The “BaySafe Plants Program” is Behnke Nurseries’ native plants program. BaySafe perennials and woody plants are signed with a distinctive blue logo. We don’t use individual labels in order to reduce the use of plastic. The best availability of BaySafe plants is in the spring.

What is a BaySafe plant?

Definitions of “Native” vary. To be called a Behnke BaySafe Plant, the plant species must be native to Maryland. It may also be a cultivar (a horticultural variety) of a native plant. There are many fine garden plants that are hybrids of natives, or native to other parts of the United States. We carry these plants, but we don’t label them as BaySafe.

Why should gardeners grow BaySafe plants?

Native plants are critical for the environment. Many serve as food sources for native insects, which in turn are food sources for birds and other animals. Most native insects are unable to feed on non-native plants; thus, food sources for our song birds are reduced when we plant non-native plants. Yes, you will have some feeding damage, holes in leaves from caterpillars, but it is critical for species diversity that gardeners include native plants in their landscapes.

In addition, since native plants are well-adapted to our local climate and native soil, they will require less care than many non-natives. Because we are a garden center, our BaySafe Plants also offer ornamental qualities; attractive flowers, fruits, foliage and bark. You can improve the environment around your home and beautify your garden at the same time. Availability of plants varies seasonally. Call store or email your question to behnkes@behnkes.net.

You can download a list of BaySafe plants in PDF format here.
Also, check out these lists on our main website. BaySafe Perennials, BaySafe Aquatic Plants, Baysafe Tree and Shrubs.

Conservation Landscaping: Good for the Bay
—by John Peter Thompson; Founding Board Member, Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council; Chairman of the Board, Behnke Nurseries

The Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC) has drafted “Eight Essential Elements” of Conservation Landscaping. The vision is to one day find conservation landscapes used routinely throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Ideally, these landscapes could be easily recognized because they would demonstrate these essential characteristics. In practice, relatively few model landscapes currently could claim to meet the conditions set forth in this list, but the closer you can bring your own landscape to the one described here, the more you will be helping all life in the Chesapeake watershed. Below, I have included bits of the report.

Note that this is not a process of “plant it and forget it.” Conservation landscapes are not maintenance free, and do require their own special set of cares and concerns.
Conservation landscaping works with nature to reduce pollution. Conservation landscaping incorporates environmentally sensitive design, low impact development, non-invasive native and beneficial plants, and integrated pest management to create diverse landscapes that help protect clean air and water, support wildlife, and provide a more beautiful, healthier human environment.

Some of the basic practices prescribed for each element are desribed below.

1. Design
Conservation landscape design occurs in the context of nature. It seeks to preserve, enhance and reduce impacts upon a site’s natural features. Design specifically to benefit the environment, while providing function for personal use and displaying the beauty of well-maintained, natural landscaping. Preserve existing environmental features to the greatest possible degree.

2. Native plants
Use a diversity of locally-native plants that are appropriate for existing site conditions and that provide a wide variety of environmental benefits.

3. Invasive plants and site management
Alien plants are those that occur in locations beyond their known historical natural ranges. Invasive plants are those aliens that display rapid growth and spread, allowing them to establish over large areas, overwhelming and displacing existing vegetation and forming dense one-species stands.
Avoid planting invasive alien species, remove them where they exist, and work to manage properties to prevent their spread on an ongoing basis. Unfortunately, many commonly used landscaping plants are invasive species ( e.g; barberry, burning bush, butterfly bush, English ivy, Norway maple, purple loosestrife), so you may need to learn a new palette of native plants.

4. Wildlife habitat
A conservation landscape encourages native wildlife species. Provide a diverse plant environment which includes a variety of food sources year round.

5. Air quality
Minimize activities that directly create air pollution. Water pollution is increased by atmospheric deposition of nutrients (from the air into the water); help improve water quality by reducing sources of air pollution. Decrease the size of lawn areas to reduce mowing time and overall yard maintenance. Reduce the use of gasoline-powered equipment such as lawn mowers, string trimmers, and leaf blowers, which contribute to air pollution.

6. Water conservation and quality
A conservation landscape preserves the natural water cycle and helps keep waterways clean in your local watershed. Rainwater running off of the land and percolating into the ground carries with it chemicals, soil, plant debris, and other pollutants. Reduce the amount of pollution entering local waterways by using plants that are adapted to local conditions; using plants to stabilize soil to prevent erosion; using planted areas to help slow the flow of runoff, filter pollutants and use up excess nutrients.Retain and re-use rainwater runoff through various stormwater management practices.

7. Healthy soils
Healthy plants begin with healthy soil, containing a complex balance of minerals, water, air and organic material (including living organisms). Disturbances to soil can result in a breakdown of soil structure and an imbalance of plant and animal communities. These disturbances may include compaction by heavy equipment or foot traffic, changes in nutrient cycling and pH from runoff and air deposition, removal of topsoil, erosion, and plowing. Thus, a cornerstone of conservation landscaping is the proper protection and ongoing care of the soil.

8. Sustainable landscapes
Conservation landscaping may reduce human intervention and therefore can save time and resources. Traditional intensive maintenance practices tend to be environmentally damaging. Instead, develop a site management program that works with natural processes, recycles resources onsite, and achieves a self-sustaining landscape. Sustainable or conservation landscapes are not an escape from gardening. They are an alternative to traditional landscaping choices. Like traditional gardening practices, a conservation landscape or garden requires planning and work. Doing nothing is not a conservation landscape. A garden unattended is not a garden nor is it a natural landscape; it is a dynamic invitation for invasive species and unwanted pests contributing little or nothing to the ecosystem which a conservation landscape tried to support or enhance.

Visit the CCLC garden installation at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, DC. The garden is being planted as part of the exhibit, “One Planet-Ours! Sustainability for the 22nd Century,” which opens on May 24, 2008. Behnke Nurseries is proud to have donated a number of Behnke Baysafe native perennials for the garden. For more information visit the CCLC at www.chesapeakelandscape.org/