Native Plants

Native plants – those that are indigenous to a geographic region – are essential to preserving and expanding ecological biodiversity.

In addition to attracting and supporting local wildlife like bees, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles and mammals, native plants are naturally evolved in the local growing conditions and require less intervention to establish and maintain, such as fertilizer and pesticides, which helps improve local water quality.

The Black Swamp Conservancy team recently completed the installation of native gardens at our Homestead property. This project was supported by a grant from the Country Garden Club Perrysburg, which has also funded a summer internship.

The former office landscaping, which contained mostly non-native ornamental species, was removed in late 2019. The new native landscaping, achieved with the help of nursery partner North Branch Nursery, features more than 250 native shrubs and plugs, including:

• A wetland swale featuring swamp milkweed and buttonbush
• A sandy “oak openings” habitat including prickly pear cactus and dotted horsemint
• Prairie species such as little bluestem, purple coneflower and dense blazing star
• Woodland species including spicebush and cardinal flower

We also planted 11 fruit-bearing cherry trees along the driveway, providing new spring forage for the property’s resident honeybees.

Click the links below for fact sheets about the native plant species that can be found here in our new homestead gardens.