Borough Friendly Landscaping & Planting

Medford Lakes is home to water bodies, wetlands and upland sites that support a variety of vegetative communities.  The Borough’s abundant plant life reflects both its location in the northwest corner of the New Jersey Pinelands and decisions by the towns early leaders that restricted clearing of vegetation to maintain the community’s unique character.  As a largely residential community the landscaping decisions of individual property owners also increasingly influence the composition of plant life.  

Native Plants and Landscaping

Medford Lakes is home to water bodies, wetlands and upland sites that support a variety of vegetative communities.  The Borough’s abundant plant life reflects both its location in the northwest corner of the New Jersey Pinelands and decisions by the towns early leaders that restricted clearing of vegetation to maintain the community’s unique character.  As a largely residential community the landscaping decisions of individual property owners also increasingly influence the composition of plant life. 

What are Native Plants and Why are They Important?

Native plants are those plants that were here before the arrival of European peoples. Native plants form the basis of local food chains and support, among other things, insects, birds and other herbivores.   Our native fauna co-evolved with these plants and rely on them for food, habitat and nesting sites.  Native plant communities also contribute to the development and enrichment of the soil and promote water quality. A healthy ecosystem relies on a diversity of native plant life, and the animals they support.

Historically, most of the plants available in commercial landscape nurseries originate outside of where they are sold, often from entirely other continents. These exotic plants often lack natural population controls (i.e.. diseases, insects and other herbivores) present in their native area.   The result of their uncontrolled, or “invasive”, growth is pressure on native plant communities as they compete for space, light, water, and other resources. 

The problem of invasive plants outcompeting native species is exacerbated by herbivores such as white-tailed deer that prefer browsing on native plants, eating exotic plants only when the supply of native browse is exhausted.  The result is a reduction in the diversity of plant life, or even the creation of monocultures (communities of just one plant).  When this occurs, we see a decrease in overall biodiversity and an overall decrease in environmental quality.

A plant native to one area of NJ and deemed as non-invasive can be quite invasive if/when introduced to a different locale in NJ. The NJDEP and USDA provide lists of what are deemed to be “nuisance plants”, (i.e. native but invasive).

What can we do?

Residents can help maintain the quality of Medford Lakes’ environment by educating ourselves about our vegetative communities and being mindful when making landscaping decisions. We can help stop the spread of invasive plants by not planting them in our yards, replacing them with native plant species in our landscaping and by removing them when found in our natural areas. 

For more information on plants native to our area:

• New Jersey Pinelands Commission Native Plants for Landscaping Fact Sheet
• Jersey Friendly Yards (NJDEP and the Barnegat Bay Partnership) 
• National Audubon Society Native Plants
• The Native Plant Society of New Jersey

Common invasive plants in Medford Lakes include:   

• English Ivy 
• Japanese Barberry 
• Burning Bush (aka Winged Euonymus)  
• Exotic Wisterias  
• Callery Pear (aka Bradford Pear) 
• Japanese Honeysuckle  
• Multiflora Rose  

Where To Buy Native Plants

Awareness of the benefits of landscaping with native plants has increased availability of native plant options within the nursery industry.  Aways ask for the provenance certificate from the seller/provider for the plant(s) being presented. Native to one NJ County does not mean native to all NJ counties. Further, native to the eastern part of Burlington County does not mean native to the western part of Burlington County. This is especially important when specifying “native”, without mention of the NJ Pinelands. 

For more information on where to buy native plants:

• The Native Plant Society of New Jersey Where to Buy Natives
• Jersey Friendly Yards (NJDEP and the Barnegat Bay Partnership) 
• New Jersey Audubon Native Plant Sales 
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

For more information:

• New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team 
• Rutgers Cooperative Extension  
• Rutgers Incorporating Native Plants in Your Residential Landscape
• Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Salem County: May Native Plants Be With You!

Borough Ordinances

The borough of Medford Lakes has an ordinance addressing invasive/nuisance plants. 

• Chapter 181 Property Maintenance: 

1.  181-4, Plant Life Control, requires all brush, hedges, specific tree, and other plant life to be trimmed to a height no taller than 2.5 feet when within 10 feet of any property line parallel with/to a borough roadway.
2. 181-15, Bamboo, requires bamboo to be contained in some manner from spreading and bamboo shall not encroach within 15 feet to any property line of the lot.  This is for invasive/nuisance control.