Growing, and Gardening with, Native Plants: Set It, and Edit, and You Won't Regret It

Working with seed-grown native plants in your landscape means more than planting a few perennials, washing your hands, and waiting for pollinators to arrive. It also means learning how to manage dynamics that traditional horticulture has tried for years to breed out. Fertility, unpredictability, individuality. Plants that seed around or spread by suckers and runners; plants that may die here, but pop up there; plants that express character and lack uniformity...these traits may seem unruly at first, until you realize that your garden is taking on a life of its own! Native landscapes are at their best when they're allowed to do that , but they don't need to be chaotic, out of control, or disorganized. Understanding how and why they behave the way they do--and what you can do about it--will grow your enjoyment of native plants in any landscape.