Leading by admonishment doesn't really work. I hope I'm always encouraging with my content and when I give talks as a Master Gardener. I grow all sorts of everything. Gardening is a joy. Leading people through joy works really well at my talks. I grow tons of food, annual flowers for beauty, and plants that provide ecological services to our local wildlife, aka, native plants. I'm not going to apologize for growing Lavender in front of the Little Bluestem, Baptisia, Penstemon, and Garden Phlox. I'm not going to apologize about the fact that the Hummingbird Mint growing next to the Goldenrod and Big Bluestem is native to the Southwest and not my ecoregion. I love it, it's the best smelling plant in my garden, the hummingbirds and nectar robbing bees love it, and the deer don't eat it. I have Monarch Caterpillars eating my Milkweed, American Lady Caterpillars eating my Pearly Everlasting, Small Carpenter Bees nesting in the stems of my Smooth Aster, Goldfinches eating seeds, Longhorn Bees nesting in the ground, a freezer full of greens, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, and beans grown here as well as shelves of salsa, jam, onions, garlic, squash, teas, herbs, and spices grown here too. Perfection should never be the enemy of progress. I hope to always be encouraging, inclusive, and enthusiastic and hope that everyone else gets the "bug" too and develops a passion to want to do more. Happy gardening to everyone in 2026.
Your garden sounds like an absolute paradise for both humans and critters, alike. You sound like you are perfectly encouraging and enthusiastic, and folks are lucky to learn from you! :)
Thanks for this! We moved into a new house at the end of summer last year so I'm taking this growing season to see what's what before diving in, but *native plants only!!* has been a bit overwhelming. Of course I want to support the pollinators, but where to even begin?? And here you are, laying out the road map. Your content is always timely, particularly because I belive we're fairly close geographically and your posts keep me in line with my planting schedule. Anyway, just wanted to say once again how grateful I am for you!
Oh I'm so glad this resonated with you! I think a lot of us have felt overwhelmed with the native plant discussion — we want to do the right thing but holy moly, it's the wild, wild west! As with anything else these days, it feels like the easy solution is never the right one, and it always involves a bit of leg work and extra effort to seek out the proper information.
I had exactly the same idea when I started 'so litlle space so everything must be edible'. Luckily a lot of edible flowers are also providing food for insects. But now I'm also just growing flowers because it is food for my soul. They're not all native but all of them provide food to some insect or bird. For the calendula I kept the nativar away because I don't want it to mix up with my. I try to keep a mix. As long as the so called 'exotic' plant isn't invasive, it can stay. I'm also not interested in non-natives that can't stay outdoor the whole season or year in my climate. Still looking for my people that also only grew cabages/ brasicas especially for the catterpilars.
Yes! Such an important distinction — just because something isn't native doesn't automatically mean it's invasive. And some native plants can be aggressive growers! I have found over the years that my brassicas attracted a lot of caterpillars the first couple years here, but magically, last year I had nary a bite from a caterpillar — I think the local bird community made short work of them! Hooray for nature doing its thing!
Somehow I had the idea that I can’t plant native seeds, that I have to buy those already started. So now I’m going to go look for Southern California native seeds! I usually buy my native plants from the local community college or a nursery in Tustin.
What a great write-up! I just got into natives last year and am so excited for my second growing season. Totally snow covered here on the North Shore as well and I'm just itching to poke around my yard.
I'll just be scheming on paper for now! I'm fortunate to have a few native plants nurseries near me so last year I just basically blacked out every time I went and bought things based purely off their light needs (my entry to the rabbit hole was trying to find shade plants). I'm looking forward to being a bit more intentional and knowledgeable this year!
Thank you! I'm still a relative newbie when it comes to native plants here in New England, I was much more familiar with the ones in California as I started gardening in earnest when we lived there. My big goal this year is to put in some cinnamon ferns, as I learned that some birds use the downy, woolly fibers to build nests! Currently also scheming on paper :)
I've created a native wildflower and pollinator garden using seed mixes tailored to my area (MO Ozarks). They are cheap, easy to find on the internet, and only need to be mixed with sand to sow. Mine is 200 ft^2 and hums with insect and bird activity from spring through late fall. 🐦 🐦⬛ 🪶 🦢 🐛 🪲 🐞 I have multiple bird feeders and houses and even a bee house for native bees to reproduce. 🐝 🐝 🐝
I've bought an occasional native plant from local greenhouses, too. My goal is to have a backyard that feeds my own little wildlife reserve. 😁
I grow my vegetables only in raised 4×8 planters because of my bad back.
That's wonderful! There are so many awesome native seed companies that can be hyper-local to your specific region. I've slowly been adding more every year! It's magical to see the transformation from sterile, traditional garden to a buzzing backyard ecosystem. Right on, bud!
Doug Tallamy has several great books on this topic. I heard him speak in person last month and he was the opposite of condescending. Another good resource, perhaps?
Love learning more about native plants. One thing I’ve loved finding is my local native plant community. When we bought our house 2 years ago, there were several empty beds where rose bushes had died. As I worked to fill them, I found so many native seed and plant events. I’ve received so many free plants and seeds this way, I find the native plant community to be so generous and it’s delightful to be saving money and improving the environment.
I’ve been enjoying adding native plants to my yard first for the lack of work I need to do (they already like my soil and weather! Hurray!) and secondly for the beneficial insects. Also, because it really annoys my suburbia neighbors with their “perfect landscapes”. Turns out, pettiness can fuel me to do lots of things!
Have you checked out the Native Plant Trust? They have a huge botanical garden in Framingham called Garden in the Woods
Leading by admonishment doesn't really work. I hope I'm always encouraging with my content and when I give talks as a Master Gardener. I grow all sorts of everything. Gardening is a joy. Leading people through joy works really well at my talks. I grow tons of food, annual flowers for beauty, and plants that provide ecological services to our local wildlife, aka, native plants. I'm not going to apologize for growing Lavender in front of the Little Bluestem, Baptisia, Penstemon, and Garden Phlox. I'm not going to apologize about the fact that the Hummingbird Mint growing next to the Goldenrod and Big Bluestem is native to the Southwest and not my ecoregion. I love it, it's the best smelling plant in my garden, the hummingbirds and nectar robbing bees love it, and the deer don't eat it. I have Monarch Caterpillars eating my Milkweed, American Lady Caterpillars eating my Pearly Everlasting, Small Carpenter Bees nesting in the stems of my Smooth Aster, Goldfinches eating seeds, Longhorn Bees nesting in the ground, a freezer full of greens, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, and beans grown here as well as shelves of salsa, jam, onions, garlic, squash, teas, herbs, and spices grown here too. Perfection should never be the enemy of progress. I hope to always be encouraging, inclusive, and enthusiastic and hope that everyone else gets the "bug" too and develops a passion to want to do more. Happy gardening to everyone in 2026.
Your garden sounds like an absolute paradise for both humans and critters, alike. You sound like you are perfectly encouraging and enthusiastic, and folks are lucky to learn from you! :)
Thanks for this! We moved into a new house at the end of summer last year so I'm taking this growing season to see what's what before diving in, but *native plants only!!* has been a bit overwhelming. Of course I want to support the pollinators, but where to even begin?? And here you are, laying out the road map. Your content is always timely, particularly because I belive we're fairly close geographically and your posts keep me in line with my planting schedule. Anyway, just wanted to say once again how grateful I am for you!
Oh I'm so glad this resonated with you! I think a lot of us have felt overwhelmed with the native plant discussion — we want to do the right thing but holy moly, it's the wild, wild west! As with anything else these days, it feels like the easy solution is never the right one, and it always involves a bit of leg work and extra effort to seek out the proper information.
I had exactly the same idea when I started 'so litlle space so everything must be edible'. Luckily a lot of edible flowers are also providing food for insects. But now I'm also just growing flowers because it is food for my soul. They're not all native but all of them provide food to some insect or bird. For the calendula I kept the nativar away because I don't want it to mix up with my. I try to keep a mix. As long as the so called 'exotic' plant isn't invasive, it can stay. I'm also not interested in non-natives that can't stay outdoor the whole season or year in my climate. Still looking for my people that also only grew cabages/ brasicas especially for the catterpilars.
Yes! Such an important distinction — just because something isn't native doesn't automatically mean it's invasive. And some native plants can be aggressive growers! I have found over the years that my brassicas attracted a lot of caterpillars the first couple years here, but magically, last year I had nary a bite from a caterpillar — I think the local bird community made short work of them! Hooray for nature doing its thing!
Somehow I had the idea that I can’t plant native seeds, that I have to buy those already started. So now I’m going to go look for Southern California native seeds! I usually buy my native plants from the local community college or a nursery in Tustin.
You're in for an exciting treat — there is a whole world of native seeds out there! :)
What a great write-up! I just got into natives last year and am so excited for my second growing season. Totally snow covered here on the North Shore as well and I'm just itching to poke around my yard.
I'll just be scheming on paper for now! I'm fortunate to have a few native plants nurseries near me so last year I just basically blacked out every time I went and bought things based purely off their light needs (my entry to the rabbit hole was trying to find shade plants). I'm looking forward to being a bit more intentional and knowledgeable this year!
Thank you! I'm still a relative newbie when it comes to native plants here in New England, I was much more familiar with the ones in California as I started gardening in earnest when we lived there. My big goal this year is to put in some cinnamon ferns, as I learned that some birds use the downy, woolly fibers to build nests! Currently also scheming on paper :)
I've created a native wildflower and pollinator garden using seed mixes tailored to my area (MO Ozarks). They are cheap, easy to find on the internet, and only need to be mixed with sand to sow. Mine is 200 ft^2 and hums with insect and bird activity from spring through late fall. 🐦 🐦⬛ 🪶 🦢 🐛 🪲 🐞 I have multiple bird feeders and houses and even a bee house for native bees to reproduce. 🐝 🐝 🐝
I've bought an occasional native plant from local greenhouses, too. My goal is to have a backyard that feeds my own little wildlife reserve. 😁
I grow my vegetables only in raised 4×8 planters because of my bad back.
That's wonderful! There are so many awesome native seed companies that can be hyper-local to your specific region. I've slowly been adding more every year! It's magical to see the transformation from sterile, traditional garden to a buzzing backyard ecosystem. Right on, bud!
Doug Tallamy has several great books on this topic. I heard him speak in person last month and he was the opposite of condescending. Another good resource, perhaps?
Mentioned his books in this!
Clearly I didn’t read closely enough! 😬😅
Love learning more about native plants. One thing I’ve loved finding is my local native plant community. When we bought our house 2 years ago, there were several empty beds where rose bushes had died. As I worked to fill them, I found so many native seed and plant events. I’ve received so many free plants and seeds this way, I find the native plant community to be so generous and it’s delightful to be saving money and improving the environment.
Yes! That's just the absolute best — people can be so generous with their time, plants, and knowledge. I'm so glad you were able to find that!
I’ve been enjoying adding native plants to my yard first for the lack of work I need to do (they already like my soil and weather! Hurray!) and secondly for the beneficial insects. Also, because it really annoys my suburbia neighbors with their “perfect landscapes”. Turns out, pettiness can fuel me to do lots of things!
Have you checked out the Native Plant Trust? They have a huge botanical garden in Framingham called Garden in the Woods
6”? Try 2’ of snow, lol. It’s a great time to plan (fantasize about) the garden.