Chattanooga Pulse

Summer is here and gardens all over the city are in bloom. People have different ideas about what they want in a garden. Some people want a sanctuary complete with bubbling fountains filled with oversized Japanese goldfish. Others prefer a formal garden with sculpted bushes, gravel pathways, and perfectly trimmed grass ­– an immaculately kept site like the grounds of Versailles. Even more popular is the garden that allows for an escape into a tropical paradise with bright pink Hibiscus, palm trees, and a heated pool.

The gardens I have described above, while beautiful, are far from “green” if you live in Tennessee or anywhere in the Southern United States. Foreign and over-manipulated plant life requires meticulous (and expensive) care. From an environmental perspective, a garden should protect or restore an open habitat and serve as a refuge for certain types of displaced wildlife.

Over-landscaped gardens do not restore habitats. Though ecologically friendlier than most buildings, these gardens still fail to serve an environmental purpose. Typically such spaces require tremendous amounts of resources: water for irrigation systems, electricity for fountain pumps, and tools for sculpting. Grass or “turf” is equally unfriendly, in that many people use chemical fertilizer to force its growth and massive amounts of water to quench its thirst in the hot summer months. In such a carefully planned and maintained space, even the most unobtrusive wildlife is certainly not welcome.

Exotic gardens are also negligible as an environmental boon. Hawaiian flowers and Palmetto trees are found in their respective regions because they flourish there without much effort and require few resources. Also, as evidenced most obviously by Kudzu, introducing a foreign, potentially invasive species is dangerous. And unlike native gardens that attract a variety of butterflies and insects, some exotic gardens will require pest control to survive.

I do not mean to demonize these plants and gardens. Certainly there are cultivation methods for exotic plants that do minimal environmental harm, but the greenest garden is one that requires little maintenance and looks the most like the surrounding countryside.

Native and adapted plants are not only good for the environment, but also good for your budget. Indigenous or well acclimated plants consume significantly fewer resources than do exotic or formal gardens. Native garden owners will save in water, energy, and fertilizer expenses. Also, because the plants are already adapted to the climate, you avoid the maintenance of “wintering” them.

Native or indigenous plant species are defined as plants that “are adapted to a given area during a defined time period and are not invasive.” Typically, in North America, this time period refers back to pre-European settlement. Adapted plants are characterized as greenery that will reliably grow well with minimal water protection, pest control, or fertilizer.

Tennessee has a wide variety of options to choose from when planning a green space. Because most of this region was either forest or woodland land cover prior to settlement, many native species require shade.   Dogwoods are native to this area, as are Hemlock, Black Oak and several varieties of Maple trees. Adding trees to a garden make it more visually appealing by adding interesting levels and textures.

American Wisteria, with its tiny purple blossoms, can climb trellises and fences, giving a garden the exotic beauty many people look for.  Swamp Rose Mallow, a native flower, is particularly unique, with a wide bloom and red center. The flower blooms in the summer and attracts hummingbirds. Switch grass, a native grass, could be used as filler – adding wildlife value and fighting erosion.

The TVA website has an entire section devoted to native plants, their value, and where they are found at www.tva.gov.  The Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council also has a thorough native plants index online at www.tneppc.org.

If you are looking to buy indigenous plants, Signal Mountain Nursery has a nice selection. For a five hour drive, you could go to Appalachian Native Plants in Mountain City, TN. The nursery is not-for-profit and offers native plant species education, as well as sustainably cultivated native plants for sale.

Native gardens can be as aesthetically pleasing as gardens with elaborate, exotic themes or as meticulously controlled outdoor spaces—this is one solid case in which being green means saving money and effort.

Elizabeth Crenshaw is LEED accredited and works for EPB in Strategic Planning, but her views are her own. Originally from South Carolina, Elizabeth moved to Chattanooga after graduating from Warren Wilson College in 2007.