Yesterday, the Green Dean Team had the opportunity to re-visit one of our favorite places!  Over the past decade or so, Garfield creator, Jim Davis has been reconstructing native ecosystems on former agricultural land surrounding his PAWS, Inc. studios and home in Central Indiana.  What was once farmland has been transformed into prairies, wetlands and woodlands that are native to this geographical region.

We first visited Jim and his knowledgeable sidekick, Bill Duell, in early April when they were conducting their annual controlled prairie burn.  We wanted to go back before the coneflowers, goldenrods, and bee balm started blooming to see what things looked like!  Aside from the natural beauty, what can we learn from these areas to apply at our homes?

We can learn about the plants that are native to where we live!  Native can be defined as plants that were found in a certain region or area before settlement.  The benefits of native plants include:

• --- less water needed to grow
• --- drought resistance
• --- pest resistance
• --- require little or no fertilizers
• --- and provide local context

Sounds to me like native plants are going to save me time, maintenance, and $$$!  The best place to start to learn about native plants and their environment is in the natural areas where you live.  Take a sunny afternoon and visit a national park, state park, botanical garden, or other natural area in your neck-of-the-woods to see what plants grow and where they grow.  Look for attractive blooms, interesting foliage, and whether they live in sun or shade, are in dry or wet areas, or grow in flat or sloped areas.

Natural areas can give us all the clues we need to select the right plant for the right place!  Also, look at what grows around the plants that you like.  Are there other attractive plants that surround them?  Is there a bunch of them or are there just a scattered few?  What trees provide the shade for your favorite plants?  Is there a single tree or is there a grouping?  Natural areas are a great place to practice or sharpen your powers of observation!  Take pictures, a lot of pictures!

Now, take all that information and start to look for the plants at local nurseries, garden centers, big box retailers (orange or blue), catalogues or wherever you buy your plants.  Even better, look for local native plant websites, local native plant societies or visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for more information.  We think that you will find native plants to be beautiful, easy to care for, can save precious natural resources, and most importantly, can save you MONEY!