Cues to Care: An Important Tool for Native Gardeners

We view our native gardens as aesthetically beautiful, of course; but

we also see the beauty of their ecological function – their role in the

food web of the ecoregion where we live. We’re so passionate about

native gardening that we assume everyone else is.

The general public is not there yet. In fact, most people today are

unfamiliar with native plants and certainly don’t share our passion for

native gardens. Sadly, the “lawn culture” is still alive and well in

Acadiana and across our nation.

We as native gardeners are the early adopters of ecological gardening.

The number of ecological gardeners is trending upward, but we need to

convince more of the public to go native.

One way we can inspire others to use native plants is to manage our

native gardens to appeal to the general public. Appealing native

landscapes will be viewed favorably by your neighbors and are less

likely to run afoul of government lawn ordinances or HOA regulations.

“Cues to Care”, which has been around for 30 years, employs visual

indicators to show your landscape is intentionally cared for and

maintained – that your gardens are welcoming to people. It is a useful

method to make your native landscape look appealing and motivate

more gardeners to use native plants.

Gardeners employing Cues to Care include the following design

elements:

• Clearly defined, tidy, winding edges or paths.

• Short plants along garden edges and tall plants in back.

• Plants installed in drifts or patches rather than single individuals.

• Seating inviting people into the garden.

• Trellises, arbors, or rain barrels.

• Habitat support elements such as bird baths and feeders.

• Hardscapes such as patios and flagstone walkways.

• Signs, such as Louisiana Certified Habitat, that show intent.

  
  

Please be aware that employing one or more of these Cues to Care in

an otherwise weedy garden is not enough, and actually may be

counterproductive. For example, placing a sign advertising a native

landscape in an unkempt, weedy, and otherwise unappealing garden

conveys to the general public the message that native plants are to

blame for this messy garden – certainly not the message native

gardeners want to send. Furthermore, placing such a sign in an

unkempt garden will not keep code enforcement personnel away.

If you receive a letter for a lawn ordinance violation, the issue can

usually be resolved amicably by responding promptly, determining the

exact nature of the violation, and working with enforcement personnel

to quickly resolve the matter. Ignoring a letter about a lawn ordinance

violation will likely activate a response by the local government to

remedy the situation itself at the property owner’s expense.

Most investigations of lawn ordinance violations are triggered by

reports from neighbors. Therefore, communicating your intent to your

neighbors is important. Try to help them understand why you are

gardening with native plants. The Louisiana Native Plant Society

Communication Toolkit offers suggestions and tips for making your

native garden acceptable to neighbors: https://www.lnps.org/about/

communication-toolkit/.

Residents of Lafayette Parish may also find LCG’s Native Planting Guide

useful: https://www.lafayettela.gov/lcg-native-planting-guide.

Ecological gardeners, let’s work together to maintain a good

relationship with our not-yet-native-gardening neighbors and use our

native, well-maintained landscapes as examples to inspire our

neighbors and the general public to follow our lead. Our overriding goal

is to encourage others to join us in creating more habitat on our

property, which not only shows the beauty of native plants but also

supports our native wildlife. Employing Cues to Care is an important

tool we can all use to achieve this goal.

Lawrence Rozas