Picture this: You step into your garden, and the beds are brimming with flowers that thrive on benign neglect.
You seldom need to water them, and they don’t require much in the way of fertilizer, either. What’s more, you feel like Snow White as birds, bees and butterflies congregate around you, eating seeds and gathering pollen.
It feels like a dream, but it doesn’t have to be. If your idea of the perfect garden includes abundant plants that do well with little human intervention, while attracting and supporting all manner of pollinators, you can make it real by planting native plants.
The first step is to lure pollinators, which are necessary for the production of flowers, fruits and vegetables. The best way to attract them is by using plants that support them.
Our native insects and birds evolved alongside our native plants, so they naturally recognize them as food. Non-native species – exotic plants from Asia, Africa, South America and Europe and, to some degree, from distant regions of the U.S. – are simply not recognized as food sources by native pollinators. Planting them creates food deserts for native bees, birds, bats, butterflies, moths and beetles, all of which are necessary for a healthy ecosystem.