More people are interested in enhancing their landscapes with native plants. Dr. Amy Wright, who is an associate professor of horticulture at Auburn University, visited with me recently on the Backyard Wisdom radio show. She is a big advocate of using natives in the landscape for a lot of reasons. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons — it’s just smart to choose a plant that is well adapted to your environment rather than one that is native to a potentially very different one.
Amy and I talked about natives on two Backyard Wisdom shows. During the first show, we talked about some of her favorite native deciduous shrubs, including these.
Itea virginica, Virginia sweetspire
Chionanthus virginicus, white fringetree
Viburnum nudum, possumhaw
She offers these as other native deciduous shrubs for our Alabama landscapes.
Callicarpa americana, beautyberry
Fothergilla gardenia, fothergilla
Ilex verticillata, winterberry holly
Clethra alnifolia, summersweet
Calycanthus floridus, sweetshrub
Cephalanthus occidentalis, buttonbush
Lindera benzoin, spicebush
Oxydendrum arboreum, sourwood
Rhododendron austrinum, Florida flame azalea