When it comes to plants, the folks at The Native Plant Center in Valhalla will tell you that natives have some real advantages. Their mission is “educating people about the environmental necessity, economic value and natural beauty of native plants in the Northeast.”
This weekend, the Native Plant Center is teaming up with Perennial Gardens nursery in Bedford for a native plant sale. A percentage of cash, check and debit card sales (not credit cards) will be donated to help further the Center’s mission. There will be native plant experts on hand to answer all your questions. Scroll down for a list of native trees, shrubs and perennials for sale at the nursery.
Native plants are those that have grown up around these parts for a few millennia. Native plants use less water, need less maintenance and provide familiar shelter and food to our Westchester critters.
Not all non-native plants are invasive, but according to the U.S. National Arboretum website, “a naturally aggressive plant may be especially invasive when it is introduced to a new habitat. An invasive species that colonizes a new area may gain an ecological edge since the insects, diseases, and foraging animals that naturally keep its growth in check in its native range are not present in its new habitat. Some invasive plants are worse than others.”
Unfortunately, most garden centers still sell some of the worst invasives:Â English ivy, liatris, Japanese barberry, Japanese honeysuckle and burning bush. It’s up to homeowners and landscapers to stop buying the invasives and create demand for native plants.
2011 Native Plant Sale Perennial Gardens in Bedford, NY
414 Old Post Road, Bedford  NY 10506
Saturday, June 25 at 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 26 at 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Call the Perennial Gardens, Inc. at:  914-234–6311 with any questions about this event.
Perennial Gardens Native Plants List – Summer 2011
Native Trees and Shrubs
Scientific Name, Â Common Name
Aesculus parviflora    White Flowering Bottlebrush Buckeye
Amalanchier lamarkii   Lamark Serviceberry/Shadblow
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ‘Massachusetts’ Â Â Massachusetts Kinnickkinnick
Aristolochia macrophylla       Dutchment’s Pipe
Asimina triloba   Pawpaw
Betula nigra ‘Little King’Â Â Â Â Â Little King Compact River Birch
Campsis radicans       Trumpet Vine
Cercis canadensis ‘Ace of Hearts’Â Â Â Â Â Â Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis ‘Pink Heartbreaker’Â Â Pink Heartbreaker Weeping Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis ‘ Forest Pansy’Â Â Â Â Â Â Purple Leaf Eastern Redbud
Clethera alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice’ Â Pink Flowering Summersweet
Clethera alnifolia      White Flowering Summersweet
Cornus alternifolia    Alternate Leaf/Pagoda Dogwood
Cornus canadensis      Bunchberry
Cornus florida ‘Cherokee Princess’Â Â Â Â Â Cherokee Princess Flowering Dogwood
Cornus racemosa ‘Geauge’Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Graytwig Dogwood
Diervilla lonicera     Low Bush Honeysuckle
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snowflake’, ‘Alice’Â Â Â Â Â Oakleaf Hydrangea (Assorted Varieties)
Ilex glabra ‘Compacta’Â Compact Inkberry
Itea virginica ‘Henry’s Garnet’ Â Â Henry’s Garnet Virginia Sweetspire
