Native plants evolved with your local climate, soil and wildlife. That makes them tougher, thirstier-resistant and far more valuable to pollinators and birds than most imported ornamentals.
The case for going native
- Less work: once established they rarely need watering, fertilizing or fussing.
- More life: native bees, butterflies and songbirds depend on native flowers, seeds and host plants.
- Resilience: deep root systems handle drought, hold soil and store carbon.
Start small
Replace one strip of lawn or one tired flowerbed with a mix of native perennials suited to your region — asters, goldenrod, coneflowers, milkweed and local grasses are great starting points. Leave seed heads over winter and skip the fall cleanup to shelter overwintering insects.
For a region-specific native list, pick your city on the homepage.