Gardening American Style

**"Maryann Whitman" m*@comcast.net**

Gene

It seems your question has been answered since this morning. The haggling
and the decisions are being made at the state level.

This all goes back to a string of 'Environmental Actions' of Clinton/Gore
that started in January, 1993. Among these was the April, 1994 Executive
Order regarding "Environmentally and Economically Beneficial Practices on
Federal Landscaped Grounds". In it he specifically states: ". the use of
native plants not only protects our natural heritage and provides wildlife
habitat, but also can reduce fertilizer, pesticide, and irrigation demands
and their associated costs because native plants are suited to the local
environment and climate." I think this is a clear statement of his
philosophy regarding the use of regionally native plants. In 1999 came EO
13112 that dealt with invasive species and laid out the frame work for
making decisions.

Look up all this on the web--interesting reading.

While I'm at it---I found a disturbing trend in some of the letters that
were exchanged last week. Not about invasives etc but about garden writing.
There was some speculation that gardening is no longer what it used to be
and a couple of correspondents expressed the hope and faith that things
would come back to the way they were. Why hope for the 'same-old-same-old'
to return? Why not embrace a possible future of gardening: GARDENING
AMERICAN STYLE; Ecological Sustainability in the Garden; The Latest on No
Mow Lawns: A new Aesthetic; How to Build a Hedgerow; Plant a Butterfly
Garden--It's All in Choosing the Right Native Plants....and so on? I
overheard two up-scale home owners at Starbucks the other day comparing
their hedgerows--the fact that they were being discussed as status symbols,
to me, was 'way beyond the point. It seems that one developer in particular
is building his McMansions on old farm fields and is working within the old
fence lines. Voila, mature hedgerows. What the women did not know was that
that particular developer was plying his trade in a township that pretty
much required such behavior.

In my neck of gardening butterfly gardens are 'all the rage'. And you do
need the appropriate native plants for the butterflies to actually complete
a life cycle in your garden. The caterpillars will starve to death rather
than eat the wrong plant. (The Kern Primrose Sphinx Moth is known from only
two sites at the southern end of California's Central Valley. Until its
rediscovery in Kern County in 1974, this moth had been thought to be
extinct. A second population has recently been discovered in San Luis Obispo
County. Habitat for this moth is desert scrub, particularly in and around
washes, where its host-plant, an evening primrose, grows. There are several
threats to this species, including habitat disturbance from grazing and
recreation activities and over-collection of adults, but possibly the most
insidious is the spread of filaree, a weed introduced from Europe. Although
an excellent nectar source for adult moths, females will lay eggs on filaree
in addition to the evening-primrose: eggs laid on filaree will hatch but the
larvae cannot feed on it and will starve. [This is a direct quote taken from
the Xerces Society's Red List of Pollinator Insects.])

Maryann 

Maryann Whitman
Editor, Wild Ones Journal 
www.for-wild.org 

Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes: promotes environmentally sound
landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation,
restoration and establishment of native plant communities. Wild Ones is a
not-for-profit environmental education and advocacy organization.

-----Original Message-----
From: gardenwriters-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[g*@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Gene Bush
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 7:25 AM
To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
Subject: Re: [GWL] George Ball's NYT op-ed article

Hello Maryann,
    The statement below is take out of the whole, but I would like to make a

couple of comments on this one sentence for it touches on the heart of the 
discussion.
    Accurate ID will become the responsibility of the importing nursery... 
none of us as small nurseries can tackle the time cost to prove a proposed 
plant will not become invasive... how does one prove a negative? And the 
cost, as well as the burden of proof, would fall upon the nursery and not 
the government agency regulating the proposals.
    Biggest aspect here it the US is quite a diverse nation in geography... 
how does one say that a plant is invasive in the US? Few plants I am aware 
of could be invasive in both Louisiana and high desert country. A lot of 
emotion is flowing on this issue and many of the basics are not being 
considered.
    And, yes, I am aware of we do have some plants that are indeed, 
invasive.. I am working on several of those on my own property that was 
neglected for years before I purchased it.
    We are all in responsible positions as gardeners and writers... need to 
be careful before we react to something and propose answers to others.
Gene E. Bush
Munchkin Nursery & Gardens, llc
www.munchkinnursery.com
genebush@munchkinnursery.com
Zone 6/5  Southern Indiana

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Maryann Whitman" <maryannwhitman@comcast.net>
snip...
 Invasive species can be
> accurately identified prior to introduction, making it possible to
> exclude harmful species while allowing beneficial ones.
snip...> Maryann
>
> Maryann Whitman
> Editor, Wild Ones Journal
> www.for-wild.org

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