Xeriscaping

Tim Iverson

(5/2019) Plants need two basic things to survive, sunlight and water. Summer landscaping projects can be overwhelming, but with those two basic ingredients almost anyone can create a plot to be proud of. Plants, not unlike other living things, have developed some interesting strategies for survival. By putting other animals to work, striving for the best, and by being fruitful and multiplying they’ve conquered the world. We provide them many things, but they provide us even more. With successful water and pest management strategies we can take a hands-off approach and let them thrive on their own.

Like all living things, plants need food. Unlike other living things, plants can’t move to get it. They depend on sunlight to accomplish photosynthesis, yet they are bound in place to the soil. Sunlight is essential for photosynthesis, the chemical reaction by which a plant makes its food by converting light energy into chemical energy. Sometimes a plant, shrub, or small tree is stuck in the shade. When a larger object obstructs the light there is only one thing a plant can do - reach.

Plants are always reaching and stretching upwards towards the sun. However, the light isn’t always straight up. Phototropism is the ability of a plant to grow in the direction of a light source. When other trees, boulders, buildings or some other larger object is blocking the light, plants will bend and reach to wherever the most light is available. If you’ve ever seen a tree contorting itself in strange angles or a potted plant lopsidedly arching towards a window it’s because sometimes that’s just the best way to get to the most light.

Our vascular system is complex, but it has a simple function. Arteries pump oxygen rich blood from the heart throughout the body. Meanwhile, veins return deoxygenated blood and carbon dioxide back to the lungs, and the whole cycle repeats. Plants, too, have a intricate vascular system that shuffles fluids and nutrients around. Water and nutrients are drawn up through the roots and funneled up the xylem to the leaves. As photosynthesis occurs sugars and carbohydrates that are created in the leaves get drawn down the phloem to the rest of the body of the plant. Just like our bodies and blood, this circulatory process continues on and on uninterrupted to ensure the plant’s life goes on. While our respective vascular systems help us accomplish our goal of circulation, ultimately all living things are trying to circulate their genes.

The basic biological goal of any living thing is to reproduce. For plants, seeds carry out this function. Through pollination a plant can receive or exchange genetic material from another plant to create seeds. Eventually the seeds are what grow into new plants and can only be produced when pollen is transferred between plants of the same species. Pollen is a fine, powdery substance containing genetic material. Succinctly, pollen is plant sperm. Flowering plants and trees produce pollen which is then carried by insects, animals, or the wind to ensure reproduction. Cross-pollination occurs when pollen travels from one plant to another. Birds and insects move from plant to plant or tree to tree unintentionally collecting and leaving pollen as they go. Pollen is also carried through the air via the wind. When pollen leaves the stamen (the male part of a plant) and lands on the pistil (the female part of the plant) the plant is fertilized and can reproduce. This is the birds and the bees of plants, and without the birds and the bees most plants would have a difficult time of reproduction.

Pollinators are drawn to plants to drink the nectar from the flowers. Pollen then attaches itself to the animal's body. When that animal visits another flower pollen can fall off into the flower’s pistil, which can result in the successful reproduction of the plant. Plants can do remarkable things to make sure all this happens. The same things that make flowers attractive to humans are appealing to wildlife as well. We, of course, can smell their fragrance and see their vivid colors. However, when it comes to vision, many birds and insects have the ability to see light in the ultraviolet spectrum. While we just get a sunburn from UV light, pollinators see an entirely different array of colors and patterns, invisible to us, that act as a billboard advertising the nectar within.

Pollinators come in different forms. They consist of birds, bats, and insects of all different kinds. The one most are familiar with though is the humble bee. Bees are synonymous with pollination and have been in the spotlight for the past decade due to decreasing populations. Another insect plagued with dwindling populations is the king of the butterflies, the North American Monarch Butterfly. Both the bee and the monarch are suffering from habitat loss and are susceptible to pesticides containing neonicotinoids. The State of Maryland banned the sale of these pesticides in 2016, but they are still available nationwide. Aside from curtailing the use of powerful pesticides planting pollinator friendly garden plots is the most helpful thing an individual can do to assist these fledgling florists.

Selecting certain plants to encourage pollinators will attract and strengthen local species. Plants like milkweed, ironweed, coneflower, goldenrod and asters are favorites of pollinators as they provide essential food and habitat. By planting native plants in homegardens, homeowners and gardeners can sidestep the pesticide issue entirely. Native plants generally require no fertilizer or pesticide. As a result, they protect both pollinators and a homeowner's budget. These plants have evolved to live right here in our local ecosystems and require little attention for survival. They have grown accustomed to weather and climate patterns, and have natural defenses against predators and disease.

Plants also offer other landscaping benefits, aside from providing habitat for wildlife. Well placed gardens can help prevent runoff, flooding, and help with water purification. Excessive water that is directed into storm drains can overwhelm the system causing toxic backflows, rain gardens can help prevent this by absorbing the water. This has the added benefit to increasing groundwater recharge for the water table. The additional usage of a rain barrel captures the natural water cycle for personal benefit reducing water bills and dependence on the system. For many homeowners, up to 40% of summer water usage is dedicated to watering gardens and lawns, planting native species can help to reduce that number and your water bills.

Plants can do remarkable things. As they continue to reach for the sun they provide us with food, habitat, and air and water purification. The ecological importance of gardens, wildspaces, and plants in general is vitally important for our survival. By harnessing and directing the growth and development of these evolutionary champions, pollinators, plants, and ourselves can bloom into a brighter more verdant future.