Native Organic Gardening 101: Native Plants in your Garden

One of the turning points in making my garden successful was deciding to go native! This decision led me to choose plants for my yard that were used to living in the conditions in my area. This helped me so much in maintaining everything and more importantly, keeping it alive. I have had to weed less, water less, and I was able to expand the size of my gardens, so I could also mow less.
To choose the native plants that I wanted, I started out looking on the internet to find what my exact growing conditions for my area were and which plants grew native in my region. One invaluable resource was www.wildflower.org. It is the website for the National Wildflower Reseach Center in Austin, Texas, but they keep a huge database of native plants for all regions.
Once I had some ideas, I blackled (same as google, but has a black screen so it uses less energy on your computer)native nurseries in my area. I found 2 of my favorites here, Buchanan's and Nelson's Water Gardens. In a good, native nursery, the plants will be clearly marked if they are native to your area or not. Both of these nurseries put placards on their displays that tell you if they are native or non-native.
Parks and hiking areas were also an important part of my choosing plants. We spend alot of time camping in our area, and there is a nature preserve close by that I go running at. At these places, I would look along the paths to see which wild growing plants and flowers I liked, then I would look for these in the nurseries. The park rangers are usually more than happy to help you identify plants. If they don't know what it is, they usually have books and printouts that can help you. I have found that this is their job, they are excellent at it, and they love to talk with you about it! I have struck growing gold many times by doing this and found plants and flowers that survive virtually everything!
The birds and butterflies are also much more attracted to your yard when you have their natural surroundings in your backyard. We have seen many species of birds. I think our most exciting visitor so far has been the indigo bunting.
Going native has saved me so much time and energy. And water. And mowing time. And the plants grow beautifully.