ABOVE: Jackie Foster and joAnn Dalton consider the merits of the black cherry tree at the N.C. Coastal 

 Federation's 'Go Native Plant Sale. ' 



Text & Photos by P a m Smith 



When the earliest English settlers stepped 

 onto North Carolina shores more than 400 years 

 ago, they declared it to be "the goodliest land 

 under the cope of heaven." 



They discovered grasses that anchored dry, 

 sandy beaches and swayed beneath pristine tidal 

 marshes. They delighted at maritime forests with 

 freshwater pools. They marveled at thick forests 

 and dense scrub vegetation with an abundance 

 of wildlife. They praised rich soils that yielded 

 plentiful fruits, berries, grains, herbs and fragrant 

 wildflowers. 



Now, modem-day "settlers" are rediscover- 

 ing the beauty — and benefits — of native plants 

 that are integral to North Carolina's rich natural 

 heritage. This back-to-nature trend is catching 

 on — not only for major reforestation, stream 

 restoration and stormwater management projects, 

 but also for small-scale residential landscaping. 



An annual "Go Native Plant Sale" hosted 

 by the North Carolina Coastal Federation 

 (NCCF) testifies to the burgeoning interest 

 among coastal gardeners. Nearly 2,000 

 participants flock to federation headquarters 

 in Carteret County's Ocean community. 

 Informational workshops augment the main 

 attraction — the sale of some 3,000 native 

 flowers, trees and shrubs. 



"Landscaping with native plants celebrates 

 our natural heritage," says NCCF's Cape 

 Lookout Coastkeeper Frank Tursi, event 

 coordinator. "It helps restore regional character 

 and put us a little closer to nature. The natural 

 processes from which coastal native plants 

 evolved over thousands of years represent the 

 cog and wheel of a healthy ecosystem sustained 

 by a complex web of biological diversity." 



Native plants are those said to have been 

 present before the first non-native explorers 

 landed in the New World. In fact, fossil evidence 

 links many modem-day plants to their prehistoric 

 predecessors. 



WHY NATIVE PLANTS? 



Coastal native plants have adapted to 

 the geography, hydrology and climate of the 

 region, explains Randy Mason, an NCCF board 

 member and avid natural gardener. 



That, he says, is why native plants provide 

 a hardy, drought-resistant, low-maintenance 

 and beautiful landscape while benefiting the 

 environment. Once established, native plants 

 save time and money by eliminating or reducing 

 the need for fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation and 

 even lawn maintenance equipment. 



Mason's planting philosophy is simple: 

 'Take two steps. If nothing is growing there, dig 

 a hole and plant something," he says. That pretty 

 much eliminates a need to own a lawn mower. 



Mason offers surprising facts he has 

 gleaned from researching the benefits of 

 landscaping with native plants versus non-native 

 turf grasses: 



• Native plants require less water than 

 lawns. In urban areas, lawn irrigation accounts 

 for 30 percent of the water consumption on 

 the East Coast. The deep root systems of many 

 native plants increase the soil's capacity to store 

 water and reduce runoff. 



• Native plants help reduce air pollution. 

 Natural landscapes do not require mowing. 



Lawns, however, must be mowed regularly. 

 Gas-powered garden tools emit 5 percent of 

 the nation's air pollution. Forty million lawn 

 mowers consume 200 million gallons of 

 gasoline a year. One gas-powered lawn mower 

 emits 1 1 times the air pollution of a new car 

 for each hour of operation. On the other hand, 

 native plants remove carbon from the air. 



• Native plants save money over time 

 compared to the cumulative cost of maintaining 

 grass lawns. 



HOMEWORK HELPS 



A successful start in gardening with native 

 plants requires a bit of homework, explains 

 Katie Loewen, an environmental educator at 

 Trinity Center's "Sound to Sea Program" and a 

 Go Native workshop presenter and volunteer. 



Coastal gardening presents extreme 

 challenges — from the arid, nutrition-deprived 

 sand of barrier islands to the soggy, nutrient- 

 rich soils of inland marshes. Wind and the salt 

 spray it transports are ever-present issues. 



As a first step, take a soil sample to a N.C. 

 Cooperative Extension office or a local nursery 

 professional, Loewen suggests. 



Next, design a planting plan with a 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 11 



