What to plant in your yard this spring & summer? Native flowers!

Black-eyed Susans and purple coneflowers are native to the northeastern US, photo by Susan Wulff

Stuck at home this spring and summer due to the pandemic? Looking for a fun activity to teach your kids about nature? Plant some native flowers in your yard. Why? They will grow better and not require special care. They need less weeding and are somewhat drought resistant. Most importantly, they will feed the local wildlife, especially pollinators.

I live in the northeast, so the plants I’ll mention are the ones native to my area, but the reasons for choosing local plants are the same no matter where you live. An online search will tell you which flowers are native to your state.

Black-eyed Susans will quickly fill in your garden and require no weeding, photo by Susan Wulff

Less weeding

The native plants grow together thickly, so there is very little weeding required. I do pull up some weeds in the spring and fall, but don’t have to do too much throughout the summer. The native varieties will spread nicely, if you want them to, but they won’t be invasive and impossible to get rid of (like lilies of the valley).