Urban Native Gardens
From Green Garage Detroit
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Contents
What is It?
- Urban Native Gardens refers to is the use of plants, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are indigenous to particular areas for use in urban gardens. Its intent is to blend property into the natural setting of the area.
- Also known as: Natural landscaping, Native and urban gardens.
Why is it Important?
Native plants:
- require no fertilization
- are lower maintenance
- help reduce erosion
- absorb rainfall water - keeps water on site and not in storm sewers
- are tolerant of tough conditions such as drought and poor soil
- are better adapted to local climactic conditions
- better able to resist the effects of native insects and diseases
- are less dependent on fossil fuels (due to lower maintenance)
- instill an understanding of our natural world - its cycles, changes and history
- provide an opportunity to work with instead of against nature
- give a gardener insight into seasonal rhythms and life cycles
- blend better in with natural surroundings
- help reestablish what once went on naturally in the area
- help increase wildlife, such as birds, butterflies and pollinating insects
- preserve the natural history of the area
- reduces annual costs (no fertilizer, rare watering, no plant replacement)
When to Use It?
- First, spend some time examining your site. Look at available sunlight, test the soil, determine existing moisture levels. Choose plants accordingly.
- Determine the space your plants will require and see if there is a fit in your garden area.
- Many urban settings will require a more 'well-behaved' group of plants due to space limitations - consider this when making choices.
- After examining the points above, it's easy to see which plants are sustainable by how they grow. If they struggle, there is a good chance that they need another location. Follow the mantra: right plant in the right place.
- This method is not sustainable if people are not available to follow the progress of the plants, or if the ground itself is compromised based on past use.
Green Garage Use of Urban Native Gardens
Sustainability Goals
- Our goal is to develop garden areas around the perimeter of the building (parking lot, front, back and alley) that contain at least 90% native species. (We are referring to plants that are native to Southeast Michigan).
Strategy and Conceptual Design
- Our overall strategy is "Right plant in the right place."
- Begin with examination of sites to be developed, particularly with regards to sunlight.
- Factors considered in plant selection
- native/non-native
- sun requirements
- moisture needs
- plant height
- season of bloom
- color
- manageability
- plant width
- soil Ph
- type of soil
- develop plant lists on Google Docs form
- take pictures of plant selections and place on artist's sketch of building's exterior
- search for sources of plant material
- Plant Selections
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- Supporting science: We used a number of resources to check which plants were indeed native. Our primary resource was Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan written by Lynn M. Steiner. The author defines native plants as "...what was growing here naturally before European settlement." Other resources we used are below. We decided that if one source listed a plant as native to Michigan, that was good enough for us.
- Sustainable Sites
- Michigan Native Plant Producers Source Guide
- Michigan Plants Database Search
- Mary Ann's Michigan Trees and Shrubs
- Wildtype Plants Mason, MI
- Native Plant Nursery Ann Arbor, MI
- Eco-Yardening from Celeste Watts
Proposed Materials / Suppliers
Plants
Suppliers
- Wildtype Plants Mason, MI
- Native Plant Nursery Ann Arbor, MI
Development Story
The Urban Native Gardens - Development Story page contains many images and videos documenting the process used at the Green Garage to design, build and operate our native garden system.
Related Internal Links
- Help people find other related Green Garage pages that may help them. Keep it tight.
Resources
- Natural Landscaping Wikipedia entry
- Landscaping With Native Plants in Michigan by Lynn M. Steiner