Too sad! People who are not aware of the importance of natives to the environment, i.e., food chain and all, really do not understand why a lawn is not a better choice. I volunteer at a public garden in the native section, but many other volunteers call me the "Weed Lady," because they consider some of the plants I watch over just weeds. Also, this section does have a wild look to them, as they are accustomed to neat, one plant, mulch, another plant, etc. By my name you know that I am interested in saving plants from development areas, although some years we do not get the appropriate permission, and it breaks my heart to see many ac. cleared totally for houses. (Then they plant small trees that will take decades to get any size.) It has been a slow process to try to convince people that there is an important place in our neighborhoods for a somewhat natural green zone, not just lawns. Anyway, I have been fortunate to find a place in the country and have someone who cuts my field, not lawn, and knows that if there is a stick near a plant, they have to go AROUND that area, even if he considers it a weed. Of course, he knows I can fire him, and you cannot fire your Dad, so you have the inenviable position of trying in a gentle way to show him how important these plants are to you AND to the overall picture. I assume from your post that you still live at home, so they do have the final say-so. But still, it is sad, and I certainly feel for you. Write back and rant any time you need support from those of us who DO love native plants.

To some people, anything besides a petunia is a weed. So boring.

And I'm going to be living at home for a while yet... Probably all the way through med school which I haven't even started yet.

I feel for you. I've felt the same way for all my life. So rant away. I now live in the woods in Ozark Nat. Forest and have enough acerage to grow all the wildlife i want. Hope you can do the same someday. I was 50 yrs old when i made it here. Hope you make it sooner. Good luck in med school.
vickie

As I understand it, you're living at home, you plant things in the family woods, and your parents kill them. This is far more serious than a native plants problem. Your parents do not treat you like an independent human being.

Here's my totally unsolicited advice. Get out of that house. Now. My guess is that your parents' attitude pervades your entire relationship, and you've got to get some control. (I'd suggest some kind of family therapy, but your folks' defenses seem pretty stout, and I doubt they'd think it very useful.) Find some way to move out.

I feel your pain. My parents subscribe to the "slash and burn" philosophy of gardening. They will look at a plant, even one that they have planted and say, "Oh...how pretty! We should prune it so it will be healthy." and promptly they cut it within centimeters of it's life. I have seen a lovely basket of petunias in full bloom get completely cut back because they want it to keep growing. Parents, God love them, never change. Hopefully you will find a sanctuary of some kind.

I've started to become the Weed Lady myself. I spend a lot of time mowing around cool little volunteers in the yard and then even more time justifying it to everyone else in the house.

Have you tried asking for a small portion of the woodland, say in the very back of the property, set aside for your use?
Seems to me that your parents should grant that small privilege.

If your parents are like some homeowners I know, you are fighting a battle that cannot be won. If they want a meticulous lawn, then no type of plant, shrub or tree is acceptable. Have neighbors that logged out their entire property, hundreds of trees; pines, hardwoods, flowering dogwoods, everything was cut and hauled away, so that they could have a beautiful lawn. I get great satisfaction every time I look at the bare landscape, because when the trees were removed, guess what began to germinate and come up? You're right, weeds! Millions of them and they are now spending untold $ combatting the weeds, while, at the same time, trying to establish their perfect lawn.
Rb

At least you can ask a person to not cut down the plants you spend hours planting & tending. I have to deal with deer eating my pawpaw & spice bushes, plus a multitude of other plants (native or not). And they too will remove fencing I maticulously anchor into the ground. After 4 years of fighting a loosing battle I have decided to dig up the plants the deer readily eat and sell them. So I can buy more plants that I "know" they won't eat (or at least haven't eaten so far).