Editor’s note: This is the third and final installment in a series about creating a bird-friendly yard. In the two previous blog articles, Wendy Diaz, EMGV, wrote about pivotal moments in her life as a gardener: deciding to focus on native plants, and creating a plan based on plant recommendations from the National Audobon Society.

My plan to create a bird-friendly yard will be accomplished in two stages. Stage 1 is the removal of high-threat invasive species in the fall of this year (2018), and Stage 2 will commence in the spring of 2019 by removing non-natives that are not high threat but their native alternatives would provide more benefit for wildlife and not multiply as quickly.

My garden  plan includes the following replacements based on recommendations from the New Hope Audubon Society, NC Botanical Garden and the Going Native Website^1,2,3:

 Already Removed

Invasive Plant	Native Alternative Plant
Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)	Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana)	Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Chinese beauty berry (Callicarpa dichotoma)	native beauty berry (Callicarpa  americana)
Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)	Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum)
Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum)	Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)

Stage I Removal of High Threat Invasive Species (Fall, 2018)

Invasive Plant	Native Alternative Plant
Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis)	crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) or trumpet vine (Campsis radicanas) or Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) and Dwarf fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii)
Big Leaf Periwinkle (Vinca major)	spotted wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata), Frogfruit (Phylla nodiflora), Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), Common blue violet (Viola sororia), Crested dwarf iris (Iris cristata)
Heavenly bamboo (Nandina)	Florida-hobblebush (Agarista populifolia),  Strawberrybush (Euonymous americanus)/ St. Andrew’s Cross (Hypericum hypericoides)
Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)	coral honeysuckle (Loncicera sempervirens)/Yellow Passionflower (Passiflora lutea)
English Ivy (Hedera helix)	Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
Burning bush (Euonymus alatus)	Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica)/winterberry (Ilex verticillata) /winged sumac (Rhus copallinum)

Stage II Removal (Spring, 2019)

Non-Native Plant	Native Alternative Plant
Golden Rain Tree (Koelreuteria paniculata)	Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Butterfly bush	Coastal sweet-pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)
Japanese privet	common wax-myrtle (Morella cerifera)
Morning glory	native clematis viorna (Clematis viorna)/milkvine (Matelea carolinensis)
Chinese holly	Inkberry (Ilex glabra)/Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)/ Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria)
Forsythia	Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)/high bush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)
Grass	Rosy Sedge (Carex rosea) and Pink muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris)
Siberian Iris	Scarlet rose-mallow (Hibiscus coccineus)
Liriope (Liriope muscari variegated)	Bee balm (Monarda didyma)

Next time you are considering an ornamental plant to add to your landscape why not try a native plant that suits your needs and helps wildlife at the same time? At the very least, don’t plant invasive species like I did. Hopefully in time, I will attract new birds, butterflies and caterpillars. Then I will need a better camera lens to zoom in on all the new flowers and animals!

References:

1. https://projects.ncsu.edu/goingnative/howto/mapping/invexse/index.html
2. https://projects.ncsu.edu/goingnative/howto/mapping/nplants/index.php
3. http://www.newhopeaudubon.org/wp-content/themes/nhas/library/docs/native-plant-growing-guide-piedmont-nc.pdf

More Reading on Invasive Species: 

Where to buy Native Plants:

1. https://projects.ncsu.edu/goingnative/howto/implemen.html#where
2. https://growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu/growingsmallfarms-pollinatorresources/