🌱 Why Are Native Plants So Important? 🌱

Native plants have lived here for thousands of years. During these eons of time, they co-evolved with the local birds, bees, butterflies, and bugs to work together. Both by developing chemical and phyical defenses and by creating attractive aspects such as edible fruit, nectar and pollen especially suited for our fauna. Plus, the fact that plants who know each other can communicate chemically under ground can't be ignored. On the other side, the animal kingdom developed the ability to consume and find shelter in these plants during these same eons of time. The end result is a beautiful synergy of life we call an ecosystem or natural habitat

What happens when settlers (in the past) or the supply chain (today) bring in non-native plants and animals? This synergy and balance can get badly damaged with the non-native species often having completely unfair advantages over the native species. Why? Because the native species have no defense against the interlopers. It's a little like if one combatant has a shield and the other doesn't. Yes, nature is constantly fighting, finding alliances and developing new skills. But it's a very, very, very slow process!

So, to recap, Native Plants:

• Feed local animals and insects
• Keep nature balanced
• Are easy to grow

Non-native (foreign) plants often:

• Produce inedible leaves or unhealthy berries high in suger and low in protein
• Grow too fast and crowd everything else
• Mess up local ecosystems

🌼 How can you help?

• Turn part or all of your yard into a native habitat
• Learn to identify native vs. non native, cultivars or hybridized plants and don't encourage the non native plants.
• Help out your nearby tree bed or rain garden by picking up trash and removing non-native weeds and encouraging native wildflowers or shrubs.
• Don't use bug zappers, they don't kill mosquitos anyways
• Don't use pesticides

📱 Explore Nature with These Free Apps!

• PlantNet – Take a picture to identify any plant
• Merlin – Hear a bird? This app tells you what it is!
• iNaturalist – Snap a photo to ID insects and more
• Discuss any questions you have with an AI chatbot or research on the internet
• Check out https://www.nycgovparks.org/ for events near you

🌍 Want to buy Native Plants?

Buy seeds from places like Everwilde on Amazon.com or https://wildseedproject.net/.

Or, buy plants from the author of this flyer at: www.queensnynativeplants.com