Here’s another link to Wild Ones explaining why to choose native plants over non natives.
What natives do you have growing?
A while ago I was trying to look up what plants were native to my area; I tried searching several different ways, even in my own language, but somehow every result ended up being about the USA or a specific state in the USA. Eventually I found one, but it took a while.
So if you’re reading this, and you’re a botanist (or just someone who knows a lot about plants), and not an American, I’d encourage you to maybe create some kind of site that lets the people in your area know which plants there are native. It could be extremely useful for someone one day!
Does your area have an ag extension office? Or a master gardener program? They should be good resources!
Yeah, in our sources I’ve been trying to add stuff for other countries but it’s a lot harder when you don’t live there. I’m not sure what to search, what organizations might exist, or even what places have demand for it.
Oh, if you want to add it, the one I found for Portugal was this one.
It’s apparently developed by the Portuguese botanical society as a volunteer project, and it seems great! I can even pinpoint an area on a map, and it will order all the plants by how likely they are to be found near there. It will also tag some plants saying if they are “nearly threatened”, “vulnerable”, or “in danger”.
Just got my hands on a swamp milkweed this week. Very excited to see what ends up on it next year.
Also bee balm, phlox, western sunflowers, a variety of coneflowers, eastern Prickly pear, and an ostrich fern all hidden in my tiny backyard.
I’m replacing my whole backyard with drought tolerant native plants. It’s a work in progress and a constant battle against the weeds at the moment because it’s about 5,000 square feet of area.
So far I have echinacea, mock orange, golden currant, several species of penstemon (cut-leaf, grandiflora, Rocky Mountain), a juniper tree, yarrow, sagebrush, chokecherries, showy milkweed, orange globemallow, and elderberries.
The milkweed is probably my favorite right now while things are growing in. I swear it is bigger every time I look at it.
A bunch, but I think my current favorite might be Agastache foeniculum
Prairie Blazing star is my favorite. They are so fluffy when not flowering and then a majestic when they are. I think I’m going to get more of them this fall
