Native Perennial Flowers Can Help You!
Native perennial flowers are plants that belong to a particular area and have learned to survive throughout the seasonal conditions of that area alongside the native bees, insects, birds and wildlife over thousands of years.
Native perennial flowers are rich in nectar and so invite birds, butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, caterpillars and other beneficial insects. In the fall and winter, the seeds of the flowerheads are food for birds. The stalks of these flowers provide shelter for overwintering pollinators.
Native perennial flowers are rich in nectar and so invite birds, butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, caterpillars and other beneficial insects. In the fall and winter, the seeds of the flowerheads are food for birds. The stalks of these flowers provide shelter for overwintering pollinators.
Landscaping with native perennial flowers and plants saves your precious time and energy and money as a gardener. They are beautiful and bring their unique colors and textures to any landscape. Native perennial flowers benefit the earth by conserving water and reducing fertilizer and pesticide use both of which improve the health of our planet. More than ever before we need to plant native perennial flowers and plants to feed and save endangered pollinators and our food supply.
Native perennial flowers can benefit gardeners at least 5 ways:
- Saving Water
Many native perennial flowers are drought tolerant. They have the ability to grow with minimal water or rainfall. They are able to withstand periods of dryness without deterioration. - Saving Time
Native perennial flowers take minimal care or pruning. Cutting back happens usually in the fall before the plants go dormant. Once established, native perennial flowers continue growing and multiplying with very little effort. - Saving Effort
Once established, native perennial flowers need watering only a few times per month in the summer if there is no rain. - Saving Money
Because native perennial flowers multiply over the years, it means that you can buy fewer plants to fill out your garden beds. Most perform well without expensive fertilizer.
- Saving Pollinators
The relationships between native plants and the bees, birds and wildlife of any particular area are intricate and extremely specialized. These relationships cannot be replaced with ornamental non-invasive plants because many insects and caterpillars cannot eat these strange exotic foods. Planting non-native plants in our landscapes has resulted in a decline in pollinators and wildlife species because of habitat destruction and lack of food. Without pollinators there is no pollination. Without pollination, there are no crops like tomatoes, cucumbers and squash, to name only a few. In short, if there are no pollinators, we hurt our own food supply.
