How to Utilize Native Plants in Your Landscaping to Attract Pollinators - TN Nursery

Hello, my name is Macie Anderson. I am here with the Native Gardeners Almanac podcast, and I'm here to interview Tammy Sons, who is the CEO and owner of TN Nursery, and we're going to be talking about native plants that solve landscaping challenges. Tammy, if you want to go ahead and give yourself a brief introduction, that would be great.

Okay. Hi, Macie. It's good to be with you today. I'm Tammy Sons. Like Macie said, I'm the CEO and the founder of TN Nursery, and I've been in the nursery industry for over 31 years, mainly most of my life because my dad was in the nursery industry since 1959. I've studied horticulture, and I have a deep understanding of native plants, hardiness planting zones, and all things native.

All right, Tammy Sons, why do you think that native plants are gaining so much popularity within landscaping right now?

I think because people's looking for easy alternatives to have a really nice landscaping. Native plants are, they're drought tolerant, they're pest and disease resistant, they don't carry a lot of blights, you know, pesticides are not needed on them. Mother Nature pretty much does all the work with native plants.

All right, can you tell us what the environmental and practical benefits of using native plants are?

Yes, I can. Native plants are natural soil enhancers. They add a lot of minerals to the soil. They build up the composition of the soil. They also attract pollinators. Pollinators is a really big thing to a lot of homeowners and gardeners. And as you know, the monarch pollinator, it's going extinct. So, you know, a lot of people want to utilize native plants in their gardens to attract pollinators. They're also, you know, like I said earlier, they're low maintenance, disease and pest resistant.

Sounds pretty good. All right, moving on to erosion control. Can you tell us how native plants can stabilize the soil and prevent runoff?

Yeah, I can. Native plants, Macy, they have a deep fibrous root system and they hold the soil in place. And, you know, with that deep fibrous root system, it prevents runoff and erosion. Unlike turf grass, which has shallow roots, plants like switchgrass, river birch, Carex pensylvanica, which is Pennsylvania sedge, they create a strong underground network and stabilize the landscape and prevent soil erosion.

All right, when it comes to the types of plants, can you give us some examples of top erosion control plants?

I can. Ground covers is a really good soil erosion plant if you get them with really heavy, fibrous roots. Some examples would be the Vinca minor. They have a really thick growth pattern and they have fibrous roots. You can use ground covers. You can use any kind of grass is really good for soil erosion. And also you can do smaller shrubs. You know, they're really good, like hedge-type shrubs. They're really good for soil erosion.

All right, all right. And all of these plants that you've named here, can you tell us how to integrate them into different landscapes?

Yeah, you know, if you have a sloped area in your yard that is prone to runoff, like a hill, a bank, a cul-de-sac, anything where the water is prone to runoff, you can plant a mix of grasses, shrubs, you know, and even trees if you wanted to, to create a layered root system. And by spacing them close together, it will maximize their effectiveness and it will also stabilize the soil.

Can you tell us why native plants are better for pollinators than non-native plants?

Yeah, native plants evolved alongside local pollinators, making them the best food sources for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Many non-native plants don't produce nectar or bloom at the right time for the pollinator's needs. So, you know, that's why everybody wants native plants because it's almost like they understand the bloom cycle and the bloom time to attract these little friendly flying species, you know, and attract pollinators.

A lot of people would like to know some specific plants. So can you tell us what the top native plants are for attracting these pollinators?

I can. There's several types of milkweed that is super, super popular, especially for attracting monarchs and butterflies, and they are members of the Asclepias family. There's Asclepias tuberosa, Asclepias incarnata. Um, they have different uses as pollinator plants, but milkweed is the number one pollinator plant. There's also other great pollinators like coneflowers, They are excellent to attract hummingbirds, where the milkweed, they really attract monarchs. But there's so many native plants. The black-eyed Susan, they attract both. Echinacea. The list just goes on and on, but those are the top 3 that really sell good for us at Tia Nursery, you know, that attracts native pollinators.

Mm-hmm. Okay, so if I'm a homeowner, um, With those plants in mind, can you tell me how I can create a pollinator-friendly garden at home?

Sure. We always recommend to use a mix of early, mid, and late fall blooming native plants. That provides pollinators and attracts them with food throughout the growing season. And, you know, it's always good to avoid any kind of herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, and plant them in clusters. If you plant those plants in clusters, it makes it easier for pollinators to find the flowers.

Mm-hmm. Okay, so pollinator plants are one thing. What about some drought-tolerant native plants? So what makes native plants lower maintenance than non-natives?

Well, native plants are adapted to the local soil, rainfall, and climate conditions, meaning, you know, they don't need constant watering, fertilizing. Pest control. They just don't need a lot of anything other than, you know, weeding every once in a while. Once established, they thrive with minimum intervention.

All right. And as for low maintenance native plants, can you tell me some of the best ones that I can choose?

I can. Most, mostly all the plants that we sell on tnursery.net are natives. And native plants in general are low maintenance. I can give you a few examples, you know, such as the Purple Lovegrass. It's drought resistant and it's a really beautiful purple blooming— I would call it a plume grass. The Yarrow, it's really hardy. It's a native plant that thrives in poor soils and it needs very little water. It can withstand drought conditions. Wild Columbine. It's a delicate but hardy perennial. It's a good shade-thriving perennial. There's just so many choices that you can do that, that fit that bill with native plants in general.

Mm-hmm. All right, so when it comes to native plants, can you tell me some, like, common mistakes that people can make when choosing their native plants?

Yes, that's a great question, Macy. A big mistake is not matching the right plant to the right conditions. Just because a plant is a native doesn't mean it will thrive in every zone. You know, zones is very important. That's why we have a zone detector at tnnursery.net. It will detect your planting zone, and every product that we sell has a list of the hardy planting zones that that particular plant will work in. For example, some plants need full sun while others provide shade. We also have this listing you know, on all of our pages at tianursery.net. And also, people often plant too few of one species. Native plants, they work best in groupings, planting it, planted in clusters. And, you know, with native plants, the sky's the limit. You can, you can plant them wherever you want to plant them. They thrive in rich soil, poor soils. So, you know, the only mistakes are that I see is people planting them under the wrong lighting conditions or in the wrong zone. You know, there's so many zones within the U.S. map that you really need to find a location that is hardy. And, you know, us at tianursery.net, we sell plants for every location, and it's the location of the recipient is listed on the product page as well as the hardiness zones for each plant. I think that's the biggest mistake, you know, with a lot of these mail-order nursery catalogs. People will go on them and think, oh, that's a beautiful plant. They'll buy it. It never comes up. If it does come up, it winter kills, or, you know, it doesn't bloom or reach its fullest potential. And that's, that's one of the major mistakes that people make when choosing not only native plants but any. They don't do the proper research. But, you know, I have tried to put this on our website to take the research away from the homeowner, to let them know what plants thrives in their zone.

So with our podcast, we've covered a lot today, from how native plants can stabilize soil, attract pollinators, give you low-maintenance, gorgeous landscapes. And if you're looking to make your yards more sustainable, these plants are a great place to start. If you want to learn more or get started with native plants of your own, you can visit a local native plant nursery, join a gardening group, or check out organizations like the Native Plant Society. But Tammy, before we go, I have a some surprise questions to ask you, if you would be so kind to answer them for me.

Okay, sure.

And our surprise question for you, Tammy, is if you could plant only one native species for the rest of your life, what plant would it be?

Oh, Macy, that's a, that's a complex question. I think that would be probably a pawpaw tree. Pawpaw trees has incredible fruits. We used to eat them as a child. My dad had one planted in our, our lawn. They're the largest edible fruit in the United States that comes from a native tree. And again, they're native, so they're low maintenance and resilient. You know, they're disease and pest resistant, low maintenance. And pawpaw tree supports wildlife and pollinators. You know, there's a lot of wildlife that that depends on species like this to live. But, you know, the pawpaw tree has a cultural and historical significance. When I was in grade school, I was reading biographies, and Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, they reportedly grew pawpaw trees. So, you know, cultural, historical significance, plus it being a wildlife pollinator with incredible edible, you know, fruits. That would probably be my overall, you know, one native species plant for the rest of your life. If I only had one I had to choose from, it would be a pawpaw tree.

It's a really good choice. And the last thing I have to ask you is, if you had to describe a native plant in one word, what would that word be?

If I had to describe native plants in general, it would probably be, in one word, would be easy. You know, they're easy to grow, easy to care for. They're low maintenance. And that's why I'm in the native plant industry, because we don't have to have, you know, a lot of special chemicals and stuff to grow them.

All right, and that's it for today's episode of our podcast. Thank you for tuning in, and be sure to subscribe so you can hear more knowledge on gardening, planting, whatever else you want, and we'll see you next time for more insights on making the most of your outdoor space. Thanks for listening.