Upload
oregon-state-university
View
1.160
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Gardening with Native Plants
A HistoryLinda R McMahan
OSU Extension, Yamhill County
Ask Yourself: What are the Origins of Gardening Traditions in America?
A Pacific Northwest Public Garden
Where do we experience gardening traditions?
The Berry Botanic Garden, Portland, OR
In Case You Had Any Doubts!
Our gardening traditions in the United States come primarily from England
Gardens We See Often Reflect The British Influence
There’s MoreGardening traditions of many other
countries are filtered through English traditions.
Our “loves and hates” in gardening relate to gardening history in the British Isles.
We are just now beginning to relate to gardening in an American style.
The rest is History . . . .
Native plant garden display at Portland’s Home and Garden Show featuring native plants.
Origins of Gardening
World gardening traditions go back 4000 or more years.
In England, we begin to trace gardening from the 16th and 17 centuries where it focused primarily on fruits in enclosed or “cloistered” gardens.
A Red “Plume” Photo: Wikipedia
Exploration and Victorian Traditions (1837-1901-reign of Queen Victoria)
London’s Crystal palace and bedding plants. Photos: Wikipedia
Plant explorers brought tropical plants to Europe. These were were typically grown in glass houses. Many were planted out as “bedding plants” in the spring. This was high formal, structured gardening, requiring high resource use.
William Robinson: Wild Gardening and the English Garden (1838-1925)
Scottish gardener William Robinson reacted to Victorian “excess” by promoting “Wild Gardening”
Drawings of Robinson’s house and garden: Wikipedia
Wild Gardening Defined
“Wild Gardening” says William Robinson, is not native plant gardening. Instead, it is “placing perfectly hardy plants in places they will take care of themselves. It has nothing to do with wilderness.” From English Flower Garden
Stowe Garden (1730-38) designed by Robinson - Wikipedia
The Emergence of the Border Garden and Gertrude Jekyll
Restored Gertrude Jekyll border at Manor House, Upton Grey, Hampshire: Photo: Wikipedia
Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932), the founder of the modern border garden, was a colleague of William Robinson. She popularized the idea of the informal border in many publications and garden designs.
Meanwhile, in America . . .
Early settlers, including the Pilgrims and other settlers, were mostly interested in food. Native Indians were known to grow some food and one report notes cultivation of wild roses along the James River.
Source: Wikipedia
1605 map noting native settlements. The star is the approximate location of the 1620 English settlement
Very Early America Later, especially in
the 1800’s, settlers grew ornamentals from “home” like primroses, oxeye daisy, and hollyhock. This tendency to reflect homeland is verified by recent studies of recent settlers in Australia.
Leucanthemum vulgare oxeye daisy, perhaps the first reported invasive plant in America, Photo: Wikipedia
Very Early America Beginning in the
1700’s, a growing interest in fruit trees arose. This interest following settlers across the continent to the American west. Apples for food and cider, plums, and pears were particularly popular.
Winslow Homer painting of grafting of fruit trees in 1870, Photo: Wikipedia
William Bartram With his father John,
William studied and promoted certain native plants, including Franklinia alatamaha. The Bartram’s were prominent exporters of native plants for European markets.
Photos: Wikipedia
(1739-1823)
Gradually, people began to incorporate native plants into their gardens First, native trees were substituted for European ones, then shrubs. Notable was the use of plants of Southeastern US origin such as magnolias and azaleas. Other early plants noted in the literature are native lilies and ferns, then Western conifers.
Magnolia virginiana, Photo: Wikipedia
Thomas Jefferson Experimented widely
with southeast native plants, including osage orange as a hedge
Sponsored Lewis and Clark Expedition
Photos: Wikipedia
(1743-1826)
Collected Ribes sanguineum which was, according to Penelope Hobhouse, “so important a find as to be itself worth the cost of the whole expedition”
David Douglas Visited the Pacific Northwest on behalf of the
British Horticultural Society to look for new plants for European gardens.
(1799-1834) Photo: Wikipedia
Liberty Hyde Bailey“Father of American
Horticulture”Michigan Agricultural
College, then Cornell University
Creator of the first US horticultural dictionaries
Botanist, plantsman, nature promoter
Began tradition of nature study in NY schools, which were probably forerunners of native plant societies
Photo: Wikipedia
(1858-1954)
For many years, we have continued to follow European tradition—we merely planted native plants in place of standard plants in the European style. This is still reflected in most gardens incorporating native plants.
A magnolia and Ribes sanguineum
In this private garden established in the 1940s and 1950s, the traditional use of sweeping lawns intermingle with exotic plants under native Douglas Fir—this continues the “wild gardening” tradition.
“Fifteen years later [after 1st edition] a minor garden cult has become a major focus of American gardening.”
Botanist and author Arthur Kruckeberg in the 2nd Edition of Gardening with Native Plants, 1996
So. . . What is happening now and how did we get there?
Oregon State University campus
Today, public places are more reflective of a natural style
Today's gardens more often reflect nature
Natural plant forms such as that of goldenrod
Native wildlife including the banana slug
Many of Us Take Inspiration from Nature
Lomatium (desert parsley) on an outcrop at Catherine Creek Preserve in the Columbia River Gorge
Many Public Gardens Feature Plants Native to their Area
Scene from main lawn of the San Francisco Botanic Garden
Gardens Can Reflect Whimsy even if they feature native plants
Pots feature native Sedum
Gardeners focus on the natural form of natives more often, paired with natural materials for paths and other features.
The Berry Botanic Garden, Portland, OR
More and more, gardens such as the one at the McMinnville OR Public Library, feature only native plants
Native groundcovers are increasingly used to replace those of non-native origin
Vancouveria hexandra
Plants formerly considered to be weeds are used for their garden or wildlife value
Cow parsnip, Heracleum lanatum, featured in a butterfly garden at The Berry Botanic Garden, Portland, OR
Engineering Building, Oregon State University, featuring native plants in a designed and somewhat formal landscape
To get conservation certification, many new buildings are using native plants in the landscape
Garden historian Penelope Hobhouse characterizes 20th Century gardening as the “Era of Conservation,” citing concern for rare species and cultivars, and for water and wildlife habitat. Gardeners want to “do the right thing.”
California fuchsia, Epilobium canum
What motivates us today?
Observing restoration projects near home
Increasing availability of plants and books
Concerns about water, resources, invasive species, wildlife
Watching what public gardens and our neighbors are doing
Native ferns used for erosion control
How did we get here?
1900: The New England Wildflower Society was formed in Massachusetts, perhaps as a result of earlier promotion of nature by Liberty Hyde Bailey.
This group, the oldest native plant society, now lists 88 native plant societies in all states of the US and in many Canadian provinces.
How did we get here?
Books
1900-1950 – Floras of most regions of North America
1950 – present – Hundreds of books featuring native plants of various regions and how to grow them. The first were for the eastern regions and the Midwest.
How did we get here?
Magazines
In the 1970s, a series of articles appeared in Organic Gardening featuring native American plants for lawn substitutes, for wildlife, and groundcovers
Other magazines and publications soon followed
How did we get here?
Gardening Styles
In the late 20th century and even today, twin styles of gardening with natives continue to evolve side by side
Substituting natives for more traditional plants and the development of “garden-worthy” cultivars
VSGardening with native plants for their own sake in natural looking landscapes
How did we get here?
Rapid proliferation of Native Plant Nurseries in the 1990’s
These were followed by the formation of regional associations
An important factor was the increase in restoration activities of government agencies who needed plants
How did we get here?
Establishment of organizations dedicated to native plants.
1982: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Society in Austin, TX. It is now the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center of The University of Texas at Austin
National societies formed in both Canada and the US
Some Recent Controversies
1990s – A new controversy about whether using native plants is nationalistic
Proponents say this is a reflection of attitudes of Nazi Germany and is misplaced nationalism, even harmful to plant diversity
Native plant enthusiasts point out ecological values of gardening with native plants
Photo: Wikipedia
Some Recent Controversies
Should we use native plants in their wild forms or are cultivars OK? Will cultivars “pollute” the wild gene pool?
Should gardeners plant native plants from other localities, outside of, say a 50 mile radius of their homes?
Should gardeners plant native plants at all in cultivated settings to avoid altering the wild gene pool?
For example, Douglas iris, Iris douglasiana, is only known from certain areas of the American West but planted more widely.
Conclusion
Controversies aside, native plant gardening appears to be here to stay.
Variegated leaf form of a Pacific Northwest strawberry species.
Conclusion
Native plant gardening is very old, dating back to early in the European settlement of America, if not before.
Varied color forms of a popular American native plant, Ribes sanguineum
Conclusion
What is new, is that native plant gardening is beginning to reflect new national and regional styles favoring native plants and natural forms. Vine maple, Acer circinnatum
Oregon grape, Berberis aquifolium
Thank You!Linda R McMahanBotanist and HorticulturistOregon State University Extension ServiceYamhill [email protected]
Note: This presentation may be used for educational purposes without express permission. All plant and garden photographs, except as noted, by Linda R McMahan at Oregon State University. Please contact author for all non-educational uses of photographs.