Blog - Choose native and local plants in your garden

Choose native and local plants in your garden

04/03/2023

<< back

The more native plant species in your garden, the more animal species they will attract. The reason is simple. Native species have been naturally present here since the last Ice Age. After 10,000 years of co-evolution and coexistence, our animals and plants are fully adapted to each other and interdependent. They need each other and seek each other out. These species are also best adapted to our climate and more resistant to diseases.

Among our pollinators -bees, bumblebees and butterflies- there are generalists that visit many plant species to feed or reproduce. These are more flexible species. The rarer species are more often specialists and depend on only a handful of plant species to complete their life cycle. Sometimes there is even a one-to-one relationship, such as with the bell gentian and the butterfly Alcon blue.

80% of all plants depend on insects for pollination, highlighting the importance of these close relationships. 75% of all agricultural crops are pollinated by insects. Insects therefore play a major role in our food supply. In addition, they themselves are an important food source for birds, amphibians and mammals. Since 1990, insects have declined by 80% due to the use of pesticides and habitat loss. This crisis strongly advocates more natural gardens with a variety of wild native flowers.

Many of us want a beautiful garden and select the more traditional exotic plants, such as tulips, dahlias, hydrangeas or a butterfly bush. Native species are often less known or regarded as weeds. I think the photos prove the opposite and there are many beautiful specimens out there that can compete with ornamental plants. Of course, there is nothing wrong with a mix of both non-native and native species in your natural garden, if the natives make up the majority.

There is another important distinction to make between the botanical species and the cultivar. Botanical species are the wild natural populations that multiply spontaneously. Cultivars or ornamental plants are bred based on specific characteristics, and do not multiply spontaneously. This selection often involves larger flowers, multiple petals, a longer flowering period…. characteristics from an aesthetic point of view, but with little or no ecological value and lower nectar quality.

Nature loves variety and we can all help with that. Do you have an unused corner in your garden, let it grow wild, the native species will arrive naturally and soon it will be buzzing with action. If you want to help nature a hand, you can also plant them. Check out organic growers (Ecoflora, Ecosem, Apiflora) who offer native species. Be sure to give native species a place in your garden, this way you help biodiversity!

Photos: Centaurea jacea, Eupatorium vulgare, Echium vulgare, Symphytum officinale