By Carla Burgess | March 2007

• Intro
• Shrubs and Small Trees
• Flowering Vines
• Perennial Wildflowers
• Native Plant Sources
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Intro

People who advocate planting native wildflowers, shrubs and trees offer many reasons for including these species in the home landscape. Many native plants are highly adaptable to local growing conditions, so they often flourish in the garden with less fuss. Planting natives also helps preserve biological diversity in a region, especially where the plants’ natural habitats are being destroyed. But perhaps the simplest argument for planting native species is that many of them are just plain beautiful. No gardener can resist the tug of a botanical workhorse with a pretty face, whether it comes from across the ocean or down the road.

One horticultural irony is that many native plant species, though they may be common in the fields, meadows and forests that surround us, have historically been hard to find at the store. Gathering plants from the wild is not only impractical—with successful transplanting often difficult to achieve—but it is also largely frowned upon. Some native plants have been brought to the brink of extinction due to over-harvesting and illegal poaching. Over the past two decades, reputable horticulturists have learned to successfully propagate native plants by collecting seeds and cuttings. As a result, many native plants have been introduced into the horticultural trade.

Horticulturists continue to find and propagate native species that may have commercial appeal. They sometimes find a unique strain of wild species—a genetic variant—with unusual color, shape or size. It may be propagated to create a new version, or variety. Two wild species may also cross-­pollinate to create hybrid offspring, or plants may be intentionally crossed in the laboratory.

The plants discussed here are all native to North Carolina, with most of them also found throughout a broader geographic region, such as the Southeast. The emphasis is on species that are not as well known but are worthy plants that are underutilized in landscaping. Most of the plants profiled were selected for their provision of ornamental interest throughout the seasons and their suitability for a range of climates and landscape situations throughout the state. Though you can find some of them on the shelves of mainstream stores, with a little legwork you should be able to find most of them through mail-order suppliers or the many native plant nurseries cropping up.