by Steve Sass and Amanda Smith
As the United States of America celebrates its 250th birthday, we are immersed in reminders that we are a patriotic nation. Independence Day parades, civic celebrations, concerts, flag displays, and fireworks are just a few of the ways we celebrate our American heritage. We support American-made goods, and we take great pride in things that are “as American as baseball and apple pie.”
Curiously, though, American pride seldom extends to our landscapes. Ecologist Doug Tallamy estimates exotic turf grass covers between 40 and 50 million acres of land in the continental United States; an area approximately the size of New England. Although aesthetically appealing to many and essential for sports and recreational activities, turf grass has now displaced much of what our forefathers admired about the new nation and continent, and it does little to nothing to support American wildlife. Even the name Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is misleading, as it is native to Eurasia and Africa, but not North America. A trip to a local nursery or box store will reveal an offering of plants nearly all exotic to Indiana and most exotic to North America.
Historically, our nation has had an obsession with imported plants. Even decades before July 4, 1776, Philadelphia’s John Bartram was importing exotic plants from Europe to meet the demands of the fledgling colonial ornamental plant trade. Bartram’s clients included many notable American figures such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. In fact, two invasive plants problematic to New Carlisle’s Bourissa Hills Park, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) and periwinkle (Vinca minor), first appeared at Bartram’s nursery and Jefferson’s Monticello estate, respectively.
There are numerous ecological reasons why native plants are best suited for our Indiana landscapes. They are well-adapted to our local climate, require no watering once established, and support our local food webs. Perhaps most poignantly, though, native plants represent “the real America,” and sadly, through the shifting baseline, we’ve lost touch with what the “real America” looked like. Former first lady Lady Bird Johnson notably disliked the homogenization of American landscapes, and once said, “Native plants give us a sense of where we are in this great land of ours. I want Texas to look like Texas, and Vermont to look like Vermont.”
As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, with a palette of over 800 plants native to northern Indiana, we can be ecologically patriotic by utilizing them in our landscapes. Need inspiration? Take a stroll around the gardens and meadow at the New Carlisle Olive Township Library to see native prairie plants in their full summer glory. While you’re there, take note of all of the wildlife using the plants, and remember that the “real America” is functional, beautiful, and a cause for celebration.