I don’t know how drought tolerant they are though we haven’t really had to worry about that to much.
The Red twig dogwood is wonderful for winter color and the bees were active this spring on the blooms.It is especially nice to have a summer berry that the local birds eat.
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