Local garden centers spotlight keystone plants

The Ungardener from May 13 was about a specific group of native plants called keystone plants. These are the ecosystem workhorses of our environment; they are essential to the survival of many animals that rely on them for food. Nutrition in this case includes, but goes beyond, nuts and pollen. It is the leaves of keystone native plants that make them superheroes. These leaves are essential to the survival of butterfly and moth caterpillars that, in their larval state, will eat only the leaves of very specific native plants.

And in this case, eating leaves is a good thing because caterpillars are relied upon by birds to feed their hatchlings. A single baby bird will be fed approximately 3,000 caterpillars from hatching to fledging; for most species, caterpillars are the sole source of food until they leave the nest. As native plants decrease, which they rapidly are, so do the numbers of caterpillars that rely on them. And as caterpillars decrease, so do the numbers of birds that rely on them.

Planting keystone species goes a long way toward restoring food webs: a serviceberry, or shadblow tree, supports 119 caterpillar species, pussy willow supports more than 400 and oak supports more than 500. While these particular plants are not hard to find in nurseries, other keystone plants, such as highbush blueberry and smooth blue aster, can be difficult to find at retail. Nurseries and garden centers tend to favor showier plants with greater shelf presence.

I dwell on the topic of keystone plants because Homegrown National Park, the organization co-founded by scientist and author Doug Tallamy, whose research on caterpillars led to our understanding of native plants’ role in food webs, and Sharon resident Michelle Alfandari, is partnering with three garden centers in the Northwest Corner to specifically promote Tallamy-designated keystone plants. There it is — a solution, and a local one at that!

Ward’s Garden Center in Great Barrington, Salisbury Garden Center and Paley’s in Amenia are now carrying ample inventory of beautiful keystone trees, shrubs and flowering plants in addition to the native plants they regularly stock.

“Every year we have seen an increase in customers asking for and buying native plants, so this partnership with Homegrown National Park is a great extension of the demand we are already seeing,” said Eva Ward of Ward’s Garden Center.

When you arrive at one of these garden centers — and I hope you will go this week — look for the “Homegrown National Park Native Plant Center” banner. Individual plant signs help inform customers about each keystone plant: what it looks like in bloom, its best growing conditions and why it is critical to butterflies, birds and other wildlife, including humans.

At Paley’s, owner Sarah Coon finds the signage a big step forward.

“Our customers and staff can now easily identify the native plants that will thrive in their gardens,” she said.

QR codes can be scanned for more information about each plant and to get on the HNP Biodiversity Map, which documents the number of people and acres being transformed through native plantings. The map currently records nearly 50,000 people committing more than 170,000 acres to native planting.

For Homegrown National Park, this program is a pilot it would like to expand nationally.

“A core objective of HNP is to make it easier for people to get started and making it easy to shop for productive native trees, shrubs and perennials does just that,” said Alfandari. “The leaders of these garden centers are visionary catalysts for positive change. They are passionate about making a difference and spreading the facts about native plants to their customers.”

For more information, visit homegrownnationalpark.org

Dee Salomon ungardens in Litchfield County.