Native plant benefits: Learn about why you should add these plants to your garden at Lathrup Village event
Michigan native plants (front to back) Virginia mountain mint, dense blazing star and obedient plant make a stunning midsummer display. (Photo: Adam Huttenstine)
LATHRUP VILLAGE, Mich. (FOX 2) - Native plants not only add beauty to your property - they come with a host of benefits for wildlife and the environment.
Learn about these benefits during Native Plants for the Garden later this month in Lathrup Village.
Native plant talk
The Lathrup Village Nature Group is hosting the Feb. 27 talk with Adam Huttenstine and Reed Boskey from Plymouth's Michiganense Natives nursery.
This event will highlight the benefits of adding native plants, and provide recommendations for which plants will work best for different soils and levels of sunlight in your yard. There will also be a question and answer session.
The talk will be held from 7-9 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Community Room of Lathrup Village City Hall. Admission is $10 at the door, and each attendee will receive a pack of native plant seeds.
Lathrup Village City Hall is at 27400 Southfield Rd.
Benefits of native plants
Native plants play an important role in the environment by providing food for wildlife and pollinators.
They can also help alleviate flooding by limiting how much water gets into the sewer system.
According to Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash, native plants have much deeper roots than non-native plants and grass. These deep roots make a huge difference when heavy rain falls because they can absorb more water.
"When rain hits the ground, it tries to follow roots to soak in rain once. Once you get a quarter inch of rain, that root system of a regular grass is just filled up. So, it (water) kind of sheds off that like it would if it was concrete," Nash said. "When you're putting in native plants that have much deeper roots, a lot of these plants that you put in these rain gardens… the roots can grow 20-30 feet deep. So, it can carry water way down, even past the clay that we have so much of here."
Nash discussed the benefits of native plants, while discussing how other green infrastructure, such as rain barrels, can also help prevent flooding.
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