Is the native plant movement driven by real science or just ecological optimism? New York Times reporter Ferris Jabr visited entomologist Doug Tallamy's land to dig into the evidence. Thirty years ago, Tallamy's ten acres of land was covered by a mowed hayfield and invasive vines. Tallamy gradually replaced all non-native vegetation on his property with plants and trees native to southeastern Pennsylvania. And now Tallamy's land is home to over 1,370 documented moth species and 62 breeding bird species.
I was struck by this number in the article: on average, only about 14% of native plant species in a region do 90% of the work supporting local butterflies and moths. Planting more natives matters less than planting the right ones for where you actually live. That's the whole idea behind SmartScape's flagship native landscaping tool, the Greenprint Generator (GG). The GG creates a native planting plan for your specific site, climate, and soil, and your goals for your land, from pollinators to low water use to food production, to beauty.
To the reporter's credit, this article doesn't oversell native landscaping either. It's honest that some nonnative plants can still fill real gaps, like feeding pollinators during seasonal bloom gaps, or tolerating conditions natives sometimes struggle with. Native landscaping won't singlehandedly fix the biodiversity crisis. But your yard is the one piece of the planet you actually get to decide about.
Read the NYT Magazine article (gift link — free to read, may expire after 30 days, so if it does, message us at smartscapeapp@gmail.com and we'll send you a fresh gift link & replace this one with the fresh link).