Planting and restoring native plant habitat is vital to preserving biodiversity. By creating a native plant garden, each patch of habitat becomes part of a collective effort to nurture and sustain the living landscape for birds, butterflies, bees and other wildlife. Best of all, native plants thrive in our soils and require little care. Ask for native plants at your local nursery.
Other great reasons for planting Natives:
- Drought-tolerant, naturally conserving our precious water resources
- Don’t need special pampering or fertilizing
- Natural to their eco-system
- Reduce mowing costs
- Protect the soil
- Clean our air
- Mitigate flooding
- Reduce temperatures in urban areas
North American native plants, defined as those that existed here without human introduction, are disappearing at an alarming rate due to human activities, such as urban development, agribusiness and the introduction of invasive species. The loss of native plant communities has reduced wildlife habitat and the genetic diversity necessary for balanced ecosystems.
Unlike many non-native plants, native plants introduced into landscape plantings are hardy, less susceptible to pests and diseases and unlikely to escape and become invasive. With properly selected native plants, it may not be necessary to modify soil characteristics at all to have thriving gardens. The great variety of plants native to any region give gardeners options that work well in any type of garden design. Because maintaining native plants requires less work, they provide excellent choices for large commercial landscapes as well as residential gardens.
Native plants are also a potential source of food, traditional and new medicines.
How can you help?
Plant a native plant today. Just one makes a difference.
Explore your environment.
Learn your native plants and the wildlife they support.
Encourage people in your community to use native plants in their landscapes.
For more reasons, click here.