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The Deep Middle


Gardening & writing in the prairie echo

Most Garden Problems Can Be Solved With More Plants

7/22/2022

9 Comments

 
Many issues in a landscape bed can be addressed by increasing the number of plants in that bed. I see it time and again -- a native plant garden filled with wood mulch and plants spaced far apart, like in a bed that mow and blow landscapers install. Or like sculptures in a museum.
I think we treat our plants with too much reverence. We need to let them get tangled up, struggle, and compete. And even fade away. This is how nature works, and we do the plants -- and our goals of creating a sustainable ecosystem -- a disservice when we space plants far apart and without layers. This is something I hammer home in several of my lectures, especially "Fundamentals of Garden Layers."

So what are the benefits of greater plant density and layering? Here is a highlight list:

1) Mimizing herbivore damage. When we use bodyguard plants (grasses, sedges) around plants we know herbivores think are candy (Dalea purpurea, asters, etc), we can reduce our frustrations. One method of design, called matrix planting, is totally suited to bodyguard plants. Employing a matrix or base layer or ground cover of sedge or bunchgrasses placed every 12 inches provides a host of benefits synonymous with every bullet point on this list.

2) Increased habitat. Shelter, food sources, nesting sources, etc.

3) Reduced erosion. More plants intercept more rainfall which they hold on their leaves and stems (big trees are good at this, especially). More plants means more roots, which are also good at holding soil in place.

4) Increased soil moisture. As plants shade the soil surface they help slow evaporation. As plant roots amend soil naturally they help the soil hold more water.

5) Dense plantings compete much better against weeds. Nature abhors a vaccum and wants to fill in the space -- will you let it fill in with crabgrass or would you rather have some pretty flowers with foliage butterfly larvae eat? How much weeding do you want to do year after year after year?

So stop thinking about plants as little sculptures, even in a native plant garden created for wildlife. Wildlife don't want big gaps of wood mulch -- they want plants. Plants want plants. You want more plants. Your plant addiction wants more plants. Choose plants that self sow or run around a little to fill in gaps for free (but choose wisely based on research of the plant in your region, and matching it to your soil and other plants in your bed).

If you need help thinking this all through, there are 13 hours of video content to guide you step by step -- and fall is the BEST time to get planting.
9 Comments
Glenda link
7/24/2022 02:06:35 pm

I would love to learn more
I live in mid eastern Kansas

Reply
Loreeebee link
1/4/2023 05:31:05 pm

I love this style of gardening, so happy it is becoming more popular! In my gardening business (gardens4u.ca) I call it the jungle look or english cottage garden compared to a more formal (too much mulch and bare spots in my opinion) look

Reply
Susie Plunkitt
7/30/2022 09:25:15 am

We also need to understand, in regard to herbivore damage, that seeing anything in your yard means that you are providing food! PLANT MORE if you don't have enough to supply whomever wants to eat! Also, know that anything that is cut or eaten will only become more bushy and full when it returns and I am betting it returns better than before! Keep Calm! Carry on!

Reply
Suzie Shaeffer
7/30/2022 11:41:22 am

Another vote for herbivores: I usually say "Thank you" to the deer when they eat my plants. Why? Because I'm horrible about getting around to pruning and the deer do a great job of it!

Reply
Susie Plunkitt
7/30/2022 03:41:09 pm

I agree!

Reply
Susie Plunkitt
7/30/2022 03:40:00 pm

oops, I accidentally unsubscribed from getting replies. Ha! Can you tell I am NOT a geek? : )

Reply
M.ichele Chalice link
1/4/2023 04:13:07 am

Kudos to more native plants, planted with greater density (the way nature does) and less bark mulch (our own fall leaves and native grasses do the best job)!

Reply
Anne Marie Milligan
1/4/2023 09:38:07 am

I appreciate this. Was just listening to Doug Tallamy's "Bringing Nature Home" on Audible and was intrigued with his teaching about "redundancy" in our wild habitats. If an inspect species, for some reason can't use one native host plant, a wide diversity of species allows for other possible alternatives. That's a rough narrative of what he's talking about. Look it up. Adds to the importance of just what this article is about.

Reply
Chris Liles link
1/7/2023 05:44:59 pm

How do I find all 13? If you don't learn new Information you are like the yard full of bad weeds. You can pull forever and never get ahead.

Reply



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    Benjamin Vogt's thoughts on prairie gardening in Nebraska. With a healthy dose of landscape ethics, ecophilosophy, climate change,  and social justice.

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Monarch Gardens is a prairie-inspired design firm. We specialize in lawn to meadow conversions as well as urban shade gardens.

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