What are native plants? Native plants are plants that have been growing in a particular habitat for thousands of years. They are well adapted to the climate, soil and light conditions of that particular region.
They are very important to the local ecosystem because the birds, insects and wildlife are dependent on them and have been for hundreds of years. The ecosystem is in a very delicate balance.
Unfortunately, flashy, colourful, and exotic looking flowers which may not necessarily be native to the local ecosystem are appealing to the human eye.
City owners are choosing varieties of flora which have an aesthetic without thinking about how this affects the natural ecosystem. Often insects are unable to pollinate these flowers because they do not recognise them and/or the nectar is hard to get at on the flower because the petals have been selectively bred to look more appealing. An example of this is the petunia which was selectively bred to have 10 petals instead of 5, this made the flower look bigger and prettier but the petals hid the nectar so bees couldn’t access it. This is one of the reasons bees species are in danger.
In Germany for example, 70% of plant species are in decline- invasive species are thought to be contributing to this, many of which are being introduced by people’s gardens.
An obvious solution to this problem is planting native plants! There are many benefits to doing this- they require less maintenance and less chemical fertilisers overall leading to a cleaner and healthier environment. They use less water and provide habitats for a variety of wildlife; they provide a source of food (like nectar for pollinators) and a protective shelter for many mammals.
What you can do:
Plant local varieties of flowers and plants instead of non-native species even though they might be more colourful, bigger etc. Keep in mind that plant species in Europe and the US are generally less colourful.
Avoid using plant varieties that are treated with insecticides, some insecticides stay on the plant throughout its lifetime and so even if the plant is a native species, if planted in your garden it will kill pollinators.
Read up on good gardening practises
Here you can find a list of French flowers you can grow in your garden!
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