The art of avoiding invasive plants

I am trying to get my garden certified as a native plant habitat. The very excellent organization, the Georgia Native Plant Society offers this certification and the committee is coming to my yard and garden next week. I’m pretty certain I will fail. Not because I don’t grow enough native plants, which I do, but because one of the questions on the registration form was “Do you cultivate invasive plants?”

While filling out the form I gleefully and arrogantly put in a big red NO. I fight invasive plants in my yard. Every day I pull up English ivy, vinca, privet, mahonia…..the list is discouragingly long. Why would I grow these on purpose? But as I left the computer to go outside, I passed the pots on the porch and there, right in the middle, spilling over the sides was English Ivy, one of the most offensive and damaging of all invasive plants. It has a variegated leaf but still, it’s English ivy, the bane of my existence.

I thought about pulling it up (or hiding it under pine straw!) but that seemed silly. It looks nice and poses zero threat of invasion. I didn’t buy it, I stuck a small rooted leaf in the pot years ago. So I told myself, what’s the harm?

But what message does that convey to the many people who come to see my garden? I would hate for anyone to think that I support growing invasive plants. So maybe I should pull it out (before next Tuesday!). Because I know how much damage invasive plants do to our fragile ecosystems, I’m beginning to think that I should not grow it under any circumstance.

Many of our threatened and endangered plants are being smothered by non native plants that spread like a plague. Just imagine a roadside full of kudzu and then try to imagine some tiny native plant, gasping for air, desperately trying to find enough sunshine and moisture to survive. It’s a disturbing image.

What is our responsibility to this issue, as gardeners and conservationists? Of course the first step is to not grow any plant considered potentially invasive (okay, even in a pot.) The next would be to find out if your favorite nursery and plant stores sell invasive plants (ivy, privet….you’d be amazed at what they sell.) And cultivars and varieties are not okay, most of them soon revert to their origins and become a problem. If the stores DO sell them, say something to the management and consider shopping at a store with a higher moral ground. And finally, volunteer to help remove invasive weeds in sensitive areas or to rescue plants being crowded out by invasive weeds. The Georgia Native Plant Society . https://gnps.org. often has volunteer days so this would be a good starting point.

And, wish me luck on Tuesday. I want my garden to not only be a safe haven for native birds and other pollinators but also to serve as an example of how we as gardeners are increasingly responsible for the stewardship of our planet .