Native plants: Nature’s Secret Weapon for Erosion Control!
September 2026
Written by Board Member, Jean Siers
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I feel like I have a secret weapon in my sloping front yard here in Salisbury. I need one because between the sandy soil and my house sitting on what feels like one of the few hills around, I worry about erosion of my yard.
The best part? My secret weapon is available to anyone: Native shrubs, perennials, and grasses!
When we bought the house a little more than four years ago, big patches of our front hill were overrun with English ivy, an incredibly invasive non-native. It had completely grown over sad azaleas and boxwoods. It had grown to the sidewalk. It had grown over a set of lovely steps that were all but invisible. The sections not covered by ivy were fescue. And still, in heavy storms, sand eroded down to the sidewalk below.
One of my favorite segments in my Master Gardener class focused on the power of the native plants’ root structure. While regular fescue turf has roots a couple of inches deep, native plants such as brown-eyed Susan, little blue stem, and goldenrods, have root systems that can penetrate an impressive 15 inches or more. That network of long roots can hold the soil much better than turf grass, and that has amazing benefits besides not having to sweep up sand after every big rain.
I decided to try this in my own yard. First we tore out the awful English ivy, which involved a fork, an axe, and (only in my dreams) dynamite. For all the roots buried deep in the sandy soil, it still didn’t hold the hill very well. We landscaped the areas with some rocks to build tiered beds, and then planted coneflowers, brown-eyed susans, little bluestem grass, catmint, and more. The first season was tough – soil continued to erode and the sloping beds, even mulched, were difficult to water. I worried I had made a mistake.
But by the second season, and each season since, the beds have filled in and the root system has expanded. The plants are beautiful and full of bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and goldfinches. And miraculously, even in heavy rains like we’ve had this summer, the soil does not erode!
According to University of Maryland Extension, the benefits of replacing lawn with native plants are far-reaching. Impervious surfaces such as roofs, driveways, sidewalks and roads, are basically conduits carrying rainwater and the pollutants it collects into storm drains and ultimately into the watershed. The root structure of native plants can help keep those pollutants from reaching the impervious surfaces, which in turn helps keep those pollutants out of our watershed. Even just preventing sand and other soils from reaching storm drains helps protect our water systems.
Those native plants, adapted to our growing conditions – soil, moisture, heat and cold – can thrive without massive doses of fertilizers, extra water, and pesticides. That also protects the watershed.
They provide homes and sustenance for native insects and birds. The most common example is the monarch butterfly, which needs milkweed for their larva to eat and grow. Certain native bees rely on asters and goldenrod, and cannot survive on the beautiful, showy non-natives.
It’s easy to start with a few native plants in a yard. If you can replace turf grass or non-natives, it’s a win for your yard, for native pollinators, and for the watershed and the Bay!
Jean Siers is the Regional Director of Society of St. Andrew’s Delmarva office; a WET board member; and a University of Maryland Extension master gardener.
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