Bob Brzuszek, assistant professor in the landscape architecture department at Mississippi State University, told attendees at the Fall 2008 Landscape Design Symposium that researchers are finding a significant increase in interest in native plants. Low-maintenance natives fit in beautifully with the going-green trend. Unfortunately, they are often hard to find, he explained.

If you go

The Clinton Community Nature Center’s native plant sale will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 14 at the facility on 617 Dunton Road. A sales list is available at www.clintonnaturecenter.org. To join the Mississippi Native Plant Society, send your name, address, including county, phone number, e-mail address and a $10 check (ndividual or family) to MNPS, Inc. c/o Dr. Debora Mann, 114 Auburn Drive, Clinton, MS 39056-6002.

The Mississippi Native Plant Society, headquartered in Jackson, is doing what it can to change perceptions and encourage more availability of native plants. Brzuszek, who previously worked with the Crosby Arboretum in Picayune, has been active with the group for years. Started in 1980, the society’s goal is to make the public aware of the importance of our state’s rich biological heritage and provide up-to-date information. They publish a quarterly newsletter and host field trips and native plant seminars.

Regional natives can be used effectively in both urban and rural settings. They perform well in our local soils and climate. Many are quite beautiful and work well in either formal or informal settings. Brzuszek told attendees that some people assume that gardens incorporating natives have to be wild-looking, but that is not the case. They can be planted attractively with exotics in any garden. Exotic is merely a name used to describe plants native to other areas. Many of our most popular landscaping shrubs and trees are not American natives, but were brought into this country from Japan and China. Natives are particularly good, however, to use where other plants have failed to perform well.  Native Wax Myrtle and Yaupon Holly will grow just about anywhere you chose to plant it, said Brzuszek.

Ecological design is the name given to the movement that incorporates more natives into private and public landscape projects. This might include using native trees — such as the Red Maple, River Birch, Parsley Hawthorne, Titi, American Holly, Sweetgum, Southern Magnolia, Wax Myrtle, Black Gum, Live Oak, Bald Cypress, Witchhazel, Buckeye, Sweet Bay Magnolia or Cedar Elm — in a landscape.

Shrubs, such as American Beautyberry, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Sweet Shrub, Button Bush, American Snowbell, Southern Arrowwood, Possum-Haw Viburnum, Strawberrybush or our native azaleas, are popular native choices. The majority of native wildflowers are almost maintenance free. Black-eyed Susan, Lyre-leaf Sage, Blue Star, Stoke’s Aster, Coreopsis, Sunflower, Blazing Star, Purple Coneflower, Spiderwort, Joe Pye Weed, Monarda, Phlox, Cardinal Flower, Woods Violet, Obedient Plant, Wild Ageratum and Spider Lily are some of the easiest to grow. The native Spider Lily is not the fall blooming red lycoris that many commonly refer to, but is a large plant with strap-like leaves and fragrant white blooms. It grows in boggy areas in the wild and makes an excellent choice for water or bog gardens. It blooms at the same time as Louisiana iris.

Ornamental grasses have become the signature plants of modern garden design. Some ornamental grasses come from other continents but others are natives. Pink Muhly Grass is a Mississippi native grass. It created a sensation when gardeners first saw its cotton candy pink blooms at Crystal Springs several years ago. Commercial retailers could not keep it in stock, but today it is more widely available. Other southern natives include Switchgrass, Indiangrass, Woolgrass, Inland Seaoats and Sugarcane Plumegrass.

Texas gardeners have been at the forefront of bringing native plants into their suburban gardens over the past decade, said Brzuszek. The trend is steadily growing nationwide, and groups such as Master Gardeners and the National Council of State Garden Clubs have joined in educating their members on the benefits of using them in low-maintenance gardens. More commercial growers are propagating them as they see demand increase. 

Miriam Jabour, a Master Gardener and master flower show judge, has been active with the Vicksburg Council of Garden Clubs for more than 20 years. Write to her at 1114 Windy Lake Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39183.