10 Ways Gardening With Native Plants Will Save You Time, Effort, and Money

There’s a lot of buzz (ha) around native plants these days, largely because research has shown that they’re incredibly important for pollinators, including bees. As a bonus to humans, native plants have adapted to the climate, soil, and rainfall of their region, which means they’ll thrive without much work on our end. Here are some science-backed reasons native plants are the low-maintenance garden winners we need.

You Don’t Have to Water as Much

Native plants are accustomed to the average rainfall in your area, so you don’t need to continually water them as you do with grass and certain non-native species. Many native plants have adapted to dry areas by developing deep root systems, which lets them access water under the soil. This doesn’t mean you can neglect the plants; they do require some attention as they’re getting established in your yard. “Especially during the first two growing seasons, you need to keep up with watering and weeding. After that, you may be able to leave them alone,” says horticulturalist Andrea DeLong-Amaya. During a severe drought, supplemental watering may be necessary. But overall, gardening with native plants will require far less watering than a traditional lawn.

You Don’t Have to Fertilize the Soil

Similarly, since native plants have adapted to local soil conditions, there’s no need to bother with fertilizer, compost, or other soil amendments. Whether your local soil is rocky, claylike, or even nutrient-poor, native plants know what to do with it. “If the plant is from your area and the soil is from your area, you have a great match, and your plant should be low-maintenance once established,” DeLong-Amaya says.  

You’ll Save Money on Birdseed

If you add native plants to your yard, you’ll feed birds without having to keep your birdfeeder filled constantly. “Even in the wintertime, only 50% of birds’ diet is seeds. When it comes to rearing their young, their babies can’t eat seeds at all,” says Doug Tallamy, PhD, an entomologist and conservationist whose nonprofit, Homegrown National Park, shares resources on how to plant native. Birds rely on insects (especially caterpillars) and berries to round out their diet. Native plants from your region will attract the insects your local birds feed on, helping them thrive. They’ll also enjoy the berries and seeds that grow naturally on your native plants.

You Can Create Any Garden Style You Want

Some people are put off by native plants because they assume their yard will look untamed. In fact, “native plants are equally at home in your yard’s formal landscaping as they are in a meadow,” says L.Be Sholar, who owns the Wildstead Company, a native plant garden center in East Hanover, New Jersey. “It’s about how you arrange and maintain the plants,” DeLong-Amaya adds. Given the variety of gorgeous native plants out there, you’ll find ones to fit into whatever look you’re aiming for.

You Won’t Need to Go Anywhere to See Butterflies

Butterfly conservatories are wonderful to visit, but you can make one in your own backyard if you plant native. Butterflies have what’s known as “host plants”—specific plants they’ve evolved to lay their eggs on. For example, “the only thing that’s going to make a monarch butterfly is one of the milkweed species,” Tallamy says, because monarch butterflies only lay eggs on milkweed. Egg-laying monarchs will naturally flock to your garden if they spot milkweed. Then you’ll also get a chance to watch the eggs hatch into caterpillars, which will metamorphose into more butterflies!

You Don’t Have to Use Pesticides

In fact, you shouldn’t. One of the best parts of growing native plants is that you’re offering food and habitat to insects. If they’re around, it means you’re doing something good for the planet. And don’t worry about being stung or otherwise bothered. “The vast majority of the time, bees are so preoccupied with their own lives that they’re not interested in stinging people unless you provoke them,” DeLong-Amaya says. “There are very few insects that are problematic for people, and you need them in the landscape to feed the birds. They’re part of the habitat. If you pay attention to them, learn about them, and understand their function in nature, you’ll see that there’s some really interesting stuff going on.”

You’ll Be Able to Weed Less Often

This does require some work on the front end, because you’ll need to fill your garden with lots of natives (and remove invasive species). As Tallamy says, “If you can see the ground, you don’t have enough plants.” Over time, and if you keep up with weeding at first, the native plants will naturally spread and fill spaces where unwanted plants would otherwise pop up. So you can let them do some of the weeding for you!

You’ll Look Unique Without Trying

Just by choosing native species, you’ll build an eye-catching garden that will have neighbors asking what you’ve planted. “There’s such a wide range of really gorgeous native plants that people just don’t know about,” DeLong-Amaya says. “Another benefit is that native plants help you honor your regional identity and fight the homogenization of the American landscape. If you’re in Texas or California or another state, you can look at your garden and know exactly where you are, which I think is a richer experience.”

You Don’t Have to Clean Up for Fall and Winter

You can if you want to, of course, but native plants serve the habitat year-round, and if you leave stems and seedheads on your plants, insects will find a use for them. You can put away the rake too: “It’s usually safe to leave two to four inches of leaves in your garden beds,” Sholar says. Plants will still grow through them in the fall. What’s more, you can find native plants for all seasons. Goldenrods and asters, two popular natives, bloom in the fall for late-season color. Other natives will provide winter interest with colorful stems and berries.

You Can Easily Buy Plants and Even Garden Designs

After all this, you may be wondering how to find the right native plants for your region. Luckily, as native gardening becomes more popular, plants are becoming easier to find. Tallamy recommends using the Native Plant Finder via the National Wildlife Federation; enter your zip code, and the site will tell you the best plants for your locale. Another great resource is the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s plant database, which lets you filter by bloom color, light requirements, and more. You can often buy native plants at a local gardening center, or you can see if a native plant society near you is having a sale. Some online vendors, like Prairie Moon Nursery, sell entire garden kits, which include dozens of plants and a layout. (Just double-check that all the plants are native to your region when buying a premade set.) Happy gardening!