The Importance Of Using Native And Adapted Plants.

Most likely you are here because you've heard of the importance of using native and adapted plants in your ranch, farm or hunting property landscape design: how a well balanced native and adapted plant community improves agricultural sustainability and conservation of natural resources, helps save water, provides habitat for pollinators and other beneficial wildlife, increases wildlife and livestock productivity and adds to property value.

Additionally, you may have a desire to incorporate native plants in your landscape to provide habitat for your favorite game bird or mammal, to increase pasture quality for your farm or ranch animals or to create an attractive garden near the homestead or farmhouse to enjoy an abundance of butterflies and song birds.

You may have seen examples of how Worldwide conservation of indigenous native plants increases pollinator diversity and helps provide an array of food, medicine and other plant products for a growing world population. Or, you may have heard about studies that have shown that a well designed and diverse landscape using natives is one of the best ways to sequester carbon to reduce adverse climate change, how planting a sustainable ecologically stratified landscape requires less maintenance in the form of cultivation and tillage and increases bio-mass to offset carbon use. Your farm and ranch or garden magazine may have featured articles about how noxious weeds are more easily controlled in an ecologically balanced landscape.

How Do You Get The Right Plants And Seeds?

But now that you have decided to incorporate native plants, how can you be assured that your landscape design or natural resource conservation project will be successful?

When you purchase plants and seeds how will you determine which plants are adapted to your soil and climate? How will you know which natives might potentially dominate your plantings and reduce diversity and balance and whether the native plants you select will help support the wildlife you desire to attract?

When you start planting how will you control noxious weeds and insect pests? How does your project relate to the ecological community where you are located? How will you get the most out of your conservation dollar?

Three Ravens Ranch provides this web site to help you learn about how EcoRegion adapted plants work in rural landscape design to beautify a landscape, provide habitat for wildlife and game animals, control noxious weeds, and provide better pasture and rangeland forage for grazing animals. We'd also like to let you know about the Natural Plant Selector Kits for Grazing, Wildlife, Country Landscapes and Hunting and how they can help you define your landscape design objectives and give you the tools you need to begin a successful planting project for your rural property.

Articles And Guidelines To Help You Begin.

We present a series of conservation articles on how to select site specific seeds and plants that we think will be of interest to you. Exploring Conservation Objectives, looks at planting for four different landscape objectives; Selecting Quality Vegetation For Hunting Properties, Beautiful Country Landscapes, Quality Pastures, and Creating Your Own Wildlife Sanctuary