I have been listening to many podcasts and books about the need for native plants and insects for a healthy ecosystem. I used to buy plants for my visual pleasure. Now I find plants native to Massachusetts and only buy them. I learned that grass is a food desert for the more-than-human world including insects and birds so I am turning a large section of my back yard into a Merry Meadow with native wildflowers.
Garden in the Woods in Framingham is a great resource with examples on their wooded trails, plants for sale, and a shop for books. I used this site: https://plantfinder.nativeplanttrust.org/index.cfm to look at maps to make sure the plants I am buying are native to MA so I support native insects and birds, and this site helps too: https://plantfinder.nativeplanttrust.org/Plant-Search. Nature’s Archive is a great podcast for learning from experts.
I would love to be a part of a native-wildflower-lover community to share ideas and learning.
Pictured is Bloodroot. A native wildflower that has been spread by ants in rivers ’round my house. So lovely, they bring me joy every year, and feeding native insects that feed birds, and more.