Planning your garden, don't forget the natives

I find March to be the most dreamy of the months, starting seeds for the year's garden, watching the trees come into bud, the very first flowers start to emerge. I've been planning my garden this year and along with plump juicy tomatoes I'm also starting a selection of native wildflowers to entice bees and butterflies to my garden. Why native wildflowers? 

The importance of growing plants native to your region. There are many reasons to grow natives: adapted pollinators, water & erosion control, and they become low maintenance once established.

The Circle of Life
Plants, animals, birds, and insects have all evolved together to their native climates to work to benefit each other - the pollinators pollinate the plants so the plants will fruit, the fruit then feeds the birds, rabbits, deer, and other animals, and the circle of life continues.

Why You Should Care About Pollinators
Let's start at the very beginning... 

• What is pollination?
  Pollination is the process of moving pollen from one flower to another of the same species, which produces fertile seeds. Almost all flowering plants need to be pollinated. Some plants are pollinated by wind or water, and some are even self-pollinating. However, most flowering plants depend on bees, butterflies, and other animals for pollination. 

• What do pollinators do?
  Pollinators are key players in maintaining healthy ecosystems. They assist in plant reproduction by moving from one flower to the next and produce genetic diversity in each plant allowing the plant to better adapt to the changes in the environment.

• How does this affect you? 
  Bees, butterflies, and other pollinators are considered keystone species because they are species upon which others depend. As a bee feeds on the nectar and pollen of raspberry flowers, it pollinates the flowers, which then will produce fruit eaten by birds, deer, dozens of other animals including humans.
  This is more than just raspberries, though, "Cross-pollination helps at least 30 percent of the world’s crops and 90 percent of our wild plants to thrive. Without bees to spread seeds, many plants—including food crops—would die off. " -NRDC

Other Benefits From Planting Native Plants

• Erosion Controll  
  Due to the deep root systems of many native plants, they work well to control erosion and storm water runoff. 
• Cleaner Water
  With those deep root systems in mind, they do more than just hold the soil in place, they also work to help water soak down into the soil while filtering out excess nutrients and pollutants.
• Cleaner Air
  Planting larger prairies or meadows of native grasses and flowers can help to clean the air around your home - and can be a great step forward in mitigating climate change. 
• Save Money & Time
  Once your native plants become established, there is very little upkeep you have to do. There's no need for pesticides or fertilizers, you don't need to trim, prune, or mow. Just sit back and enjoy.

The Argument For Non-native Plants
Not all non-native plants are bad, there's a lot to be said for plants adapting to a new area - and cases where wildlife can thrive due to the introduction. 
I, however, would be sad to see the individuality of each region get watered down by having the same plants everywhere, losing the "only in Ohio can you find" charms of the area.
Where to get such plants. 

• There are a great variety of web-stores whose focus is to sell native wildflowers - always do your homework to make sure they get their seeds and plants ethically.
• In many areas the local greenhouses will have a good selection of native flowers and grasses and the staff to help you with any growing questions or concerns: conditions, watering, etc.
• Big box stores tend to use neonicotinoids on their plants which kill our pollinating friends (although they report to be fazing these out by 2019),
  "The class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, or neonics, are sold by agrichemical companies to boost yields of staple crops but are also used widely on annual and perennial plants used in lawns and gardens. Scientists, consumer groups, beekeepers and others say bee deaths are linked to the neonic pesticides. The bee die-off is worrisome for agriculture because honeybees pollinate plants that produce about a fourth of the food consumed by Americans." - Reuters 
  ​They also still irresponsibly sell invasive species (you know the Kudzu plant that has covered the Southeastern US? It is still being sold at these stores.).

Remember: taking plants or seeds from parks/wildlife areas/wildlife preserves without a permit is illegal and can harm the delicate ecosystem in that area (it's also totally a jerk move and unethical). 
A great resource to find the best native plants (Ohio) for you can be found at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources site here. ​