03/27/2026
We can help you plant more natives in your yard!!
The best-looking yard on your street is probably the worst one for the planet.
And the "messy" one? That's the one everything depends on.
THE PERFECT LAWN:
→ Cost: $2,000-5,000/year (chemicals, mowing, watering, edging)
→ Species supported: grass
→ Insects: near zero (that's the goal of the chemicals)
→ Birds: almost none (no food source)
→ Pollinators: none (no flowers)
→ Water use: 96 gallons/day average
→ Carbon: net EMITTER (mowing, leaf blowing, manufacturing chemicals)
THE "MESSY" YARD:
→ Cost: $100-300/year
→ Native plants: supports 10-50x more insect species than non-native
→ Birds: dozens of species (insects = bird food)
→ Pollinators: bees, butterflies, moths
→ Water use: minimal (native plants are drought-adapted)
→ Carbon: net ABSORBER (healthy soil sequesters carbon)
The science is clear:
→ Homes with native plants support 70% more caterpillar biomass (the #1 food for baby birds)
→ Doug Tallamy's research at University of Delaware: a yard with native oaks supports 557 species of caterpillars. A non-native ginkgo? 5.
→ 96% of North American land birds feed insects to their young
→ No insects = no baby birds = population collapse
You don't have to let your whole yard go wild.
But even ONE native plant bed, ONE unmowed corner, ONE section where you stop spraying — changes everything.
Beauty isn't measured in how green your grass is.
It's measured in what's alive in it. 🦋
