As with any form of companion planting, doing so with native plants focuses on the idea of beneficial diversity in a sustainable garden. There are numerous benefits native plant companions can provide:Preventing diseases through diversity is of immense benefit. In a monoculture, where many of the same type of plants are planted together, pests can easily spread from one plant to the next. Mixing with companion plants can interrupt this cycle of spread.
While driving on the New Jersey Turnpike in early May I espied a beautiful and wondrous sight. An expansive and long "Corridor of Habitat". A wildlife corridor is a link of wildlife habitat, generally native vegetation, which joins two or more larger areas of similar wildlife habitat. Corridors are critical for the maintenance of ecological processes including allowing for the movement of animals and the continuation of viable populations.
We had the good fortune of being contracted to remove a massive growth of poison ivy. Growing to a height of 8 to 10 ft with trailers climbing tress up to 35 or 40 feet, it was growing alongside a small stream bed/culvert area which led to its spread to a nearby athletic playing field of a muncipal school.
Recently we obtained a new client whom had just purchased a beautiful home in Bergen County, N.J. The residence itself was immaculate, however the outside property area was somewhat neglected with regards to the lawn and bed areas. As it was the start of the gardening season, their number one priority was establishing a garden area with raised beds as they wished to grow their own vegetables and herbs and practice sustainable landscaping utilizing organic principles.
When implementing and practicing organic gardening, no fertilizers and pest control products are utilized that contain anything that would be considered not of a natural origin..
There is hope if people will begin to awaken that spiritual part of themselves, that heartfelt knowledge that we are caretakers of this planet. One such way is by practicing sustainable landscaping principles and practices, such as planting native trees and plants.
The balance of nature depends on the activities of parasites and predators, the majority of which are insects. Many insects, including caterpillar hunter beetles, pirate bugs, and praying mantises, keep populations of herbivorous insects in check. Equally important are parasitic insects, a prime example being braconid wasps. Conservation Biological Control eliminates the use of pesticides and chemicals by promoting the population of these beneficial insects.