Designing with Native Plants: Creating Elegant Landscapes along the Main Line
There's a common misconception that using native plants means your garden will look wild, overgrown and stick out rather than blend into a more traditionally landscaped neighborhood.
It’s understandable-often landscapes that have been created with native plants have emphasized the wildlife value or native roots of the included plants more than the aesthetic qualities of the landscape. The result is often a landscape that feels out of control with bulky plants right up to the edge of the property and flopping onto the sidewalk or overwhelming the surrounding space with plants that are too big and don’t maintain interest year-round.
The truth is, native plants can be used just as effectively and beautifully in thoughtfully designed landscapes that complement and enhance homes and neighborhoods along the Main Line and at the Beach.
Native plants are not just for meadows, wetlands and forests. When selected and arranged in the landscape with intention, native plants can bring structure, color, and year-round appeal to your home in any garden style. Whether your home leans classic or contemporary, you can use native species to create a landscape that looks polished, inviting, and perfectly suited to your neighborhood.
Design Principles Still Apply
The key is in the design. Using the same principles that guide any successful garden—layering, repetition, scale, contrast, and seasonal interest—you can achieve a native garden that is just as refined as one filled with non-native ornamentals.
Layering: Combine groundcovers, mid-height perennials, taller perennials, grasses, and taller shrubs or small trees to create depth and dimension. For example, Creeping Phlox beneath a grouping Prairie Dropseed, in front of Baptisia blue false indigo and serviceberry can create a lush, dynamic look.
Repetition: Echoing key plants or colors throughout your beds brings cohesion and intentionality throughout the entire landscape. Grouping plants like phlox or rudbeckia in drifts helps avoid a “random” feel.
Scale: Choose plants that match the size of your space. There’s a native plant for every scale—from compact woodland phlox for smaller beds to statuesque Amsonia 'Grande' for more expansive sunny settings.
Form & Color: Mix leaf textures and plant shapes for visual interest, just as you would in a traditional garden. Contrasting the soft, fine-texture grasses like Shenandoah Switchgrass with the bold color of Echinacea Purple Coneflower and summer blooming Liatris Blazing Star creates a dynamic combination of forms that look great in bloom and as the seed heads develop.
Seasonal Interest: By planning for bloom times throughout spring, summer, and fall—and including evergreens or plants with striking seed heads, you ensure your landscape looks alive and engaging all year. Combining berry-producing plants, shrubs with attractive stem color, grasses that persist in winter, and perennials like Husker Red Beardtongue that feature attractive seedheads and semi-evergreen basal foliage sets your landscape up to look great year round.
A Natural Fit for the Neighborhood
Using native plants doesn't mean sacrificing curb appeal. In fact, native landscapes can often blend more harmoniously with the surrounding environment. They provide a sense of place, reflecting the natural beauty of our region, while supporting local pollinators and wildlife. They also tend to require less maintenance, once established, and are more resilient to our climate.
Homeowners along the Main Line are increasingly embracing low-maintenance and sustainable practices and a well-designed native landscape can make your property stand out for all the right reasons. From tidy front yards with neatly edged native plantings to lush backyard sanctuaries filled with color and the buzzing of pollinators and other wildlife, native landscapes can be as elegant, beautiful and intentional as any formal landscape.
With native species and design in mind, your garden can be both ecologically rich and aesthetically pleasing.
A native landscape and the surrounding neighborhood don’t have to be at odds. From the Main Line to the Shore, native landscapes and beautiful homes can—and should—grow together beautifully.
