I did. I redid my garden (it's a small one) about 5 years ago and planted it with ferns, grasses, and hostas. I also added Lavender to attract bees and butterflies. I added new ones in a new garden last year as well to attract bees and butterflies. Unfortunately we're not living at the house right now (due to a fire) and I have forgotten some of the names.

I spent a couple of years researching and together with my neighbourhood gardening store and a local landscaper we put together a number of species. This is something that a lot of my neighbours are doing as well.

blfenton, be sure to plant natives that will supprt the caterpillars and not just the polinators. Hostas, lavender, and many ferns and grasses are not native to North America, so although you will get polinators, you won't be supporting the larval stage.

I am so sorry about the fire. Our neighbors had one two years ago and moved back in this spring. Fires are so devasting.

Been a native plant "gardener" for many years though I don't really have much in the way of actual gardens. We have done native shoreline restoration and eliminated the turf grass back yard at our last home and did a savanna restoration. Natives are so much better for the environment in so many ways. Once established their deep roots prevent erosion and eliminate the need for watering and they never need fertilizer and of course they are the perfect habitat for bees and butterflies. Unfortunately some people refer to native plants as "weeds". I think more and more people are catching on though and coming around.

You'll have the best luck with butterflies if you live near where their larval foods grow en masse. Otherwise you'll have a tough time getting some species to show up, unless you have enough property to create a big sink of larval food . . .

It's been my experience that if the flowers in your yard attract bees, few of them will have much interest in going after you, unless you sit right on the plant or something like that.

We had a blank slate after building our house and since our property is heavily wooded edges with the balance wild meadow/hay field the only thing I knew for sure is that I DIDN'T want a suburban garden. Sadly I received some bad advice (new to me zone and plant options) and poorly placed plantings which we have been slowly rectifying with more natural choices. My goal is what I call a tame meadow with grasses and native plants and appropriate wild-ish looking perennials. We are getting there slowly. I'm looking forward to watching the video.

*** One small downside to my milkweed and butterfly weed - I try to collect Monarch eggs/larvae to raise to maturity in a safer environment. If you have a soft spot for monarchs or are squeamish stop reading. As of last night I had 2 caterpillars getting ready to shed for the last time - woke to find one in her beautiful green chrysalis and the other looking ill. Quick google said to rinse it gently under water to remove the green oozing - usually due to pesticide exposure even though we don't use any. So I tried. The issue wasn't pesticides - it was tachinid fly larvae. They are parasites that don't kill the host until it's ready to form the chrysalis and then they come out. It's always fatal.

Yeah DLM, I've seen the tachinids in action. The movie "Alien" has nothing on Mom Nature!

@cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA) thanks so much for posting this - LOVED that video.

I would say natives can be tougher to keep in your manicured gardens if that's your preference. Natives are used to doing their own thing without interference or 'help' from anyone!! Having said that the Jack-n-the pulpits I brought closer to the front edge from deeper in the woods love all the water my shade garden gets. Some get three feet tall!

I have not planted natives that are native to California, but I have planted a lot of South African natives, as the climate there is identical to mine.

Haha - Lars I don't think that counts 😄

Every plant's a native to somewhere...

Every time I scroll past the threads, this title makes me go ”hmmmm….” as if I’m contemplating planting Packers fans from Wisconsin in my Illinois garden.

Ive been add only native plants to my garden in Chester County. Im doing it because there is so much shale in the soil that I think any non-native plant would recoil in horror

I am not sure which point of veiw is actually right, but many renoun horticulturalists disagree that native is always better. There is very little evidence supporting the trend and many native plants are often invasive and pest supportive. While many non native species can actually promote better bio diversity and cleaner environments without being invasive.

One of my favorite, James Wong, actually goes so far as to make an arguement that the trend is steeped in racism and privelge. Native and heritage trends symbolizing superiority is untrue and He equated the belief that non native always equalls invasive is like to saying foreign criminals rather than just criminals…

Just some food for thought. There is always a grey area in our cultural trends and researching both sides often makes me realize that gardening styles like politics should not be so cut and dry but should meet somewhere in the middle.

Just one of many studies which contradict the native is always better rational. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150811092048.htm

A interesting paper supporting a mix of well thought out native and non native plants is likely the best of both worlds. https://www.thenatureofcities.com/2020/05/18/native-versus-non-native-which-plants-are-best-for-biodiversity/

i love planting natives in my garden. I don't do them exclusively, but I have a better idea that the natives know the conditions here, and do well accordingly.

Roarah: "One of my favorite, James Wong, actually goes so far as to make an arguement that the trend is steeped in racism and privelge. Native and heritage trends symbolizing superiority is untrue and He equated the belief that non native always equalls invasive is like to saying foreign criminals rather than just criminals…"

Seems like Wong is missing the point that all humans are the same species. Plants we may choose to plant, are NOT. My garden goes by what works best here. Which includes some "immigrants", if you want to think of it that way, but many natives.

PS, Wong's argument isn't going to play well in Australia right now...

Artemis, Wong‘s major premise is to actually do as you are doing. Here is a link to an interview after he received much public critism for pointing out the racism steeped in gardening colloquialisms.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8QiAirTCZg

I actually teach horticulture, so one of the best principles I teach is "right plant right place." Plants aren't all ubiquitous. Native or not, they are adapted to certain types of growing conditions and if you plant them in the wrong spot they won't give you the performance you may be looking for. Also they have growth patterns and a lot of people are dissatisfied with a plant because it doesn't stay the same over time. As a plant matures, it might be very different from the way it looks as a cute baby at the plant nursery. On the flip side, that small sapling will often take off and grow gangbusters out of its bigger non-native cousin if you put it in its happy place.

I work with native plant nurseries all the time, many native landscape designs are stunning, but just as in decorating, for most folks the nuts and bolts of using native plants gets watered down and sold over simplistically to the public with the latest "hot" trends. Native or non-native tells me nothing particular about a plant in terms of how it will perform in the garden . . . kind of like "organic" which has totally become overused and meaningless. But I'm a details gal so it doesn't bother me, just background noise.

Ironically, there are some wonderful native plants that never get planted or used just because they haven't had their "hot" moment in the sun, and other plants that are absolute crap (I'm talking to you Bradford Pear!) that everyone loves. But everyone loves them just because they are seeing them all over the place. When I was younger, I loved the native river birch tree, but you never saw it in any plant nurseries, European white birch was all the rage. Everyone had a decorative birch in their yard. Enter birch borers and all kinds of other diseases that this non native was susceptible and people grew to dislike them as they matured. European birches were only more popular than our native paper birch because the native takes a while to develop the papery bark, unlike the European and Asian species that are white early on. But then they peter out and end up looking sadder than sad just when the natives are coming into their glory. So river birch got discovered and now it is ubiquitous in suburbia.

Another example is shademaster honey locust. Honey locust was a scraggly, pretty unattractive tree that one would consider a "weed" tree growing in the back or along an old fencerow, etc. But when the modern aversion to having to rake up a lot of fall leaves, and people wanting fast growing shade trees with almost no debris, the breeders got busy and now these trees are everywhere.

Piet Oudolf is hot right now in landscaping, he creates gardens evocative of native grasslands, he's done a lot to popularize grass plants as a landscaping element, something you almost never saw mainstream 20 years ago. But his style is not for everyone, nor every situation, nor should it be. Much like "open concept" the question is what makes sense for your needs and the functionality you need for your home.

LOL Jo, I feel your pain. I double dug my small SE PA yard garden with topsoil and peat. Suburban PA clay is a challenge, but it takes well to amending. Well, all soil does. Long live compost.

Bpath, too funny-I was born north of Green Bay in Marinette-have the cheesehead hat to prove it. Go Packers!

Arcy, did you watch the video? Dr. Tallamy talks about a gardener who uses natives in a formal garden laid out in a similar way to a garden at Versailles. Very different feel, but it works.

Roarah, the first study from the UK does say the emphasis should be on natives while also allowing for non-natives ("...there should be an emphasis on plants native to the UK and the Northern Hemisphere, as more pollinators from a range of pollinator groups visited these plants"). Tallamy, if you watch the video, mentions planting 50% or 70% natives in our yard. I have not watched all of the Wong video, but I think perhaps I am hearing him say a few things differently than I expected from your post. I will watch the rest tomorrow. So far, I think he and I would agree that there is nothing wrong with talking about heritage or natives in terms of plants. I do not think he is saying that using native plants is racist-in fact he stated at one point that that would be ridiculous and he didn't say that.

Also, it is not just pollinators we want. If our plants cannot support the larval (caterpillar) stage of the insect, you are not maintaining your biodiversity. Birds depend on caterpillars for their young especially. We are losing songbirds at an alarming rate. Personally, this year I have seen only one chickadee and not one goldfinch in my yard which used to have many. My half-acre cannot provide all the food they need and all (yes, ALL) my neighbors spray their lawns which kills more than just the insects they are targeting. If nothing is eating your plants, you do not have a functioning biome. Parts of my garden may look a bit tattered by late summer/early fall, but I hope by leaving my leaves in the beds, I will have more butterflies next year. I was looking at my non-native hostas today and the slug damage just let me know more bird food is available! ;-)

cyn, wong endorses using the right natives too ( he has writen books about planting native flowers to attract butterflies in the uk) he just does not follow the native only or natives are always better narrative that is presently very trendy and no planting native or heritage plants is not racist but some of the beliefs about heritage and native being the best and strongest stem from a history of inbred racist beliefs. As I mentioned upthread, gardening is not racist but the use of its many colloquialisms is indeed influenced by our racist histories.

I brought this point of veiw up after Lars posted about using non native plants in a similar climate which is according to many studies also a great why to improve pollination aswell as strengthen biodiversity.

I do not fertilize nor spray for bugs and I have a mix of both native and non native plants and anything I plant is always non invasive. I did inherit some invasive plants( wisteria, lillies and virginia creeper) I got most of the wisteria out but the creeper i can not get on top of. I love the tiger lilies though so have not had the heart to pull them they remind me too much of my childhood home.

Interesting discussion, and I'm doing some initial research on this, as I'm designing a small backyard landscape. I've been interested in horticulture for 30 years, but my planting decisions may very well be determined by the new family of bunnies in my backyard. ;-)

I visited a botanical garden over the holiday weekend that included the native country in its collections, and noted those that had medicinal value. My fear is we're losing so much of that... if you can grow it and it's not invasive, go for it.