GIBSONVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — Springtime always gives a lot of folks ideas about what they’re going to add to their garden. But if you want your plants to thrive, make the new additions ones that have a little history in the region.
Brad Jones found the best plants for your garden are always ones that are Made in North Carolina.
We stopped by the Guilford County Farm in Gibsonville to learn more about native plants – ones that have naturally grown in the area for hundreds of years. Flowers like the Swamp Sunflower or Black-Eyed Susans will grow more easily and require less water than other varieties.
One area of the greenhouse at the farm is dedicated to native plants because not only is the county offering them for sale, but it’s also using them in more landscaping projects. They become an important source of food for insects and animals that are gradually starting to disappear.
We talked with John Gladstone who oversees the park, and he said, “a lot of that is due to lack of food, lack of habitat, because we’re getting away from native plants.
A lot of our local insects and birds do not feed off the plants that we’re growing now, so all these ornamentals that look beautiful are not as beneficial to the insects and pollinators that we’re looking for”.
Several sections of the farm are also planted with native wildflowers.
They require minimal maintenance and as perennials, they grow back each year and thrive in the summer heat. Gladstone suggests that homeowners start small, with a single area of native plants that will create what he calls a “pollinator pit stop”. That not only gives you a low-maintenance garden, it also expands the food source for the birds and insects that will help all your other plants thrive.
You can stop by the Guilford County Farm to pick up lots of plants during their Spring Sale through the end of May at 7315 Howerton Road in Gibsonville. Along with the wide variety of native plants, they can also offer great advice on where to use them around your property.
Source: Fox 8 Made in North Carolina