Nobody likes a boring post about terminology but this blog uses these terms all the time, so... I'll be brief.
California Native Plants are plants that grow in the California Floristic Province. There's a lot of them, and not all of them do well in all parts of California. That's where the term Locally Native Plants comes in: Las Pilitas has a cool Plant Communities by Zipcode tool (Town Mouse lives in Mixed Evergreen Forest country, though you wouldn't think so looking around).
Exotics are plants that didn't grow here before the white settlers arrived. Exotic might sound like a derogatory term, but if the exotic isn't invasive, it can be a good choice for the garden. Where I live, plants from other mediterranean climate regions (South Africa and Australia for example) consistently do well. The San Francisco Botanical Garden has a truly stunning collection of mediterranean plants.
Invasives are plants that spread rapidly. They can become a big problem when they escape into the wild and take over where Natives should be growing. Native insects don't have enough food, which in turn, has an effect on birds and other critters. Bringing Nature Home, reviewed here, talks eloquently about the problems with invasives and the benefits of natives.
Dandelion might be invasive (picture credits on this post). A are a number of other invasive plants creating big problems. Scotch broom, Yellow Star Thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), Pampas Grass, and, yes, Cotoneaster come to mind. These plants cost the taxpayer money (eradication), the native bird population suffers and...well, I was going to be brief. Different plants are invasive in different areas, so you need to do your homework if you want to be sure you don't get an invasive. Many nurseries -- unless they're specialty nurseries -- stock invasives, either because they don't know or because people buy them. We have a clickable logo at the bottom of our blog as a reminder. (If you don't live in California, you're on your own but there are good resources for other states on the Internet, and Invasipedia is starting to collect it)
After all, what's more fun than having a beautiful garden that people love? Having a beautiful garden that people, birds, and critters love, and that doesn't habor invasives!
California Native Plants are plants that grow in the California Floristic Province. There's a lot of them, and not all of them do well in all parts of California. That's where the term Locally Native Plants comes in: Las Pilitas has a cool Plant Communities by Zipcode tool (Town Mouse lives in Mixed Evergreen Forest country, though you wouldn't think so looking around).
Exotics are plants that didn't grow here before the white settlers arrived. Exotic might sound like a derogatory term, but if the exotic isn't invasive, it can be a good choice for the garden. Where I live, plants from other mediterranean climate regions (South Africa and Australia for example) consistently do well. The San Francisco Botanical Garden has a truly stunning collection of mediterranean plants.Invasives are plants that spread rapidly. They can become a big problem when they escape into the wild and take over where Natives should be growing. Native insects don't have enough food, which in turn, has an effect on birds and other critters. Bringing Nature Home, reviewed here, talks eloquently about the problems with invasives and the benefits of natives.
Dandelion might be invasive (picture credits on this post). A are a number of other invasive plants creating big problems. Scotch broom, Yellow Star Thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), Pampas Grass, and, yes, Cotoneaster come to mind. These plants cost the taxpayer money (eradication), the native bird population suffers and...well, I was going to be brief. Different plants are invasive in different areas, so you need to do your homework if you want to be sure you don't get an invasive. Many nurseries -- unless they're specialty nurseries -- stock invasives, either because they don't know or because people buy them. We have a clickable logo at the bottom of our blog as a reminder. (If you don't live in California, you're on your own but there are good resources for other states on the Internet, and Invasipedia is starting to collect it)
After all, what's more fun than having a beautiful garden that people love? Having a beautiful garden that people, birds, and critters love, and that doesn't habor invasives!
Comments
As far as possible, I plant native species in my garden, but my husband likes to add exotic ones... Never mind, as long as he doesn't fancy invasive species...