A recent article in The New York Times explored how native plants “crowded into postage-stamp sized plots” are yielding very real benefits to the environment around the world. Tiny forests with native trees, shrubs and flowers that are planted very close together grow quickly and create their own eco-climate highly attractive to burgeoning wildlife, and they end up requiring far less watering and weeding as time goes on.
Here in the northeastern US, native plants are those that grow naturally in our area and that were here long before European settlements began. They’ve developed further by growing codependent on the insects, birds and other wildlife in their own locale. Rest assured they also coexist well with other plants and flowers that are not native to the area. but they especially thrive with and in the company of each other.
Garden centers in and around Lawrenceville now make a point to section off and feature native plants, giving you an excellent way to experience and learn more about them. So if you hanker to look out your own window or patio door and see and hear more of the graceful wings of colorful butterflies, the buzz of busy bees and the flight of tiny insects, consider planting natives in your garden and create your own mini-ecosystem that benefits us all.