There are so many benefits to gardening with native plants, for both us and nature. Maybe you’ve heard people talking about native plants, but you don’t get the hype. Or you looooove native plants and want to be able to share an article with all your family and friends about how great they are! Either way, you’re in the right place.
We’re gonna walk through some relevant history, then dive into all the benefits of native plants for both us and the planet.
I could talk about native plants all day. As a botany nerd and outdoorsy girly, I love learning about the flora that exists where I live. Plants are incredible, and play a critical role in ecosystem functions that create resilience to climate impacts. So, let’s learn about why native plants are so important!
Colonization destroyed native ecosystems, resulting in imbalance and invasive species
And frankly, the world. But that’s another conversation for a different post. Then main point here is that as colonization sent Western Europeans searching far and wide for countries to conquer and exploit, it also sent invasive plants. Colonizers brought foods from home or other regions, and plants they liked that could grow here to give them a taste of home.
I get it, we are so tied to place that we want to bring pieces of home with us to a new one. But that’s just the issue. Bringing in species that can grow here unchecked upsets the balance of the place that existed there, in this case, Indigenous foodways and native ecosystems. Indigenous cultures thrived on the foods that existed here, and native pollinators and wildlife depended on the plants in our ecosystems. They were more tied to this place than white settlers were, but yet our native landscapes and Indigenous agricultural methods were suppressed for centuries.
As you will see later, it’s crucial that we revitalize native ecosystems for climate reasons, but I want to first ground us in the need for this work to be done with recognition and respect to Indigenous land stewards and practices.
To learn more about native foodways and Indigenous stewardship:
- Book recommendation: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Alexis Nikole, aka BlackForager
Our ecosystems depend on the relationships between native plants and wildlife
We are in the Earth’s 6 mass extinction event, losing biodiversity at an alarming rate. Of all the mammal biomass on the planet, 62% is livestock (just cows, pigs, chickens, and goats), 34% is humans, and only 4% Is made up of other animal species, including pets and wildlife. In order to save the biodiversity we have left and help populations recover, one thing we can do is to plant native species.
Why? Because plants and insects are the base of our ecosystems. Pollinators help flowering plants complete their lifecycle and bear fruit. Songbirds eat caterpillars, insects, and the seeds of the plants they pollinate. And small mammals eat songbirds.
Plants and wildlife co-evolve in relationship with one another, and depend on each other for survival. Think of the monarch butterfly—they will only lay their eggs on native milkweed plants. Milkweed produces a milky sap that discourages them from being eaten. But monarch caterpillars evolved to know how to bite the vein of a leaf to stop the flow of sap and be able to eat their fill without competition.
By removing native plants from our ecosystems or choosing to garden with invasive species, we set off a chain reaction of events that cause massive biodiversity loss. The good news is that by planting natives, we can create an ecologically inspiring “if you give a mouse a cookie” chain of events.
In order for biodiversity to recover, we have to create the conditions for it to thrive.
A large piece of that equation is planting native species in our gardens and open spaces.
Another piece is to drastically reduce or better yet, completely eliminate the use of pesticides.
In the past 25 years, we have seen a massive decline in insect and pollinator populations due to the widespread use of chemicals in agriculture (which really aren’t good for us either). And homeowners across the country spray RoundUp in higher amounts than trained professionals. Herbicide applications kill native plants and harm pollinators, and there are thousands of lawsuits against RoundUp for causing cancer.
If you have a yard, stop spraying! Instead of worrying about weeds in your lawn, start rewilding your yard with native plants that don’t need additional fertilizers, can shade out weeds, and will create a beautiful space. If you want to help the bees, go chemical-free.
Shop the right seeds for your garden at TerritorialSeed.com!Gardening with native perennials is great for the climate
There are so many climate benefits to using native plants in your garden, like supporting biodiversity. But the benefits don’t stop there! Some native plants are annuals, meaning they go through their entire lifecycle and then die at the end of the season. But many are perennial, meaning the same plant will come back each year. While all native plants for your ecoregion are beneficial to wildlife, native perennials are particularly valuable as a form of climate action.
Soil carbon sequestration
Indulge me for a minute, we’re gonna get down and dirty with plant roots. Why do they matter? Because plants take in carbon from the atmosphere, and they create sugars (carbohydrates) to exchange with soil microbes and mycorrhizal fungi for other nutrients
Lawns have fairly shallow root systems, generally, they only go down 2-3 inches. Annual plants may have deeper root systems, from several inches to 1-2 feet, however, they are often pulled at the end of a growing season and cease to function in soil ecosystems when plants die. But native perennials have deep root systems that continue to function as part of the soil ecosystem in winters. This matters because it means the carbon they draw down stays sequestered in the soil. In fact, one acre of native prairie stores 1 ton of carbon annually in their root systems!
So by planting native perennials, you help draw down carbon from the atmosphere and keep it in soils.
Fewer inputs
Native plants have adapted over centuries to thrive in the climate where you live, the soil types, and even some of the crazy weather. Because of this, you don’t need to be adding synthetic fertilizers—a simple compost layer of leaves and other plant material in your yard will do (and we’ve already covered why you shouldn’t be using pesticides or herbicides).
These plants are hardcore, and also can tolerate your native soil conditions without much help. Some plants even pop off in low-quality soils like heavy clay, sandy, or nutrient poor! Think of sunflowers, which can grow even in the driest, worst soils. Native plants don’t need additional fertilizers, but it can be helpful to create richer garden soils through organic methods.
Use compost in your garden during the spring and fall. I love the “chop and drop” method where you leave plant organic matter where you pull it/harvest it. You can also passively create your own compost from food and yard waste, or get a worm composting system. Or, you can create a compost tea to water with.
It’s also helpful to mulch your garden area with a ~2-4inch layer of fine wood chip mulch to help suppress weeds as your native plants establish, and because it easily breaks down over time to add nutrients back into the soil. You can also leave the leaves where they fall to add back organic matter and allow pollinators to lay eggs in leaf matter, or gently rake them into your garden beds as mulch
Drought tolerant native plants
If your region experiences drought, then many of your native plants are likely drought tolerant. But there is a difference between being drought tolerant and native, and not all natives have the same level of drought tolerance. With this being said, there are plenty of native plants that are drought tolerant like these native to California.
Think about the habitat where your plant exists in nature. For example, native Colorado plants often have drought tolerance, especially those native to the plains ecoregion and high altitude desert areas. However, plants native to alpine ecosystems where there is normally an abundance of rain, snow, and snowmelt will have less drought tolerance. This is why considering the ecoregion and ecosystem of your area is important when selecting native plants.
Additionally, because perennials have such deep root systems, they are often more resilient in weather extremes. In times of drought, they can reach water stored deeper in the soils, and in flood events they can soak up more water than annuals.
Creating a stunning pollinator garden with native plants *actually* saves the bees
Now that we know about the importance of gardening with native plants, how do you actually create a beautiful garden full of plants that support pollinators and create resilience?
Download our guide to walk through creating a native plant garden step-by-step!
Step 1: Determine your ecoregion
Regions and states can span multiple ecoregions. Given how important native plants are in rebuilding ecosystems, ensuring we’re planting species from the right ecoregion is key. I usually look up plants related to my Level 2 ecoregion, as they are more specific to place, but also more likely to be broadly available. You can find your ecoregion here if you can read maps, and here if you’re a bit map-challenged.
Step 2: Follow sustainable planting rules
- Plant for seasonality. Ensure you have plants that will flower as much of the growing season as possible, in the spring, summer, and fall.
- Plant groups of the same species. Would you ever go out in nature and just see one or two of a species in an area? Unlikely, unless it’s a super rare plant. Plant each variety in groups of 3+ of the same species in close proximity (within 10-15 ft). This also ensures that pollinators can get enough pollen from each species of plant without having to fly very far.
- Do less. Hand weed, skip the fertilizers and chemicals, let nature create your compost, leave stems and grasses standing over winter so insects can hibernate, and leave your leaves where they fall.
- Vary the heights. You want a mix of groundcover, short/medium/tall perennials and grasses, shrubs, and trees if your ecosystem easily supports them. This is more visually interesting to us as gardeners, and provides dynamic habitat for birds and wildlife.
- Be patient! Native plants take time to establish their deep root systems and thrive in your garden. What it looks like year 1 will change, grow and flourish, and it will be even more beautiful as the years go on.
Do you want more guidance on how to select plants and design a stunning native plant pollinator garden?
“This ebook is so thorough and well thought out. Lindsey does an excellent job at exploring the multiple elements at play for pollinators to thrive. The course was also super comprehensive in offering basically all the information you need to get started. I highly recommend this course for anyone who loves to garden, wants to get into gardening, or just loves plants, pollinators, and ecology!”
– Christina M.
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