Lost and Found In Nature

If I told you there was one kind of plant you could put in the ground that would save the world, would you do it?

Even if you live in a condo with a balcony, have house with a yard, own a farm or are a factory owner with some extra land, putting one of these plants could just tip the scale.

The scale isn’t only imbalanced, it has a Sumo on one side, and the mini, Koodo cartoon wrestler on the other. Newsflash: Ecosystems are failing. Pollinator insects are plummeting. Climate change won’t only cost you tons of money, it just may deeply, detrimentally impact your life fairly soon.

The choice, the action, the plant? It’s a native plant. Work with me business types; I’m getting to your millions in savings.

Ecology 101: native plant; one that has grown in your area usually for thousands of years. Sounds simple. It’s not – it’s kinda like backwards day.

For some reason, not too many nurseries here sell them. I mean, if you want a plant native to South America, or Asia, you can find them in North American nurseries. Go to England, and you can buy lots of plants that are from North America. When we buy these they are called, non-native plants. Put one in the ground and it does squat for ecosystems, a pittance for pollinators, and next to nothing for climate change.

Ecology 201: native plants know to feed our native insects, including the pollinators for which we are completely reliant upon for our food production. Yep, too few native plants, stressed out, hungry, sick and then dead pollinators. Sad. Hungry. Scrappy. Humans. LinkedIn lovers, get out your smartphones and start collaborating for a mission to Cryntauhn (soon to be discovered planet with loads’o native plants still in tact).

Avoid catastrophe. Duck the loss of millions of dollars. Employ native plants for food sake.

Ecology 301: ecosystems link well-established partners, like native plants. Feeding pollinators and other insects, native plants beat the drum to nature’s resiliency. This means many trees to produce oxygen, to take in CO2, roots to hold soil from eroding and simply complex systems to clean water and air.

Detour from devastation. Go native.

Ecology 401: native plants know how to grow with the flow of local weather. Happy plants live long. Happy plants suck and horde carbon. Happy plants spread joy. Joy binds ecosystems in a family like manner, providing many …are you ready for this…provisions for people …or the waffle like term, EGS – ecosystem goods and services (a real mouth full).

Bring climate change to its knees (firmly, but gently). Establish locally adapted, climate-tested, forest-friendly plants of the native persuasion. Ok, one native plant put in per person won’t fully cut it. But it’s a start. It’s a great start.

If I told you there was one kind of plant you could put in the ground that would save the world, would you do it?

Well…there really is and it’s really easy! Stay tuned on where to find these wonderful natives and their superhero allies.

The photos above are from my urban native plant garden (except for the car shot!).