Hello, fellow lovers of all things green.
In last week’s chat, Inviting Beneficial Garden Guests, Steve Rettke of Rutgers Cooperative Extension cited research showing that urban gardens, after 10 or 15 years of cultivating plant diversity and habitat stability, often become essentially pest-free. When stability takes root, nature balances herself. His reference to urban gardens reminds me of a visit to Pittsburgh several years ago that shaped how I think about cities, plants, and belonging.
Urban Gardens and Nature’s Balance
It also reminds me of a thoughtful post by Blaine Rothauser that appeared on LinkedIn after a recent Garden Dilemmas podcast episode. Blaine shared a remarkable head-on portrait of the Marmorated Brown Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) — a creature many of us love to hate when it invades our homes in autumn.
Seen up close, however, the insect reveals intricate patterns and unexpected beauty. Blaine noted that while the stink bug arrived from East Asia and initially puzzled native predators with its chemical defenses, nature has begun to adapt.
The much-maligned marmorated brown stink bug — Even controversial species can reveal surprising beauty. Photo by Blaine Rothauser
Birds such as chickadees, starlings, and grackles eat them, especially fledglings. Spiders, mantids, and assassin bugs prey on their young. Even small mammals consume overwintering clusters.
In time, the species has become another thread in the ecological web. Blaine’s reflection reminds us that while invasive species can cause real damage, they also reveal something about how ecosystems adapt. As he put it, perhaps we shouldn’t “shoot the messenger.” Often, the real story is about the pathways we humans create — through global trade, travel, and the movement of plants and materials around the world.
That perspective fits beautifully with the story that follows.
Lessons from Pittsburgh’s Point State Park
Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh was the highlight of my trip. The mist from the 150-foot fountain — where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio — offered relief from the heat. Native species grace the 36-acre park — many I love to include in landscape designs.
The fountain at Point State Park marks the meeting of three rivers — and a reminder that ecosystems, like cities, are places where many forces converge.
One that captures my heart is our native Common Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). I adore its smooth gray bark and graceful vase shape. Witch Hazel blooms far longer than most flowering trees — up to eight weeks — a remarkable adaptation because fewer pollinators are active when it blooms.
Along the paths are evergreen Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) and the beloved Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis), admired for its early spring pink blossoms before leaves emerge.
Native plants are increasingly celebrated — and rightly so. But there is another point of view when it comes to cities.
What Do We Mean by Native vs. Invasive Plants?
I had the privilege of hearing Peter Del Tredici speak about Urban Nature: Human Nature. He challenges traditional notions of what “belongs.” One question from his talk lingers: “What is native to filled land such as New York City or Boston?” His answer? “Nothing.”
Peter Del Tredici reminds us that the vegetation of cities is “as cosmopolitan as its people.” Urban ecosystems are constantly evolving.
Restoring a pre-colonial ecosystem in heavily altered urban land, he suggested, may not only be unrealistic — it may be misguided.
In Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast, he documents 222 plant species commonly found in cities — many of which originated in Europe and Asia. “The vegetation of cities is as cosmopolitan as its people,” one slide read. His tone was encouraging— embrace the change. Our world adapts.
Still, many of us feel a pull to hold onto what we perceive as native—plants, insects, and landscapes. Is it an ecological concern? Or simply wanting things to remain as they once were?
Dandelions are Here to Stay
Curiosity led me to Peter Del Tredici’s Boston Globe essay, “Amnesty for Plants.” He opens boldly: “Yank or spray all you want; the dandelion is here to stay.”
I adore dandelions, as we discussed in the Benefits of Plantain & Dandelion ‘Weeds’, and have tender memories of my dear old mom, who gave me my garden start, blowing dandelion seeds in a childlike defiance during a visit in her later years. She shared the same adoration.
Peter reminds us that dandelions and other so-called weeds arrived with European settlers in the 1600s, their seeds tucked in hay and grain. The arrival was both cultural and ecological. He asks: How long must a plant reside somewhere before it earns belonging?
European botanists classify long-established non-native plants introduced before 1500 as “archaeophytes,” granting them quasi-native status. Del Tredici proposes a similar idea for North America — that plants documented as growing here before 1800 could be considered naturalized residents. He argues that globalization and urbanization have reshuffled ecology. Novel ecosystems — mixtures of species thriving in human-disturbed habitats — now cover vast portions of the planet.
Belonging in the Garden of Life
So where does that leave us? Perhaps between restoration and acceptance. Between honoring native biodiversity and recognizing that the world — like us — is always changing. Plants and people have always moved. Seeds travel by wind, wildlife, and human hands. Some cause real environmental damage. Social tension from different points of view is real, too.
A Happy Honeybee meets a Sunny Dandelion.
But perhaps the deeper lesson is this: Belonging is not always about origin. Sometimes it is about contributions. About integration. About how adaptation occurs over time. Cities — like ecosystems — become multicultural. Multifaceted yet intertwined. Perhaps the question is not simply “native or not?” but “How do we cultivate balance?”
Urban gardens teach us that after years of thoughtful planting, pests diminish. Diversity strengthens the web. The rivers converge in Pittsburgh just as cultures converge in cities. Seeds travel. People travel. Adaptation unfolds.
Perhaps even the much-maligned marmorated stink bug has something to teach us. A species that arrived uninvited now slowly finds its place within the web of life. Nature rarely stands still. Given time, even disruption can become part of a new balance.
And maybe our role, as stewards of gardens and of life, is to tend with curiosity rather than fear — to restore where we can, accept where we must, and remember that we, too, are part of this evolving ecosystem. We are indeed one in this world with nature and each other.
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone@gmail.com or tune in on your favorite Podcast App.
Enjoy more of the story in the Garden Dilemmas Podcast, where I reflect further on urban ecosystems and the much-maligned marmorated stink bug. You can listen on your favorite podcast app or right here:
Related Stories & Helpful Links:
Ep. 99 – Wonders of Witch Hazel
Wonders of Witch Hazel– Blog Post
Ep 157. Benefits of Plantain & Dandelion ‘Weeds’
Benefits of Plantain & Dandelion ‘Weeds’ – Blog Post
More about Peter Del Tredici
About Blaine Rothauser, Natural History Photographer, whose magnificent images you see here, are available to decorate your world.
