native plants

Native Plant Garden on a Budget: Five Affordable Sources

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Native plant garden bed in mid-summer with masses of purple coneflower black-eyed Susan and butterfly weed

Every spring, I find myself standing in front of a garden-center display, calculating prices in my head, glancing at my cart, and quietly deciding to leave empty-handed. A quart of Echinacea purpurea is going for $11. An annual plant that will wilt by Labor Day costs eight bucks. And remember that flat of plugs I … Read more

Foolproof Native Plant Garden Recipe for Your USDA Zone

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Suburban native pollinator garden with monarch butterfly on butterfly milkweed, clean sidewalk strip, zone 5b Chicago

Have you ever stood in a garden center with a handful of seed packets, wondering which ones actually belong together. Or whether any of them are truly native to where you live? If so, you are in very good company. It’s one of the quietest struggles in the whole native plant world, and it catches … Read more