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Plant a Native Tree or Garden

Plant a Native Tree or Garden

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Have you thought about starting a garden? Want to add some beauty to your yard? How about helping the planet at the same time?

It can be easy to think of ourselves as separate from the natural world. Taking some time to connect back with nature and cultivating a bit of it in your own yard can bridge that gap. Incorporate native plants and trees into your new project.

Native plants are those that occur naturally in a region in which they evolved. Native plants provide many eco-friendly benefits. Native species attract birds and other wildlife and contribute to a thriving local ecosystem. They support pollinators, which are key for having delicious fruits and vegetables. Choosing native plants for your garden is an option that is lower maintenance. They generally use less water than non-native species, since they are adapted to the local climate. Native plants also need few to no chemical fertilizers. Eliminating chemical fertilizers and the runoff that results from them helps to keep our waterways cleaner and supports aquatic wildlife.

Plants provide more than just beauty to our lives and support the local wildlife, however. All plants provide a pathway for capturing and storing carbon. The process of photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to produce sugar for the plants and oxygen, which we all get to enjoy. While this process takes place within most plants, trees are an excellent way to take that benefit to the next level. One tree can absorb approximately 22 pounds of carbon per year. You can also try and calculate the carbon sequestration of a specific tree here.

Elevate your garden with a native tree! Full grown trees provide shade, mitigate stormwater, and can even help regulate your home energy usage by protecting it from the sun in the summer and acting as a windbreak in the winter. Trees also increase property values for you and your neighbors.

Select a section of your lawn or a site in your yard that is practical to convert into a native plant garden or space for a tree. Consider sun exposure, soil composition, space, drainage and water access of the area.
Select perennial native plants for your area. Choosing perennial plants will allow for easier garden maintenance. Plan for a variety of shapes, sizes and kinds of plants. Design for color palettes and seasonal blooms. You can find plant lists and landscape guides here.
Dig up the area for your garden or tree. Remove any invasive plants and add organic compost to the soil. Give your plants a great start!
Plant your garden or new tree! Be sure to plant in the spring or fall. Carefully mulch around the plants. Water only as needed as plants adapt to their new habitat.
Care for your garden or new sapling by pulling up any weeds. Avoid using insecticides in or near a pollinator garden, or it will erase the benefits. Leave dead leaves and branches in place for future plant nutrients. Do not cut back stems in the fall. Instead, wait until at least two weeks after the last spring frost to rake leaves and cut back stems.
Consider adding a habitat feature, such as a hollowed out boulder to collect rainwater for birds.

Additional Resources:

There are some great examples of native plants in the Franklin State Forest, discussed in this blog from Franklin Matters. Grow Native Massachusetts has a guide for native plants here. They also have ongoing workshops and programs where you can learn more about selecting and caring for native plants. The National Audubon Society has their own statement on why native plants matter, as well as a bird-friendly native plant database.

If you are new to gardening, there are local groups in Franklin that can help. The Franklin Garden Club meets the first Tuesday of every month between September and June. You may not have space for a garden where you live. If so, the Franklin Community Garden could be the opportunity for you! There is a waiting list, but the committee is looking at adding additional garden locations.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources has an online native pollinator database. It can provide a variety of information, including water needs and light requirements. Their website also contains a variety of resources, including past webinars and upcoming events.

Landscape Interactions has online tools for planning your native garden. While many of their resources look at broader regional landscape planning, your garden can be part of a larger effort for biodiversity in Massachusetts.

Some Native Trees Include:

American Hornbeam (carpinus caroliniana)
American Larch (larix laricina)
Yellow Bark Oak (quereus velutina)
Eastern Hemlock (tsuga canadenis)
Gray Birch (betula populifolia)
Pitch Pine (pinus rigiola)
Red Maple (acer rubrum)
Sugar Maple (acer saccharum)

Some native flowers include:

Black-eyed Susan (rudbeckia hirta)
Butterfly Milkweed (asclepias tuberosa)
Farewell-Summer (symphytorichum lateriflorum)
King's Cureall (oenothera biennis)
Bee Balm (monarda fistulosa)
Wild Strawberry (fragaria virginiana)

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