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      • Get Started
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      • Right Plant, Right Place
      • Maintaining Your Garden
      • Invasive Species
      • What Threats Do Invasives Pose to Our Native Plant Communities?
    • Living Museum Collection of Native Plants
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  • LEARN& Discover
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      • Become a Business Partner
        • Become a Partner
BUY NATIVE PLANTS
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Contact Us
Bowman's Hill Wildflower PreserveBowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve
  • VISITthe Preserve
    • Plan Your Visit
      • Purchase Tickets
      • Hours and Admission
      • Directions
      • Map
      • Visitor Center
      • Tips for Visitors
    • What’s in Season
      • Spring
      • Summer
      • Fall
      • Winter
    • Things to See and Do
      • Calendar
      • Follow the Trails
      • For Kids & Families
      • For Birders
  • EXPLOREthe Grounds
    • A Sense of Place
      • Virtual Tour
      • Geology
      • Historic Land Use
      • History of the Preserve
    • Special Habitat Areas
      • Meadow
      • Aquetong Meadow
      • Penn’s Woods
      • Heritage Forest
      • Limestone Habitat
      • Founders’ Pond
      • Pond
      • Pidcock Creek, Dam & Mill Race
      • Green Labyrinth
    • Historic Elements
      • Stone Arch Bridge
      • Log Cabin
      • The Captain James Moore Pavilion
    • News
      • Twinleaf Newsletter
      • In the News
      • Accreditations & Affiliations
  • GROWNative Plants
    • About Native Plants
      • What is a Native Plant?
      • What is a Plant Community?
      • Why are Native Plants and Plant Communities Important?
      • Plant Stewardship at the Preserve
    • Native Plant Nursery
      • Buying Native Plants
      • Native Plant Catalog
      • Grow Houses
      • Plant Grants
    • Garden with Natives
      • Why Native Plants Matter
      • Native Plant Benefits
      • Understanding Plant Communities in Your Garden
      • Attracting Birds, Bees and Butterflies
      • Transitioning Your Garden
      • Get Started
      • Native Plant Profiles from A to Z
      • Right Plant, Right Place
      • Maintaining Your Garden
      • Invasive Species
      • What Threats Do Invasives Pose to Our Native Plant Communities?
    • Living Museum Collection of Native Plants
      • Curation & Acquisitions
      • Partnering with the Community
      • Contributing to Our Plant Collection
  • LEARN& Discover
    • Calendar
    • Tour the Preserve
      • Guided Wildflower Walks
      • Self-Guided Walks
      • Group Tours
    • Talks, Walks, & Lectures
      • Exploring Nature
      • Thursday Night Nature
      • Winter Lecture Series
      • Knowing Native Plants
      • Growing Native Plants
      • Specialty Walks
      • Workshops & Events
        • Ecology & Conservation
        • Art, Health & Nature
        • Birding Programs
        • Penn State Extension Programs
    • Kids & Family Programs
      • Children’s Summer Reading
      • Nature Buddies
      • Nature Explorations
      • Schools & Scouts
        • School Group Tours
        • Off-Site Programs
        • Scout Tour and Badge
    • Become a Naturalist
      • What is a Naturalist?
      • Ask a Naturalist
      • Naturalist Training Overviews
      • Core Training
      • Advanced Training
      • Supplemental Learning
      • Naturalist Fulfillment
    • Conferences & Symposia
      • Land Ethics Symposium
      • Land Ethics Award
      • Native Plants in the Landscape Conference at Millersville
    • Videos
  • PEOPLEof the Preserve
    • Our Story
      • Our Mission
      • What Makes Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve Unique
    • Our Board & Advisors
      • Board of Trustees
      • Advisory Council
    • Our Staff
    • Our Volunteers
    • Voices of Our Volunteers
  • SPECIALEvents
    • Spring Wildflower Gala
      • About the Gala
      • Gala Sponsors & Sponsorship
      • Gala Auction
    • Your Event at the Preserve
      • Wedding & Event Venues
      • Policies & Fees
  • JOIN US& Support
    • Become a Member
      • Levels of Membership
      • Join Now!
      • Library Pass Program
    • Become a Volunteer
      • Opportunities for Everyone
      • Opportunities for Teens
      • Naturalist
      • Corporate Groups/Service Groups
      • Special Projects
      • Volunteer Application
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Give a Gift
      • Annual Fund
      • Endowment Fund
      • Memorial & Tribute Gifts
      • Bequests
      • Form 990
    • Become a Sponsor
      • Land Ethics Symposium
      • Native Plants in the Landscape Conference Millersville
      • Spring Wildflower Gala
    • Additional Sponsorship Opportunities
      • Pocket Habitats in the Community
      • Become a Business Partner
        • Become a Partner

Grow Native Plants

  • Home
  • GROW Native Plants
  • Garden With Natives
  • Right Plant, Right Place

Garden with Natives

Right Plant, Right Place

Photo: Mary Anne Borge

It is common in the gardening world to hear that successful planting is all about “right plant, right place.” While this is true, the Preserve also highly recommends focusing on the benefits of using native plants of local origin.

“Right plant, right place” means that as long as you meet the conditions for that plant’s particular growing needs, such as light, moisture level, pH and soil type, the plant will probably be successful—no matter where within its known growing range that particular plant is growing.

But there is something else you should consider. Individual plants within a given population of a species evolved together in a specific locale, and therefore share history. In other words, the plants share specific adaptations that make them the most optimally adapted population of that species for the environmental conditions found in that particular locale. Plants that share such adaptions are known as an ecotype of their species. Compared to other members of their species that grow elsewhere, they may have a slightly different height, leaf size or disease resistance, among other adaptations, many of which may not even be readily apparent.

According to the National Park Service, “Taking plant species that are of one ecotype and moving them to an area with different environmental conditions, such as different freezing stress or different moisture levels, can result in poor growth or death.” The reverse can also be true: a native species from the wrong region can, in some cases, have an advantage over the local population, even becoming aggressive and out-competing the local ecotype. There are some cultivars of switch grass (Panicum virgatum), for example, that show this tendency.

Furthermore, while a particular plant may appear to be successful no matter where it is planted within its known growing range, it is simply impossible to know exactly where that plant falls short in fulfilling other ecosystem and foodweb contributions.

For example, plants of a more southern origin that are transported to this area may grow, flower, set fruit and begin to deteriorate on an earlier life cycle schedule than plants of more local origin. If the pollinating insects for that species appear on schedule for that ecoregion, it is very possible that the flowering may have already occurred in that particular plant and the time for pollination will have passed.

You may wonder why your plant never sets fruit or goes to seed. And if the plant doesn’t set fruit or produce seed, its value as a food source in the food web is lost. This is especially important in shrubs that produce high lipid fruits that serve as an essential energy source in autumn for migrating birds.

Given the genetic variability inherent in transported nursery stock, instead of thinking, “right plant, right place,” we should instead think “right plant, right place, right genes."

Following this philosophy not only leads to plants that have evolved to thrive in our local environmental conditions but also leads to plants whose life cycles best sync with the birds and insects that depend upon them.

The best way to ensure this is by using native plants of locale origin—the kind of plants available at the Preserve’s Native Plant Nursery.

  • Sun-loving Native Perennials
  • Shade-loving Native Perennials
  • Native Trees and Shrubs
  • Native Plants to Attract Birds
  • Native Plants for Meadows - Wet
  • Native Plants for Meadows - Dry
  • Native Perennials for Wet Sites
  • Native Perennials for Dry Sites
  • Deer Tolerant/Resistant Plants
  • Black Walnut Tolerant/Resistant Plants

Garden with Natives

  • Why Native Plants Matter
  • Native Plant Benefits
  • Understanding Plant Communities in Your Garden
  • Attracting Birds, Bees and Butterflies
  • Transitioning Your Garden
  • Get Started
  • Native Plant Profiles from A to Z
  • Maintaining Your Garden
  • Right Plant, Right Place
  • Invasive Species
  • What Threats Do Invasives Pose to Our Native Plant Communities?

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Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve inspires the appreciation and use of native plants by serving as a sanctuary and an educational resource for conservation and stewardship.

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CONTACT US
Tel: 215.862.2924
Email: bhwp@bhwp.org
Mail: PO Box 685 | New Hope | PA 18938

1635 River Road | New Hope | PA 18938

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April - June
Open Daily from 9 am - 5 pm
Last admission at 4pm

July - March
Open Tue - Sun from 10 am - 4 pm
Last admission at 3pm

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