I used to think native plants were boring... until I actually planted some

For years I was all about exotic stuff, like those fancy Japanese maples and tropical hibiscus. I thought native plants were just weeds that grew on the side of the road, you know? Then last spring, my buddy Mark who runs a local nursery convinced me to try a patch of milkweed and purple coneflower in my backyard. After about 3 months, I noticed way more bees and butterflies hanging around, plus I barely had to water them. Meanwhile my neighbor's non-native garden was getting eaten by Japanese beetles and he was out there spraying every weekend. So now I'm torn between wanting to go full native and still craving some of those flashy imports. Has anyone else found a good balance between native plants and exotic stuff, or do you just go all in on one side?

2 comments

2 Comments

caleb_ross1225d ago

Yeah stick with native heavy but throw in a few showy exotics that earn their keep.

gavin_hill2725d ago

Just a small thing but Japanese maples are actually non-native to most of North America, so they'd fall in that exotic category you mentioned. Not saying that's bad or anything, just clarifying that they aren't native either. I think a mix works fine as long as the exotics aren't invasive and you keep the natives as the backbone.