6BC Botanical Garden
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The Benefits of Native Plant Gardening

With so many plant options to choose from at nurseries, garden centers, and other places, homeowners and gardeners can bring nearly any look to their yard or garden. The use of native plants, however, can make gardening easier and more rewarding. In fact, there are many advantages to using native plants.  Native plants help support pollinators and wildlife such as bees, butterflies, and birds.

However, just because a plant can grow in a particular area does not mean that it should be grown there. The use of exotic or non-native plants can add expenses and upkeep time, and can crowd out the native flora and fauna.

Easy to Grow
Because native plants are already adapted to the growing conditions of the area, they are often easier to grow than non-native plants. There are some caveats to this, however. Within a given region or even a given yard, not every area is equally hospitable to every native plant. Soil and moisture conditions can vary, and gardeners should pay attention to this when they are planting, especially if your soil has been "imported" as is often the case with newly built homes. Native plants and flowers might be able to grow in any part of your garden, but each individual plant will be easier to grow in the area of your gardening space that has the most ideal conditions for the plant in question.  While native plants will need less attention overall, the most care-free plants (native or exotic) are those that are matched not only to the region where they developed but also to the best growing conditions for the plants.

  • Getting Started With a Native Garden
  • Growing Native Plants From Seed
  • How to Grow Native Plants From Seed
  • How to Naturescape With Native Plants
  • How to Plant Native Plants
  • How to Plant and Maintain Native Plants
  • Incorporating Native Plants in Your Residential Landscape
  • Using Beneficial Plants in the Chesapeake Bay Region

Require Less Fertilizer
Plants native to your area are accustomed to the local soil and the nutrients it provides, so they are able to find what they need for health and return vital minerals to the soil as they grow. Practically speaking, this means that native flowers and other plants do not need as much artificial or natural fertilizer added to the soil in order to promote health and beauty in the garden. Because they need less fertilizer, they also pose less of a threat to the environment, and are often more disease resistant to local diseases and damage from local insects.

  • Advantages of Native Plants in the Pacific Northwest
  • Five Reasons Native Plants Help You Save Money and the Planet
  • Benefits of Using Native Plants
  • Benefits of Native Plants in Virginia
  • Native Plant FAQs
  • Native Plants Provide Abundant Benefits for Home, Yard
  • Why Plant With Natives?

Use Less Water
Plants can also benefit the water supply in their native area. Native plants are used to the typical rainfall in an area and have developed to make the most of it. Thus, native plants do not need much additional watering. In addition, native plants in a garden can help improve the local water supply. Native plants do a good job of preventing and absorbing runoff that may contain pollutants. The effect downstream is cleaner water in an area's rivers and lakes.

  • Five Proven Reasons to Have a Native Garden
  • Creating a Sustainable Yard
  • How Native Plants Protect Water Quality
  • Native Plants Improve Water Quality
  • Watering Native Plants
  • Why Plant for Clean Water?
  • Xeriscape With Native Plants

Help Wildlife
As native flowers and plants are supplanted, native wildlife loses their food supply and natural habitat. This, in turn, leads to native animals dying off or leaving a region. The entire ecosystem is upset when this happens. Being careful to plant native trees, shrubs, and other flora ensures that native wildlife will continue to have habitats and food best suited to their needs. Planting native plants can also entice native wildlife that has left the area to return, making native gardening restorative when it is properly done.

  • Seven Steps to Add Native Plants to Benefit Wildlife
  • Benefits of Going Native
  • Bringing Native Plants Home: Why Natives Matter
  • Benefits of Native Plants
  • Gardening to Attract Wildlife
  • What's All the Fuss About Native Plants?
  • Why Native Plants Matter

How to Find Native Plants for Your Area
Finding native flowers and plants for your garden might seem to be a difficult task, but it does not have to be. There is almost no end to the number of resources available to help people find native plants in their area, including ones provided by local and state governments and nonprofits. With their help, you can find native plants that are best suited to your area.

  • California Native Plant Finder
  • Chesapeake Bay Native Plant Finder
  • What to Plant
  • Florida Native Plant Finder
  • Grow Native! Native Plant Database
  • National Garden Native Plant Recommendations
  • National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder
  • Native Plants, Invasive Plants: What Are the Differences?
  • New England Native Plant Finder
  • North America Native Plants Database
  • North America Native Plant Society: Growing Tips for Native Plants

with acknowledgment and thanks to https://www.serenataflowers.com and Brianna
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  • HOME
  • About Us
    • 6BC History Project
    • 6BC- An Extended History
    • The Garden In Formation
    • Garden Blog
  • Visit
  • Get Involved
    • Membership Orientation 2023
    • Membership Rules
    • Volunteer
    • 6BC Garden Bylaws
  • Events/Calendar
    • Event FAQS
  • The Garden
    • Garden Rules For Members
    • Plot Stewardship
    • How to Water the Garden
    • 6BC Plants >
      • 6BC Plants Gallery
      • Black-eyed Susan
      • Bleeding Heart
      • Bugleweed (Ajuga)
      • Corydalis
      • Crocus
      • Dutchman's Pipe
      • Hellebore
      • Iris
      • Jacob's Ladder
      • Lady's Mantle
      • Lily of the Valley
      • Solomon's Seal
      • Spurge
      • Winter Aconite
    • Help Us Identify These Plants
    • Creature Features >
      • Protect Your Pet - Toxic Plants
      • Know Your Butterflies
      • Get To Know These Common Birds
      • World Birds - For the Joy of Birding
  • Gardening 101
    • Best Practices
    • Garden Glossary
    • Glossary of Leaf Morphology
    • Benefits of Native Plants
    • Weeds
  • CONTACT
  • Donate