Gardening with native plants is a growing trend nationwide as many people look for an organic alternative to our traditional, non-native landscape species.
However, many of us face some challenges when adding a whole new range of plants to our gardens.
I have been involved in home gardening for over a decade, and much of my interest stems from my previous work in conservation.
I was fortunate to have the time and training to carefully observe these plants in nature with the intention of recreating native plant communities in a restoration setting.
Even with this knowledge, gardening presents a whole new set of challenges, and I've certainly experienced my fair share of trial and error.
Most gardeners have plenty of prior knowledge of plants, but it can be difficult to incorporate native plants simply because they are different species than most of us are used to in the garden.
While we all know the decorative beauty of a daylily and when to expect it to bloom, who knows when a particular species of goldenrod might bloom?
Learning these new plant characteristics can be fun, but it can also be challenging when designing a garden space that seamlessly incorporates natives.
Typically, I have focused on the ecological aspects of native gardening, with an emphasis on supporting pollinators.
In this context, gardens are designed with a flowering period to provide a steady source of food.
Groups of the same plant are recommended to limit the distance a single pollinator may have to travel from flower to flower, as flight costs energy.
Host plants are often integrated to support larval forms of pollinators.
In general, I recommend adding a wide variety of plants of all shapes and sizes, from small herbaceous plants to tall native trees. This also applies to flowers. Therefore, consider a variety of flower shapes, sizes and colors.
The more variety of plants you can incorporate, the more diversity of pollinators and other wildlife your garden will support.
Add to that the fact that most gardeners want a visually appealing design and it can all be quite overwhelming.
To help acclimate native plants into local gardens, Illinois Extension is offering a series of workshops this winter focused on native garden design and design.
The series begins with an online session where we focus on the basic concepts of ecological design.
Participants will learn about the needs of pollinators and how the plants we place in our garden spaces support them.
We will also cover some aspects of classic landscaping and help you understand how to arrange ecologically valuable plants in a design that is both visually appealing and functional.
The session ends with a variety of resources to help you choose plants and learn more about native gardening.
Part 2 of this series will be a design drawing workshop. In this session we put pencil to paper and create a scale drawing of your planting.
Whether it's a real-world area you want to plant or a hypothetical environment, we'll help you arrange plants in the space to maximize pollinator benefits while creating attractive plantings .
Local experts, including extension staff as well as master gardeners and naturalists, will be present at each session to guide you through the process.
These workshops provide a fun, welcoming atmosphere for discussion and collaboration with local experts as well as like-minded gardeners and other community members interested in native plants.
Please join in! For more information and to register, visit go.illinos.edu/nativedesignworkshop.
Ryan Pankau is a horticulture extension educator with the University of Illinois Extension, serving Champaign, Ford, Iroquois and Vermilion counties.