Why I've decided to go native - plants that is

This spring I am going to replant my yard using almost entirely native plants and here is why.
#1 I love wildlife & figure native plants must be good for them.
#2 Cost: the home I bought 3 years ago was landscaped with zero native plants. Some existing plants are the biggest water hogs there are! Some are not even suited to my zone! The water department told me the bill for this house was by far the largest in town. I live in a desert & water is a very precious thing indeed.
#3 I'm not a great gardener: It has got to be easier gardening with plants that are meant for an area, right?

Those are the reasons I can think of off the top of my head.

feel free to add more reasons to go native

One very good reason is also conservation, many of our precious native plants are being decimated in many ways, whether it be urban construction, just carelessness or ignorance.
Having native plants in your yard will benefit you, the wildlife and your entire neighborhood.
People will notice them, stop and ask about them, and in the process learn about the wonderful plants native to their area that most likely they had never seen or noticed.
You will be educating your neighbors, by having a demonstration garden, and that is a wonderful thing.
Josephine.

another great and very important reason, lol, excuse me while I pat myself on the back Josephine ;-)

I will pat you too Angele, I have a very soft spot in my heart for native plant lovers who do something about it.
If I can be of help yo you in whatever small way, please let me know, even if only for moral support.

Thank you Josephine. I appreciate the friendship very much. Are you using some native plants in your yard? If so, are you happy with the choices you've made?

Yes, the plants in my yard are about 85% native, that is they are almost all native.
My goal is to be at least 95%, but the less common plants are hard to find, so it takes a while.
I started this adventure about 10 years ago, and believe me it takes time, most native plants are slow growers, but not all, they are really worth the search and the wait.
In Texas we have programs by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dpt. that are designed to encourage homeowners to use native plants and provide habitat for wildlife.
My yard is part of one of those programs since 1998, and what a joy it has been!!
Here is how we got into it with a link to their site as well.
http://www.texasstar.org/index.php?pg=certification
I hope your state has a similar program, it is a wonderful thing.
Josephine.

That's great - good luck to both of you. The water issue will become more and more important.

Josephine, that is just great. I'll check out that link too. Equilibrium posted a link to a NM site yesterday that was very good
here is a plant that is native to your area but not mine. I would like to find something like it.
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ILVE
I love the red berries and winter food for the birds. I have found something called serviceberry here that I will probably use but I would really like something with red. I have had lots of wildlife visit my yard since I first moved here because I've always provided them with drinking water. Then I started feeding the birds but now I am rethinking that a little. Instead of feeding lots of birdseed I'd like to provide something more natural. I'm afraid I've gotten things out of balance.

Thanks so much for the encouragement Victor! Much appreciated.

Our main reason to consider native plants was also water. Then we found out fertilizer is not needed and not quite as much maintenance once established - all important since we will retire in the not too distant future. Once we started looking around, we fell in love with them and realized how much they would benefit the wildlife. We had a clean slate to start with, so we are about 90+% native. We have some tropicals (orchid cactus & plumeria), a climbing rose, a couple of clematis, etc. - but these are all close to the house and just for fun. Oh, and waterlilys in the pond for the fish to hide under when the egret comes to call. :-) No birdseed, though we do provide feeders for the hummers and orioles. We love watching the birds gather their food.

Yesterday we went to a native plant nursery http://www.treeoflifenursery.com/ and it was so beautiful. It is located in the mountains just east of the coastline and entirely landscaped in natives. To each his own, but we love our native plants!

Native plants have always been 75% of my garden - with care they are just great and keep on going with out blinking.

oh wow, I am feeling like a kid in a candystore with you all :-) Josephine & kaperc those are both great sites!! Josehine are you the "ask Josephine" person? :-)
kaperc. My father who just passed away last May lived in Oceanside, CA. He loved his garden so much. I bet he had been to that nursery! I love the prickly poppy in their intro. I see them growing by the roadside here. I also like the idea of no fertilizer! I love it when beneficial bugs move in for pest control too.
Mitch, I figure that has just got to be true, ease of care is very high on my list of reasons to go native.

yep - and they reseed themselves... they just look wonderful and with a little care they are stunning with next to nothing help wise.

Wondering if any of you know the answer to this.. When I looked up Honey Locust tree in the USDA site it comes back as native. If I wanted to go with a thornless variety would that still count as being native?

Sorry for your loss, Angele. As it happens, we are right on the edge of Oceanside in Bonsall and I would have enjoyed meeting your dad. Bugs, yes. We have loads of ladybugs all the time and I'm sure lots of other little guys I don't see. If I see aphids, I move a couple to the food source and let 'em work. The more we grow, the more they come (this is our fourth year and we still have a lot of bare land). All kinds of bees, too. I want to put up an orchard bee house for the apple trees. We have a bat house but haven't seen evidence of occupancy yet. I never knew I would enjoy gardening this much.

well that would depend who is talking I think - there are pure folks who unless it is found in the wild near your home it is not native... but for me it works!

Check this link, Black locust is native to north America but not all the states, yours and mine are not included, so it is an introduced plant for us. However there other locusts that are native besides the Honey Locust, but if you have room the Honey locust is beautiful. I am in a hurry right now, but i will check into tis more later.
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ROPS
there is also this one, were you asking about this one?
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=RONE

thank you for your condolences kaperc

I guess I should make a list of what I have already growing in my yard and then decide what is staying and what is going. The water guzzling lawn is already gone but hasn't been replaced with anything. There is a Dwarf Catalpa also in the front yard that is coming out because it is almost dead. We had an arborist over to look at it; he said it froze.
The honey locust I was talking about is a big tree Gleditsia triacanthos. There is one growing in my side yard. Boy that Robinia is gorgeous & I think I've seen it growing around here too.

I think I found something with red berries the birds like! It is a ground cover which I need for a sloping area.
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ARUV
it came up when I searched Butterflies and Moths of North America and then narrowed to NM. Anyone ever grow this?

Angele, IMO any manzanita (arctostaphylos) is wonderful. I think this one requires more water than most. Here's another link http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/81.htm

Hi Angele,
if you are looking for a taller shrub with shiny red berries, try Ribes (currants). They also come in yellow, black and green and there are several species native to the western US. And you can eat them yourself if you want :)
Janel

Thank you Janel. I looked it up & have added it to my list! Thanks a bunch.