gg, i was so impressed with your very articulate exposition on this topic- that I read it slowly and out loud to My Love. Occasionally visitors to the 'retum will notice our many Berberis- and comment on the Invasives list. The response that I give is usually rather harrumpphy (no surprise to pm et al!) I talk about how parts(just parts) of the official 'Invasives' list in Ma.were written for Reader's Digest level education, whereby the intricasies of this barberry or that barberry are believed to be too complex for the average buyer/gardener, so the whole barberry genus is lumped into the Invasives category. Berberis, the 'wild' one that grew here on our property when we moved here 23 yrs ago- THAT i have seen bird-seeded around. But all my berberis cultivars- aurea, helmond's pillar, rosy glow, etc etc etc- in my 23 years here- i have never seen them pop up here or on abutting properties. And berberis is not on the Invasives list in abutting states.I buy mine in Ct. I woud imagine that other 'Invasives' lists from other states- must also share these problems.? end of rant. I can't help myself; it just makes me sooo mad!! Others can now take their turns! best, mindy

Hi, I don't think many plants compete well with the ivy. Someone here can probably comment more on that. The plants you've chosen have a rather large variety of growing requirements... V. bluebells generally take a rich woodsy soil with a fair amount of shade. V. creeper is a ground cover that I don't think will do well in pots. Elderberries get very big, sucker and like quite a bit of water and at least part sun. Green coneflowers get very big. I have huge clumps of them growing by the creek. I am not positive of their growing requirements, but they are growing wild in my yard in part sun and above average moisture. Great blue lobelia requires at least part sun and above average moisture. That might do OK in a pot. Some types of milkweed have a large taproot, so I'm not sure they will do well in pots. I'm not sure if they all have taproots, though. Blue wood aster may do OK in pots. Most types of JPW get very large. They like above average water and at least part sun, preferably full. While I think there are many natives that would do well in pots, I am not sure all those you have in mind would work well. I hope I'm not discouraging you from trying natives in pots. You may want to do a little more research on what you chose to try. Hopefully others here can offer their thoughts. I'm by no means an expert. As far as IDs, the only one I know from your pics is the one in the pink pot--a hosta. Blue Ridge Mountain Girl

pieheart, I'm also in New Jersey and interested in native plants. I'm not sure about where you are, but I've had so-so success finding the native plants I want at the local nurseries. I'm linking to a page from the N.J. Native Plant Society that has sources for native plants. From this list I've ordered from Toadshade and have gone to the native plant sale at Bowman's. I'd recommend both. Toadshade last time I looked only offered a few shrubs. If you're interested in Bowman's act quickly. I just looked and their plant sale ends this weekend and there's not another until fall. http://www.bhwp.org/seed_catalog/plantsale.htm I've also gotten many native plants I've had trouble finding elsewhere from periodic sales the Audubon Society near me has and from other sales by Master Gardeners, Arboretums etc. Enjoy. -- Lori Here is a link that might be useful: sources for native plants from N. J. Native Plant Society site

One has to distinguish between plants that are invasive in natural settings and plants that are invasive in gardens. Lots of natives are invasive in the garden sense of the word. They spread in the garden and may require that the gardener control them. On the other hand, I don't know of any situations where a native plant has been invasive in a natural ecosystem, with the exception of Common Reed Phragmites australis (and it may be that a non-native variety of Phragmites is responsible for the invasion of east coast marshes). On the other hand, some species that are invasive in natural settings don't create much problem in the garden. For example, if you plant one of the shrub honeysuckles (e.g. Lonicera mackii) in your garden you'll probably have few problems with it - it won't spread about the garden very much, At the same time, however, it may be spreading seedlings throughout the local woods, displacing native plants and eventually taking over the understory of the woods. So think twice what is meant when someone says a plant is invasive. But your question is whether invasive and non-native mean the same thing, and whether it is OK to grow nonnative plants in your garden. Not all non-native plants are invasive, and almost everyone has at least a few non-natives in their garden. Almost all vegetables are non-native, as are most lawn grasses. I think it is fine to grow non-natives, but I try to avoid them as much as possible. If there is a native alternative then I select the native plant, and I try to avoid any non-native plant that shows a tendency to spread, especially if it spread to any wild areas. Lots of plants commonly recognized as invasive were at one time grown as garden plants, and I bet that there are garden plants we use now that will in the future turn out to be troublesome invasives. For example, butterfly bush (buddleia davidii) is invasive in some parts of PA, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it listed as an invasive plant in future years. In the mean time, however, lots of people, even people who are concerned about things like invasive plants, are growing butterfly bushes not realizing they may be a problem. I won't even point out that Norway Maple, Bradford Pear, Common Privet, Water Hyacinth, and even Purple Loosestrife are commonly sold in nurseries - all are extremely invasive over a wide geographical range. I think that plants that have been in cultivation in the US for a long time are probably less likely to be a problem than pants that are newly intruduced, but you can never be sure. So, I think that non-native daffodils are fine, but I'd get rid of that Russian Sage...