Native Plants in the Organic Garden

When you plant a native plant, a wildflower, in your garden natural pollinators are already plentiful, temperature ranges are what the plant expects, pests have native predators just waiting to swoop down and gobble them for dinner, and the soil in your garden is what your green friend likes.

Non-Native Plants Are Aliens

The modern garden store sells thousands of plants, but most of them are “aliens.” Alien plants did not set root in North America until some human (or a visiting bird) brought a seed or a plant to our shores and put it in the ground.

Some alien plants seem like natives because they are everywhere. The common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is an alien plant. English ivy (Hedera Ilex) is a gift from our English ancestors. And the ever-present Dandelion? A native of Africa, Asia and Europe. These aliens love North America so much, they become invasive; destroying native plants when they invade a habitat.

Which Plants Are Native?

Native plants are those that were here when the first alien plant arrived; they evolved in the ecology where we find them today – on roadsides, riversides, lake banks, meadows, forests, wetlands, deserts, or on alpine mountains.

Many folks consider a native plant a weed because it grows unattended in a place we don’t call a “garden.” But a weed is just a plant growing where you don’t want it, or a plant whose habit, smell, or appearance doesn’t please you.

And there are many native plants that look better in their native habitat than they do in a garden. But there are many, many more that are as beautiful as any alien plant purchased from a catalog or store. Planted in a garden that has the characteristics of their natural habitat, they flourish and bring immense pleasure.

Columbine (Aquilegia) comes in many forms. Each region of the U.S. has natives Columbines that thrive in local gardens. The beautiful version in the photo is native to Canada and the Northern states.

Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) is a ground cover native in Canada and the Northern states that loves shade and moisture.

Find native plants for your garden

Which North American native plants do well in your garden depends, of course, on where you live.Plants native to your state or region are the most suitable for use as ornamentals. But plants native to another region of North America may do well if you give them a climate, soil, and habitat similar to their indigenous locale.

Here are some excellent places to begin your search for native plants for your garden.

Pick the Right Native Plant Follow the three steps to finding the right native plants for your organic flower garden or landscape.

Native Plants of California: Indigenous Plant Species Found in California Sharon Falsetto discusses native plants of California and why some are now threatened.

Installing a Wildflower Meadow Replacing your lawn, pasture, or just a section of your garden with native wildflowers is one way to introduce native plants into your personal environment.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Plants Database This comprehensive database includes native and non-native plants. You can also find listings of plants by state, lists of noxious and invasive plants, and a gallery of plant images. Searching for a specific plant requires using its scientific name.

Native plant database (United States) A resource from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. Use it to locate plants native to your area or native to other parts of North America with a similar climate.