Re: Native Plant Rescue

**"* H* <h*@erols.com>**

I also have questions about this assertion by Tallamy: "Every time we use an 
alien plant when we could have used a native, biodiversity is lost."  I look 
at the hundreds of species in my garden - a mix of natives and nonnatives - 
and wonder how limiting myself to the very short list of successful native 
plants for sunny East Coast gardens would increase biodiversity.  I also 
question the notion that that I'm doing *harm* by growing, say, 
super-sustainable and loved-by-wildlife sedums in my garden.
Eco-friendly gardening approaches seem to be diverging into the nativist 
camp and the sustainability camp espoused by Peter Del Tredici and others 
(probably Michael Pollan, though he hasn't written about natives in quite a 
while).  Susan
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gene Bush" <genebush@netsurfusa.net>
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum" 
<gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 06, 2008 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: [GWL] Native Plant Rescue


> Carlo
>    We have a Dutchman's Pipe vine on my garden gate. That is native. We
> also have an non-native Dutchman's pipe vine that we have let run in the
> display rows in the nursery. Over the years the pipevine swallowtails will
> take the foreign vine back to the soil each summer while the native will
> have only a few eggs and some foliage damage where they have fed. This
> consistently happens each summer.
>    I have heard absolute statements made about non-native and native
> plants, insect needs, and know they simply are not true. I was wondering
> what was being stated this time around. Carolyn's read of the book came
> across as a reasonable approach to education on the subject.
>    Gene E. Bush
> Munchkin Nursery & Gardens, llc
> www.munchkinnursery.com
> genebush@munchkinnursery.com
> Zone 6/5  Southern Indiana
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <carlobal@netzero.net>
>> Interesting Gene, isn't it? If insects can't eat alien plants, some 
>> people
>> might get the inference that aliens are what we should be growing to 
>> avoid
>> pest problems...
>>
>> I've just received the book and will have a review up on my website in 
>> the
>> next week or so...
>> Carlo A. Balistrieri
>
>
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