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Native plants for yards and gardens

Sustainable living  ›  Natural gardening  ›  How-to tips and videos  ›  Native plants

Find out how native plants are good for people, pets, the planet and your pocketbook.

Many people use pesticides, chemicals and fertilizers to keep their gardens and yards pest-free and green. These harmful chemicals are washed into rivers and streams when in rains, causing risks to human health and fish and wildlife.

A nature-friendly solution

Native plants are drought- and disease-resistant so they require less water and do not need pesticides, chemicals or fertilizers to thrive. When combined with natural gardening techniques like composting, planting natives helps keep gardens, yards, rivers and streams healthy and safe for families, pets and wildlife.  

Healthy homes for all

Native plants are "born and raised" in the local environment; they have grown up together with native wildlife and insects. So including native plants in your back yard or landscaping provides the best food and shelter for the native species that call the Pacific Northwest home. Remember, native plants attract native bugs, and native bugs attract native birds and wildlife.

Benefits of native plants and natural gardening

Native plants and natural gardening practices:

• save water, energy, time and money
• require less maintenance and upkeep
• keep local streams and rivers healthy
• attract birds, butterflies and beneficial wildlife to your yard
• protect fish and wildlife habitat
• are easy to find and inexpensive to use

Resources

• Native plant finder
  Clean Water Services
  Choose your soil type, sunlight needs, growing rate, plant and foliage type and find the best native plants for your home
• Native plant list
  City of Portland
  Native and invasive plant lists for the Portland metropolitan region

Related Documents

• Factsheet: Gardening naturally makes your home more nature-friendly 390K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published March 24, 2008

Related Links

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