Photos by Kim Counts
Whether you are new to the area or a life-long resident,
perhaps nothing brings about a deeper respect for the
interconnectedness and ecological richness of the region than
discovering and using native plants in the home landscape.
“Native plants are regional plants that reflect the natural
landscape & heritage of an area; thus landscaping with native
plants helps to identify a ‘place’ (Mellichamp, 2014).”
Native plants have evolved in place over time. Most are
cold, heat, and drought tolerant and are generally welladapted for home landscapes. Once established in the proper
location, many native plants grow with little to no additional
fertilizers, pesticides, or irrigation. Gardeners that utilize
native plants automatically conserve water and protect the
environment by reducing excess fertilizers and pesticides that
may wash off of the landscape and end up in downstream
water bodies.
Planting native plants can bring about unexpected
biodiversity. We received a frantic telephone call in our
office from a client who was alarmed that caterpillars were
SUMMER/FALL 2015 • VOLUME 34
consuming her passion vine (Passiflora incarnata) at an
alarming rate. After seeing a photo of the culprit, we were
able to share with the gardener that she had unwittingly
provided the larval host food source for the beautiful Gulf
Fritillary butterfly. The adult had deposited eggs on the vine
and as the caterpillars emerged they began consuming the
preferred foliage.
We explained that applying a pesticide to the vine would
not only kill the caterpillars, but it would also rob her of the
joy of observing the metamorphosis of a butterfly and seeing
the beautiful orange adults floating through her yard. While
the feeding damage seemed significant she agreed to allow
nature to take its course and the vine quickly recovered, much
to the client’s astonishment.
Sometimes seeing really is believing. We could have
explained over the telephone that having evolved together
over time, the native passion vine has developed strategies to
survive the annual munching of the caterpillars, or we could
have told her that predation of the caterpillars by birds and
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