LOCAL landscapes

WHY GROWING NATIVE TEXAS PLANTS IS A GREAT IDEA

BY MIMI GREENWOOD KNIGHT

If you’ve found it challenging to keep your yard looking pretty during the summer, maybe it’s because you’re working against nature instead of working in partnership with it. When you opt to plant the things that naturally grow in your area of Texas, you’re saving yourself time, work, money, and heartache, and being kind to Mother Earth.

“Native plants” grow naturally in your local climate, under local soil conditions, and with your local rainfall. They’re plants that naturally provide nectar, pollen, seeds, and nesting areas for butterflies, insects, birds, and wildlife, making them a vital part of your area’s larger natural ecosystem. Plants that don’t naturally occur in your environment can require copious amounts of work on your part, as well as water, fertilizer, and insecticides to keep them alive and have little or nothing to offer native wildlife species.

NATIVE PLANTS ARE STRONGER AND HEALTHIER

Plants that are native to your area are more likely to establish quickly and will just naturally be hardier and healthier. These plants have evolved over thousands — even millions of years to live in your area and have learned to thrive under what can often be brutal conditions in Texas. They grow in harmony with your environment, soil, water supply, and seasonal weather. Their root systems are deep, and their stems and leaves are built to handle harsh sun or buffeting winds.

NATIVE PLANTS CREATE WILDLIFE HABITAT

Plants in their original environment can create natural habitat for wildlife that wants to live in your yard, which is beneficial to the environment and adds excitement to your outdoor space. Who doesn’t love to sip their morning coffee while watching bees, birds, and butterflies flit about their landscape or enjoy a glass of wine amid the lighting bugs and tree frogs at night? Native plants also create homes for small animals and microscopic organisms in the soil, all of which have jobs to do, creating a symbiotic relationship within your yard.

NATIVE PLANTS ARE EARTH-FRIENDLY

Not only do native plants require much less water, fertilizer, and pesticides, but they can also help prevent water run-off in your yard and improve air quality. They may also reduce your carbon footprint by eliminating the need for mowers and other yard equipment. And they can pull and store excess carbon.

NATIVE PLANTS ARE LOWER MAINTENANCE

If you feel like your yard always needs something from you, native plants can certainly help. The long- term upkeep of native plants costs dramatically less than that of a traditional lawn or non-native plantings, and they require much less time. The EPA estimates that over a 20-year period, the cost of maintaining a native habitat is $3,000 per acre compared to $20,000 per acre for non-native lawns and/or plants.

NATIVE PLANTS ADD INTRIGUE

Your native garden can be whatever you want it to be from a sculpted, formal space to a wild native prairie. Native plants provide all the colors, textures, varying heights, and bloom times you can get from non-natives for a stunning backyard display throughout every season.