Why Native?
Native plants are indigenous plants that have naturally occurred and evolved in a particular ecosystem *1, 2, 3. In North America native plants are widely considered to be plants that naturally occurred and evolved under the conditions of one particular ecosystem since before European contact, around 500 years ago *1, 2, 3, 4. Native plants can be crucial to the success of a restoration project for a variety of reasons, but objectively the most compelling reason to use native plants is their ability to restore the biodiversity of their native ecosystems *5, 6.
Beyond their ability to restore or preserve local species food webs and biodiversity, native plants are a smart choice for the savvy gardener because once they are established in the soil they require less maintenance, less water, and less pesticides than their non-native counterparts (California Native Plant Society, n.d.). In fact, a native garden can use up to 85% less water annually compared to a traditional garden *10. This is due to the fact that native plants have evolved to the specific traits of their native ecosystem so once established they often need little to no water beyond the water they absorb from annual rainfall *10. Moreover, many native plants require very little maintenance beyond a pruning once a year because they self propagate and work together to deter pests *8, 9, 10. Say goodbye to your lawnmower, fertilizers and pesticides!
A lesser known benefit of planting native plants is their ability to help curb ocean pollution. Urban runoff that flows over our cities' human-made, impermeable surfaces and into our waterways is a major contributor to ocean pollution *7. Native plants, with their deep root systems, absorb more water through the soil and act as a physical barrier - effectively impeding urban runoff (littered with oil, pesticides and bacteria) from reaching the ocean below and causing considerable pollution and flooding *7, 8, 9.
*1.Liu et. al. 2014 2.National Park Service, 2001 3. USDA, n.d.4 Oberbauer, T., 2018 5.Narango et al., 2018 6. Burghardt, et al., 2010 7.Soak Up the Rain: What’s the Problem?, 2015, 8. Pokorny, 2023, 9. California Native Plants and Winter Gardening Tips – Flows to Bay, n.d. 10. water.ca.gov