What to Plant
Choosing what to plant in a specific location basically comes down to a few key considerations:
- What will grow in this spot?
2. What function are you trying to accomplish?
3. What do you personally like?
Do you prefer a natural style, or more tidy and formal? Do you like certain colors or textures? Would you like to have plants that provide food for people as well?
4. What are your limitations?
Do you have a small space to work with? Is there an HOA or municipal code that limits what you can have in your front yard? Do you have pets and/or children who need space to play?
Native Plant Finders
Once you have an idea of what sort of plants you are looking for, you may want to explore some of the many native plant finder sites.
Here are some we recommend:
Enter your zip code to generate a list of native plants along with the types of birds each plant might attract. The list can be filtered by type of plant, type of resource provided, and type of bird attracted. The database also generates a listing of local resources to help you get started.
This for-profit division of the National Wildlife Federation has the best native plant finder quiz we've seen. It generates a list of native plants according to your zip code, your goals, how much space you're working with, amount of sunlight. It will ask for your email, but gives you the option to skip. The generated plant list can then be refined for specific Plant Type, Light Conditions, Soil Moisture, Plant Height, Wildlife Benefits, Flower Color, Soil Type, Animal Resistance, and Bloom Type.
NOTE: There is an option to purchase plants directly from the site, but the plants are very expensive, and the company has not been able to tell us where the plants are sourced from. We recommend sourcing plants from the list of native plant sources linked here.
The Native Plant Database from Grow Native! is excellent, and getting better all of the time. From the site: "This searchable database of 300+ plants native to the lower Midwest includes trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, sedges, rushes, and wildflowers suitable for landscaping as well as species for creating wildlife habitat, stabilizing streams, and for other ecological purposes."