There are several meanings that the word alien might trigger. Children might visualize creatures from outer space. Adults might think of someone crossing a border. I'm using the word to refer to alien critters and plants that are not native to a region.

When you choose plantings, choose wisely and buy native plant species. Here are some reasons to plant native plants:

Bring Beauty and color to the landscape: Native plants provide four seasons of interest and provide a sense of place. A landscape of native plants creates a place different from any backyard in another part of the state, nation or world.

Save on water and fertilizer: Native plants do not need supplemental watering or fertilizing once the plants are established.

Reduce disease: Landscapes with a diversity of species can defend against a single insect wiping it out.

Attract beneficial insects and pollinators: Pollinators and native bees rely on native plants to survive.

Provide food for songbirds and butterflies: Even a modest increase in the number of native plants in an area expands the numbers and species of birds.

Restore and balance the ecology: Native plants are one link in a complex ecosystem web. All parts work together to keep water clean and air pure.

When I lead my "Walk and Talk Hikes" at PPL Martins Creek Environmental Preserve Tekening Trials, Northampton Community College and other locations, I point out and discuss the local flora, stressing the differences between native and nonnative plants.

Most invasive non-native plants remain untouched by native insects and other native animals while the native plants are eaten or partially eaten. Why? Alien plants are not on native critters' menus. Native animal species have eaten native plants for millenniums. Young mammals, like black bear cubs, learn what to eat by observing and mimicking what their mother eats. This is also true of other animals.

Japanese stilt grass is invading local environments. It grows quickly, eliminating native plants. My notes indicate it's been here for about 10 years, completely engulfing some areas. Merrill Creek Reservoir, Washington, N.J., had a forest understory covered by native plants. Now nothing but stilt grass and perhaps an occasional raspberry bush exists. This is also true in locations like Whitehall Parkway Recreational Area, Whitehall Township; Trexler Nature Preserve, Lowhill and North Whitehall townships, and other natural areas in and around the Lehigh Valley. Imagine if we lose our native wildflowers.

These preserves protect wildlife, including the Pennsylvania state mammal, the white-tailed deer. Although stilt grass covers the area, the deer are not eating the foreign grass. I think that deer will eventually begin eating the stilt grass because it will be the only plant available.

When my wife, Bev, and I moved to Lehigh Township in 1993, our property was covered in grass and had about 80 mature trees. After three years of mowing grass around the trees and collecting the autumn leaves (approximately 200,000 leaves on a mature oak tree), I decided it was time for natural or ecological succession; the process by which an area's plant species change over time. I did not formulate a plan. I simply mowed paths with my tractor through the accumulated leaf litter, eliminating the need to mow around the trees.

Over the years, we planted evergreens. The majority were eastern hemlocks, the state tree, because they grow well in shade. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before an alien appeared: the Japanese wooly adelgid. Combating the wooly adelgids, a tiny insect about the size of a sharp pencil point, became a time-consuming and expensive undertaking. Sadly, I've been cutting down the hemlocks and burning the branches so the adelgids can't spread.

Bev recently searched the Internet for plants that repel ticks and mosquitoes. Our shaded habitat holds moisture, thus providing excellent mosquito and tick habitat. Rosemary, cedar, basil, lavender, bee balm, lemon balm, onion, lemongrass, citronella grass, tansy, marigolds, catnip, peppermint, horsemint and giant hyssop help repel mosquitos. Lavender, garlic, pennyroyal, pyrethrum, sage, American beautyberry and eucalyptus help repel ticks.

We have an organic vegetable garden and use no fertilizers or insecticides. Vegetable scrap compost and leaves provide our flower and vegetable garden fertilizer. Bev handpicks harmful insects from the garden plants. Our yard-lawn is healthy, composed of native dandelions, wild violets and other flora which supply seeds for songbirds. Lawns treated with chemicals look lush and green, but they're unhealthy. For example: Earthworms are important for enriching and improving soil, but you won't find earthworms in a chemically-treated lawn. I rest my case.

Lehigh Gap Nature Center, Washington Township, sponsored a native plant program in 2013. Grants provided funds for volunteers to buy, plant and care for rare and endangered Pennsylvania native plants. With care, the plants are maturing and flourishing. Choose native plant species for your property. It will be a benefit to you, your property and local ecosystems.

That's the way I see it!

To schedule programs, hikes and birthday parties: 610-767-4043; comments: bbbcole@enter.net

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&Copy; 2015 Bud Cole