The world of native plants is amazing and teaches us something every day! Plants that are native or indigenous to our area have co-evolved with native insects and animals for thousands, possibly even millions of years. Our native bees,. butterflies, and other native insects and animals rely on these plants and will not feed on plants they cannot recognize. When we remove these resources we lose these vital and beautiful creatures. Our beautiful Monarch butterfly will not survive without native milkweed. Just by removing native trees such as the Oak trees that support over 500 species of caterpillars and replacing them with trees such as Crepe Myrtles that support none of these we lose over 500 species of butterflies and moths in that space.  

We are just at the beginning of understanding how removing our native plants has caused changes in our ecosystem that have in turn caused a decline, and in some cases even extinction, of our native wildlife. The great news is that there is hope! By adding native plants into our landscapes we can begin to heal the earth

Below are some great websites and educational resources to help you discover the wonderful world of native plants.