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.

"Native" refers to plants indigenous to the Northeastern United States. This means they were not brought over by settlers, Schaefer said. Because they originated and evolved here, they are uniquely suited to the conditions here.

In contrast, popular non-natives 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.

Native plants need minimal care and provide important food and habitat for wildlife, such as butterflies and other insects.

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. Pesticides will kill the beneficial insects, along with others.

The nursery practices integrated pest management, which 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."

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

"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 both the commercial food crop and 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 rather a low-growing shrub, often found in shaley mountain soils.

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

She introduced 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 opened.

"Native mints are really good for pollinators," said Schaefer.

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

The nursery includes a pond area that displays a variety of aquatic plants, while other areas show 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," said.

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

"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.

In addition to the tours, Edge of the Woods is offering insect exploration hikes 1 p.m. July 24 and Aug. 28.

Participants will have fun as they learn about the important role insects play.

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

Turn the tables on the bug predators 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. Wear a hat and bring sunscreen and water.