Ready to get certified? Well, your Native Garden Certification?
Launched in March by the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society, the program offers certification to gardeners for growing native plants and for ridding the landscape of any exotic invasive species.
What might those be? Burning bush (Euonymus alata); periwinkle (Vinca minor); barberry (Berberis spp.); Hall’s Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica ‘Halliana’); callery or Bradford ornamental pear (Pyrus calleryana); wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei); and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), to name a few.
“Over the last few years, we have heard from INPAWS members that they would like a way to certify their native garden,” said Ellen Jacquart, an INPAWS director and one of the members who developed the Native Garden Certification program.
INPAWS Director Ellen Jacquart.
The garden certification is an expansion of INPAWS’ Grow Indiana Natives initiative, launched a few years ago for retailers. It certifies which nurseries and garden centers sell native plants and agree not to sell exotic invasives. There are about 35 members at this level, and 15 basic members, she said. The basic retailer agrees to sells natives, but also carries invasive species.
In January, INPAWS expanded the Grow Indiana Natives program to include landscape designers because it had requests from them, Jacquart said.
Among other attributes, native plants attract and support native birds, bees, butterflies and other fauna. A prime example is the monarch butterfly, whose caterpillar feeds only on the leaves of plants in the milkweed family. Exotic invasives come from some place else, such as another country, or sometimes, another region of North America. The problem is these plants out compete our native species and destroy natural habitats. Example: Japanese honeysuckle, periwinkle and wintercreeper have escaped our gardens and taken hold in natural areas or woodlands, where they clog pathways and strangle, smother or climb native plants.
The self-reporting application process is pretty simple. Fill out a form online, list the native plants you have in your garden, certify that you grow them and that you will get rid of any invasives, then upload three photos of plants in your garden. The application goes to a committee for review. If approved, you get a small Grow Indiana Native window cling. Or, INPAWS members can buy a sign for their garden for $25; nonmembers, for $35, including postage.
The plants can be cultivars or varieties of natives (sometimes called nativars), such as ‘Magnus’ purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea).
“The bottom line, it’s an effort to educate the gardening public about the threat of invasive plants in landscaping, and the availability and benefits of native plants for landscaping,” Jacquart said.
The INPAWS website has many resources to guide gardeners with their plant picks. There’s help with identifying invasive species, suggestions for alternatives, and recommendations for native plants for specific conditions, such as sun, shade or wet or dry soil.
Thank you volunteers for doing this! Both the trash cleanup and the control of invasives. Big impact in 3 hours.
Thanks for the terrific shoutout for INPAWS. Our Ellen Jacquart makes things happen!