Saturday, June 30, 2007

Why plant California native plants?

I used to pick out plants I wanted in our yard only on the basis of whether they were pretty or not. Now I am a little more aware of the benefits of planting plants that are native to our area. There are many reasons to plant Native plants.

-simplicity of care: once a native plant is established it doesn't need water or fertilization to care for it in any way if we choose not to.

-less need for pest control: native plants have developed a resistance to the insects and diseases common to the area and so will maintain health without our intervention.

-restoring ecological balance: lost food and habitat for native wildlife of all kinds are restored by planting those plants they depend on in the wild.

Here is a link to a list of some California native plants: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_native_plants



2 comments:

Jennifer Krug said...

Are there any Nursery's you recommend?

Emily said...

Not one in particular, but SR has so many. I like looking through the Farm Trails guide (farmtrails.org) to find exactly what I am looking for. They have a great index listed by type of plant, the area nursery is located, organic, etc etc....You can get a free copy by going to their website.

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Jennifer started this blog because she was going through the process of becoming more conscious of her lifestyle choices and had decided to "go green". As she talked to her friends she quickly realized that she was not the only one interested in making changes. The blog was born. We used this as a place to discuss things we've tried and to support each other in the journey.