Edge of the Woods, which this year is celebrating a decade of promoting native plants, offers a tour of its native plant nursery in Orefield every Tuesday at 10 a.m.

On a recent Tuesday, co-owner Louise Schaefer began the tour in the retail area by explaining what is meant by "native plants," and how they differ from the varieties commonly planted by gardeners.

In their use of the term, "native" refers to plants indigenous to the Northeastern United States.

This means they were not brought over by settlers, Schaefer said.

The plants evolved here in communities; that is, they co-evolved with other things.

Because of this, they are uniquely suited to the conditions in which they evolved.

If the right plant is put in the right place, it should thrive without much intervention, Schaefer said.

By contrast, popular non-natives are often generalists, meaning they can thrive under a wide variety of conditions.

That is one reason they are often invasive.

They also may have a long bloom season, like the invasive purple loosestrife, allowing them to spread many more seeds.

Three to four weeks is a long bloom time for a native plant.

So why plant natives?

Aside from the fact in the right environment they need minimal care, they provide important food and habitat for wildlife, such as butterflies and other insects.

For example, the decline of monarch butterflies has been traced to a decline of milkweed along roadsides.

A good plant for the monarch caterpillar is the swamp milkweed, which thrives in average to moist conditions, said Schaefer.

But anything in the asclepias genus will support monarchs.

"Cornfields used to have a lot of milkweed, but now they don't, because of the use of herbicides," Schaefer said.

"We like people to get used to the fact they're going to see insects on their plants," she said, explaining pesticides will kill the beneficial insects, along with others.

The nursery uses minimal pesticides, and practices integrated pest management.

That means using a combination of monitoring, prevention and controls to remedy pest problems through the least harmful methods.

"To fight any insect, it's important to use a controlled, targeted approach and to know the right point in the life cycle at which to intervene," Schaefer said. "Using a spray gets the populations out of balance."

The retail area at Edge of the Woods has a selection of the best-looking plants for sale.

However, said Schaefer, they have seven acres of plants available.

Plants are organized according to the kind of environment where they thrive, such as shade, sun or wet conditions.

Schaefer said Edge of the Woods is a production as well as retail nursery.

Therefore, some plants will have signs saying "not for sale," because they are still growing.

Still, if someone really needs a particular plant they should ask because exceptions can be made.

"We don't collect any plants from the wild," Schaefer said. "It's important you don't do that, but only buy nursery-propagated plants."

She explained plants taken from the wild may not survive, and by taking them the wild population can be depleted.

All plants or seeds not propagated at the nursery are obtained from other nurseries.

The tour continued with an introduction to the various demonstration gardens and propagation areas where many other plants were for sale.

One area included a variety of shrubs and ground covers, along with flowering plants and ferns.

"Wild strawberry is really great for covering an area quickly," said Schaefer, pointing out a large-leaved plant, Fragaria virginiana, that looks very different from either the commercial food crop or the common weed variety.

The berries are also edible, she said, unlike those of the weed. Native geranium is another quickly-spreading cover, while native pachy-sandra forms clumps rather than sending out invasive runners.

"We like to get people thinking 12 inches or higher for ground cover. This helps to control weeds," she said. "We try to get people away from planting a huge swath of the same species. If the site isn't conducive to the one you picked, then it's a loss."

The fragrant comptonia, or sweet fern, is not actually a fern but a low-growing shrub, often found in shaley mountain soils.

"We have shale here," said Schaefer, pointing out a planting of comptonia, but it also grows in clay. "Spicebush is an important shrub for understory."

She continued, introducing the glossy-leaved shrub that gives its name to the spicebush swallowtail butterfly.

Many butterflies visit the plants at Edge of the Woods, and neighbors have reported seeing more birds since the nursery has been at this location.

"Native mints are really good for pollinators," said Schaefer, referring to insects like bees.

And the red-flowered native honeysuckle, while not as fragrant as the Japanese variety, attracts hummingbirds with its tubular flowers.

A pond area displayed a variety of aquatic plants, while other areas showed the beginnings of a meadowscape and a rain garden.

"If you have an area that gets runoff, dig a depression and put in plants that can tolerate standing water and can also survive when it dries out," she explained.

Meadowscapes, small areas of perennial grasses and wildflowers, take a few years to get established, Schaefer explained.

"It's really impossible to let something revert to a natural state," she said, explaining invasives will come in. "It has to be actively managed."

Crown vetch and multiflora rose were introduced with good intentions, she said, to provide food for wildlife.

But if given the opportunity, they will take over.

Native species will not re-establish themselves on their own.

The nursery does carry a few non-native plants, mainly heirloom fruit trees.

Schaefer said most food plants are non-native, the main exceptions being blueberry, pawpaw and persimmon, all of which the nursery offers.

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Edge of the Woods Native Plant Nursery, 2415 Route 100, Orefield, is offering insect exploration hikes for children and families led by Karen Byler, a.k.a. "Auntie K." 1 p.m. July 24 and on Aug. 28.

Participants will have fun as they learn about the important role insects play. Wear hat, bring sunscreen and water.

Tours are open and fun for all ages.

The July quest will feature flying Papillon, Mariposa and Borboleta.

Turn the tables on the predators of the bug world in August for Hunting the Big 5 and come on out to hunt the biggest, baddest, meanest bugs of them all.

This event is not for the faint of heart. Participants will learn even the "bad guys" have an important job to do.