Spring is in bloom: Go Garden!

Native Plants in Michigan

While it starts to get warmer and flora begins to bloom, brighten up your lawn and garden with native Michigan plants to help stormwater management and protect natural waterways. Native Michigan plants have deep rooted systems that can absorb much more water than, for example, grass.  These systems help reduce surface runoff, as they take in more water and are more permeable. As a result of surface runoff decreases and deep root systems, the erosion in that area also decreases. The decreased erosion in an area supports land stability. For this reason, native plants are greatly favored along shorelines. Because native plants can absorb more water and have larger root systems, they are also excellent at filtering runoff which reduces the chances of pollutants entering lakes, rivers, or streams. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

As these native plants are suitable for this climate and environment, they require less fertilizer, saving gardeners fertilizer costs. The risk of fertilizer chemicals having been picked up by stormwater and ending up in waterways through the stormwater system in native plant areas is significantly lesser than that of grass.  These plants also require less water and are known to fight local pests. Not only is the maintenance for native plants significantly reduced but they also will also support the environment significantly better.

Implementing a rain garden:

One easy way to implement native species into your lawn and improve your stormwater management is to implement a rain garden. A rain garden is a place for stormwater to flow to and get easily filtered and recycled back into the ecosystem. Not to mention, native plants are much more aesthetically pleasing and bring color to an otherwise dull area. A list of native plants to Saginaw can be found on the Michigan State Native Plant’s website linked here.