JW: After a lush green summer and a colorful fall, we may think of winter as dark and gray, maybe even colorless. But Mother Nature has done a fine job to ensure that we-- and our animal friends-- have something to delight us and sustain us. I'm Judy Wagley, this is “From the Ground Up!” I'm at the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland with Jenn Kirts, she is Director of Programs here. Thanks for taking time for me today, Jenn.
JK: It's my pleasure to chat with you, Judy, thanks.
JW: Here at the Chippewa Nature Center, every season offers something that will fill us with a sense of awe; it's so beautiful here. But you have some good ideas about what is especially interesting in the winter.
JK: Yes, so there are so many native plants, trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses-- that their show doesn't stop when the season gets cold. In fact, we can choose them to beautify our own landscapes and to enjoy in the natural world with pops of color and different textures and shapes that really get highlighted when the rest of the leaves are laying on the ground.
JW: That's great news. And here at the Nature Center, we're surrounded by so many plants, but how can we translate that to our home yard and garden?
JK: A lot of the plants that grow naturally in Michigan, our native species, are really well-adapted here. And so many of them are worthy of showcase in our home garden. So for instance, one of everybody's favorite plants, whether you're getting them from a garden center, or you're finding them along a trail, is red osier dogwood. In the summertime, it's a beautiful green plant with white berries, it's wonderful. But when the leaves fall off, and the rest of the world looks a little bit more dull, they have brilliant red stems that really pop, especially when the snow has fallen. Personally, I have them planted in front of my house, they are my landscape, my foundational planting. So they're beautiful in the summertime and lots of color in the wintertime. So they're a fantastic species. And then there's other shrubs like Staghorn sumac that has beautiful bright red berries. We also have highbush cranberry that has bright red berries that stay on for the entire winter. And then there's other shrubs like bladder nut, or ninebark that have seed casings that stay on for the winter. So they're brown, but they add this texture to what would otherwise just be sticks in the air. It adds this texture in this interest when you have species like that.
JW: And some of these are good for our animal friends, too, right?
JK: Absolutely. So Staghorn sumac is a great early spring food for some of our birds. And same with the highbush cranberry. Birds prefer to eat them late in the year when all the other berries have been eaten. Ninebark has lots of great seeds in it. Bladder nut, the animals can enjoy as well. So they're all species that our local wildlife are used to eating, but also provide interest in our yards and in our neighborhoods.
JW: Now, you mentioned the red osier dogwood. Folks can maybe see those growing along in ditches and swampy areas along the road. You can really notice in the snow when they really pop with that red, and the Staghorn sumac is that plant with the sort of fuzzy thick stem with those dark red fuzzy cones. And those are really pretty too they really pop. So if folks are out and about and see those, that's what they are. How do we get those into our yard?
JK: So there are several nurseries in Michigan that carry native species. They're specific to the genotype. The genes are from Michigan. And so you can look for one of those nurseries. We have a plant sale here at Chippewa Nature Center in early June, and we offer those species at that sale. Some of them are available commercially at commercial nurseries. Some of those species are from Michigan, some are from other areas, but they are the same. The same kind of plant adapted to Michigan species are the best. But you can certainly find other cultivars that have more red stems or have more berries or whatever. But the native species is ideal for our wildlife.
JW: Jenn, why is it important that we plant native plants?
JK: it really comes down to valuing wildlife and valuing plants and valuing soil. So our native plants are adapted to this region. They can handle the climate in this region, and our local wildlife including butterflies, caterpillars, birds, small mammals--all of that are adapted to that when we choose non- native species. Our local wildlife isn't adapted to using those species. And there's a risk that they could be invasive species, and so that they leave our landscape and go out and populate the woods. So things like Japanese barberry, buckthorn, autumn olive-- are all things that we've chosen to plant and they got away from us and they jeopardize the health of our ecosystems.
JW: So it's a good idea to go native!
JK: Yes, always a good idea to go native!
JW: And besides adding that winter interest, like you said, the color and the texture-- well it just gives us something beautiful to look at in the winter, and give us hope for the spring.
JK: Absolutely. Some of my favorite winter interest plants are some of my perennials that that we plant here at the nature center. We have in our yard, some of the native grasses like little bluestem, and Indian grass, and prairie dropseed. And things like Black-eyed Susan and bee balm, and purple coneflower. Those are gorgeous all growing season long. And then in the winter, they really add that texture, that pop of color. That is just delightful. When you're looking across the landscape that seems like it could be just dead and gray, it's fun to know that those plants will be back, and to have evidence of them above the snow during the winter season.
JW: Hope for spring!
JK: Absolutely we'd love spring!
JW: But nice for winter, too.
JK: It sure is—nice for every season. Native plants do a beautiful job all year round.
JW: Jen Kirts, Director of Programs here at the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland. Thanks for joining me today for “From the Ground Up!”
JK: Thanks so much, Judy.
