National Planting Day serves as a reminder for all of us to celebrate the value and power of native species in local landscapes. Native plants are essential in restoring ecological balance to our environment. Native plants are a natural and healthy way to create greener and more beautiful communities. Keep Liberty Beautiful encourages everyone to learn more about their native plants and to consider planting native species of trees, flowers, and plants in their own yards.
On Thursday, September 4, Keep Liberty Beautiful will have a booth at the Hinesville Farmers and Makers Market in Downtown Hinesville. We will be giving away plants, seeds, and free buckets.
We celebrate native plants to kick off the fall planting season.
What makes a native plant a native? There are many definitions available, but we typically adhere to the “official” definition in the Federal Register, which defines native plants as “naturally occurring, either presently or historically, in any ecosystem of the United States.”
If you love birds and butterflies in your yard, consider using native plants. Natives are critical to attract specialized pollinators and insects, which provide food for birds and, ultimately, many more animals up the food chain. Natives also provide habitat for wildlife. Natives are hardy, have lower maintenance, and require less water, so if you are looking for a yard or garden that is much easier to maintain, natives should be your goto plants!
Here are a few of the native plants that you might want to consider for your own garden paradise: Trumpet honeysuckle likes sun or part shade.
This native vine grows rapidly. It has gold to scarlet red tubular flowers from spring through summer. It’s lovely to use on a trellis or fence. The Carolina yellow jessamine is a fast-growing, evergreen climbing vine that thrives in moist, well-drained soils and full sun. Its yellow trumpet-shaped, fragrant flowers cover the vine in February and March. It helps grow on trellises, fences, or mailboxes.
The Oakleaf hydrangea is a medium- to fast-growing flowering shrub that thrives in moist, well-drained soils with partial shade. Its primarily white, fragrant flower clusters are about 12 inches in length and occur from May through June. It is recommended to prune these plants after the flowering season is over.
Star anise is also one of my favorites. It has rich, green foliage with the scent of anise — almost a licorice-like aroma. The blooms in June are small, yellow-green flowers.
Star anise prefers moist, well-drained soil and full sun or partial shade. It is cold-tolerant. These shrubs are useful for creating a screen or as a hedge.
Bottlebrush is also a southern favorite. Callistemon species have been referred to as bottlebrushes because of their cylindrical, brushlike flowers, resembling a traditional bottle brush.
They are striking. Most species are drought-resistant and make excellent choices for ornamental landscaping.
Milkweed is one of the key plants for monarch butterflies — for their survival now and in the future. Monarch caterpillars must have milkweed.
Due to modern changes, such as suburbanization, there is significantly less milkweed than in the past.
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is native to North America and is one of the most popular wildflowers. They can blanket open fields. Their golden-yellow flowers are beautiful.
Native plants are just waiting to help you create a beautiful and easy-tocare-for garden oasis for your home. To learn more about native plants for our area, some excellent online resources can help you choose the suitable native species for your upcoming project. Some online sites to consider are the websites www. plantnative.org (featuring a state-by-state directory of native species, specialized nurseries, and local organizations), www.abnativeplants.com, UGA’s Extension sites at www.caes.uga.edu, and the Georgia Native Plants Society at www.gnps.org.
Check out our website: www.keeplibertybeautiful. org and Facebook page this month for more information on National Planting Day, using native plants, and creating pollinator gardens. You can contact us at Keep Liberty Beautiful at (912) 8804888, visit our website at www.keeplibertybeautiful. org, or email us at klcb@libertycountyga.gov to get involved today.