The Garden Club Federation
Of Massachusetts, Inc

Why are native plants important?

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It is generally known that native plants are the best at feeding native pollinators and wildlife, such as local butterflies, bumblebees, moths and birds.  They are beautiful, are important for biodiveristy, and are resilient in the face of drought, flooding, and temperature challenges.  

 

You may be surprised to know that 96% of Native American songbirds feed their young an almost exclusive diet of caterpillars, as discovered in a study by Doug Tallamy (detailed in his book Bringing Nature Home)  Without native plants, our songbirds would have nothing to eat (click on the songbird to the right to learn more).

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Where can you find a list of native plants to grow in your yard?

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Grow Native Massachusetts has a great list (click on the image to the right). 

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Where can you buy native plants?

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Although many nurseries and big box stores sell native plants, often they have been grown with pesticides.  The pesticide residue from treated plants can harm, and even kill, pollinators and other beneficial insects.  Plants grown with the systemic neonicitinoid "neonics" contain the toxic pesticides in all plant parts.  So the pollen and nector foraged by pollinators is toxic to them.

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It is important to buy native plants only from sources known to be pesticide free.  Grow Native Massachusetts has an extensive list of sources.  You can also find a great selection at the Native Plant Trust  (see link to the right). 

 

Here is a link to "Buying Bee-Safe Plants" from the Xerces Society.

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What can you do if your local nursery is not on the Grow Native Massachusetts list of native plant sources?

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Talk to them and let them know you want plants free of pesticide contamination.  Ask the nursery personnal what, if any,  pollinator safe practices they use.  Watch this webinar "Buying Bee-Safe Plants - How You Can Help" for tips on how to have a conversation.  If the nursery personnel are too busy to talk, download and leave them a copy of "Offering Bee-Safe Plants:  A Guide For Nurseries".

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Grow your own native plants!

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Gather seeds responsibly from native plants growing locally, check out the Seed Library at your local library, or buy seeds from bee-friendly seed companies.   Tutorials can be found at the Wild Seed Project's How to Grow From Seed and Cornell University's Growing Native Plants From Seed

 

Learn about this process here Winter Seed Sowing

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