Growing native plants offers a range of environmental, economic, and aesthetic benefits. 

Environmental Benefits

Supports Biodiversity

Native plants provide essential food and habitat for local wildlife, including birds, pollinators (like bees and butterflies), and beneficial insects. Native plants provide food and habitat for local wildlife in deeply interconnected and time-evolved ways.

• Food for Pollinators. Nectar & Pollen: Native flowers bloom in sync with the lifecycles of local bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds. Specialist Relationships: Some native insects can only feed on specific native plants. If those plants disappear, so do the insects.
  • Example: Milkweed is the sole host plant for monarch butterfly caterpillars and also provides nectar to adult butterflies.
    
• Seeds, Berries & Nuts for Birds and Mammals. Seasonal Food Sources: Native shrubs and trees provide fruits, seeds, and nuts that ripen at times when local wildlife needs them most. More Nutritious: Native berries often have higher fat content than non-native ones, which is essential for birds migrating long distances.
  
  • Example: Oak trees support over 500 species of caterpillars—vital food for baby birds—and produce acorns eaten by squirrels, deer, and turkeys.
    
• Host Plants for Insect Larvae. Caterpillars & Larvae: Many insects lay their eggs on specific native plants. These larvae are primary food for birds, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals.
  
  • Example: Black cherry trees support over 400 species of moths and butterflies, fueling entire food webs.
    

• Shelter & Nesting Sites. Trees and Shrubs: Native trees like serviceberry or elderberry offer nesting sites, cavities, and cover. Ground Cover & Leaf Litter: Native groundcovers and accumulated plant matter offer shelter to toads, small mammals, beetles, and overwintering insects.
  
• Building Blocks of the Web. Insect-Plant Coevolution: Many native plants evolved with local insects. These insects, in turn, feed frogs, bats, birds, and larger predators. Removing native plants can break these food webs, while restoring them helps regenerate ecosystems.
  

Do Invasive Species Ever Become Native Species?

Reduces Water Usage

They’re adapted to local rainfall patterns and typically require little to no irrigation once established. Native plants reduce water usage because they are naturally adapted to the climate, soil, and rainfall patterns of their local environment. 

• Deep and Efficient Root Systems. Native plants typically develop deeper, more extensive root systems than non-natives or turfgrass. These roots reach down to tap water stored deep in the soil, making the plants less reliant on surface watering.
  
• Adapted to Local Rainfall. Native species evolved to thrive on natural precipitation, whether it’s seasonal rain or drought conditions. Once established, they usually require little to no supplemental irrigation, even in dry periods.
  
• Less Water Lost to Runoff and Evaporation. Their deep roots improve soil structure, increasing its ability to absorb and retain water. This helps reduce stormwater runoff and soil erosion, allowing more water to infiltrate the ground instead of evaporating or washing away.
  
• No Need for High-Maintenance Lawns. Traditional lawns often require frequent watering, especially in hot weather. Replacing lawns with native plants dramatically cuts water use—by up to 50–75% or more, depending on the climate.
  
• More Resilient in Drought. Native plants enter natural dormant phases during dry spells, unlike exotic species that wilt or die without constant watering. Their evolutionary history with local drought conditions makes them inherently more water-wise.
  

Improves Soil Health
Deep root systems of many native species prevent erosion, increase soil fertility, and improve soil structure. Native plants improve soil health in powerful and sustainable ways, thanks to their deep roots, organic contributions, and close relationships with soil microbes. 

• Deep Root Systems Enrich and Stabilize Soil. Prevent Erosion: Native plants often have deep, fibrous, or taproots that hold soil in place, reducing erosion from wind and water. Improve Soil Structure: Their roots create air pockets and channels in the soil, which enhances water infiltration, drainage, and oxygen flow to other organisms. Break Up Compacted Soil: Some native species can break through compacted layers, helping restore degraded land.
  
• Add Organic Matter Naturally. Leaf Litter & Root Decay: Native plants regularly shed leaves, stems, and roots that decompose in place, adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil. Feed Soil Life: This organic material becomes food for earthworms, fungi, and beneficial bacteria, which improve soil fertility and texture.
  
• Support Beneficial Microbial Life. Native plants have evolved alongside local soil microbes, especially: Mycorrhizal fungi, which attach to roots and help absorb water and nutrients, and Nitrogen-fixing bacteria (like those in legumes) that convert atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms for plants. These relationships boost nutrient availability and reduce the need for fertilizers.
  
• Improve Water-Holding Capacity. Healthier soil with more organic matter can hold water like a sponge, reducing the need for irrigation. This moisture retention also buffers plants against drought and extreme weather. Reduces the Need for Chemical Inputs. By fostering a rich, self-sustaining soil ecosystem, native plants eliminate or reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. This helps avoid chemical buildup and runoff that can degrade soil and water quality.
  

Reduces Pollution
Less need for fertilizers and pesticides means fewer chemicals leach into groundwater or run off into local waterways. Native plants reduce pollution in several important ways—both directly and indirectly—by minimizing the need for chemicals, filtering water, and improving air quality. By requiring fewer synthetic inputs, improving soil and water quality, and eliminating noisy, polluting maintenance tools, native plants offer a low-impact, high-benefit solution to reducing pollution at both local and regional levels.

• Reduce Need for Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides. Self-sufficient: Native plants are adapted to local soil and climate, so they thrive without synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides. Lower chemical runoff: Less chemical use means fewer pollutants wash into rivers, lakes, and groundwater, where they can harm aquatic life and contaminate drinking water. Improve Water Quality by Filtering Runoff. Natural filters: Native plants trap and filter rainwater before it enters storm drains or waterways. Their deep roots absorb excess nutrients, heavy metals, and other pollutants, acting like a natural water treatment system.
  
  • Example: Wetland plants like native sedges or rushes help purify water by removing nitrogen and phosphorus.
    
• Improve Air Quality. Trap dust and pollutants: Leaves and stems of native plants can capture airborne particles, reducing dust and smog. Absorb carbon dioxide: Like all green plants, natives sequester CO₂, helping offset greenhouse gas emissions—especially when replacing turfgrass or impervious surfaces. No lawn equipment needed: Native landscapes often eliminate the need for gas-powered mowers, trimmers, and blowers, which are major sources of air pollution.
  
• Reduce Soil Disturbance. Once established, native gardens require minimal tilling or replanting. This reduces the release of stored carbon from soil and limits dust and sediment pollution during wind or rain.
  
• Reduce Heat Island Effect. Dense native plantings, especially trees and shrubs, provide shade and cool the surrounding environment, reducing energy use and air pollution from air conditioning in urban areas.
  

Enhances Ecosystem Resilience.

Native landscapes are more resilient to extreme weather, pests, and diseases—especially important in a changing climate. Native plants enhance ecosystem resilience by strengthening the natural systems that allow environments to recover from stress—like drought, pests, disease, or climate extremes. Native plants don’t just survive challenges—they help the entire ecosystem respond better. They’re the foundation for durable, self-sustaining systems that don’t require artificial inputs and are better equipped to adapt to a changing climate.

• Adapted to Local Conditions. Climate-tough: Native plants evolved over thousands of years in your region’s specific temperature swings, rainfall patterns, and soil types. As a result, they’re more likely to survive and thrive during extreme weather events—like heatwaves, droughts, or floods.
  
  • Example: Prairie grasses like big bluestem have deep roots that help them survive droughts and fires.
    
• Support Biodiversity. Native plants form the foundation of local food webs. More plant diversity = more insect, bird, and animal diversity. High biodiversity creates built-in redundancy: if one species struggles, others can fill its ecological role. This buffering effect helps ecosystems bounce back after disturbances like invasive species or diseases.

• Improve Soil and Water Stability. Deep root systems anchor soil, reducing erosion, and improve water infiltration, helping manage both droughts and floods. Healthier soil supports microbial life that can detoxify pollutants and cycle nutrients more efficiently.
  
• Promote Healthy Microbe-Plant Relationships. Native plants foster resilient underground networks of Mycorrhizal fungi, which help plants access water and nutrients; and Nitrogen-fixing bacteria, improving soil fertility naturally. These systems help plants survive stress and share resources, like moisture during droughts.
  
• Resist Invasive Species. A healthy native plant community creates a competitive barrier to invasive weeds. By filling ecological niches with native species, there’s less room for invaders to take over, which helps preserve ecosystem balance.
  
• Recover Faster After Disturbance. Native plant communities can regrow after fire, storms, or human disruption more reliably than non-native landscapes.Their life cycles are often aligned with natural disturbance regimes—such as fire-adapted plants in chaparral or tallgrass prairie systems.
  

Economic Benefits

Native plants result in lower maintenance costs due to the reduced need for mowing, watering, fertilizing, and pest control saves time and money. They also serve as a long-term investment. Once established, native plant gardens are hardy and can thrive for years without much upkeep.

Aesthetic & Cultural Benefits

1. Sense of Place
   Native plants reflect the natural character of your region, enhancing the identity and beauty of local landscapes.
   
2. Educational Value
   Gardens of native plants can be living classrooms for kids and adults alike, teaching about local ecology and history.
   
3. Community Engagement
   Neighborhoods with native plantings often inspire community projects and environmental stewardship.