Bringing Nature Home

By – Liz Mckown,

We all know about our National Parks but have you heard of Homegrown National Park? Two books by Doug Tallamy changed how I think about landscaping and helped me realize the importance of planting native plants. Native plants are simply those that naturally evolved in an ecoregion alongside the wildlife that live there. Oaks, milkweed, Maximilian sunflowers, phlox and black eyed Susan’s are all native plants for Oklahoma. Ginkgo trees, crepe myrtles, and butterfly bushes are not. Why is this important? Native plants are the plants that our wildlife need in order to survive and thrive. Native plants are food! They are also shelter. Oak trees support 557 species of caterpillars (thus butterflies) while ginkgo trees support none. Caterpillars (and insects) are the backbone of our food webs. Birds eat tons of caterpillars a year and must feed only caterpillars to their babies. So if we want to see birds and butterflies, we have to provide the food sources they require to live in an environment. That means planting the plants that attract those food sources. It’s easy when you think about it. Anyone can participate. 

I recently saw a neighborhood Facebook post where one of our homeowners was giving away packets of wildflower seeds that support the bee population. So many of you wanted them to plant in your yards. By planting those seeds, you joined the Homegrown National Park. All it takes is to plant natives in seed or plant form, provide a little shelter (you already have trees and shrubs), then sit back and watch who visits your plants. Easy, right? Never underestimate your power to make a difference. 

Carrington is committed to planting native plants when possible moving forward. Do we wish we had known what we know now before we planted a ton of crepe myrtles? Sure. We are always trying to learn more to do better for our environment. And Native doesn’t have to mean wild and unruly; it just means we are using plants and trees that support the wildlife native to our area. And native plants are already adapted to our climate, soil and growing conditions, thus require less irrigation and maintenance. Win-win! We have put together a list of natives that like our soil. You might be surprised at the number of trees, plants and shrubs you would be familiar with and might already even have in your own landscaping. 

Here are some sources you could check out: Bringing Nature Home and Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy. The newly formed Carrington Lending Library has three copies of Bringing Nature Home that you can check out (email eamckown@me.com). And here is the website to check out how you can be an official part of Homegrown National Park.