Spotted a shift towards native species in city projects

My last few city contracts all specified planting native oaks and pines instead of imported varieties.

4 comments

4 Comments

the_wyatt2mo agoTop Commenter

Those live oaks they put in at Miller Park are already twice the size of the non-native trees planted the same year. Once they get past the first season, natives just don't need the same amount of water or babying to survive our summer heat. It saves the city a ton on maintenance in the long run, which frees up budget for other stuff. Honestly the biggest win is watching a whole area just come alive with local birds and bugs you hadn't seen in years. It feels less like gardening and more like just helping the land get back to what it already knows how to do.

dylan_sanchez2mo ago

Have you noticed how much better the native plants look after a season... We put in some local grasses and they just took off. Really makes you wonder why we ever planted anything else.

milarodriguez2mo ago

My lavender from France did BETTER than the native stuff in our rocky yard. It's not always about where a plant comes from.

betty_wells1mo ago

Okay but is it really that big of a deal? They planted some non-native maples in my neighborhood and they look fine, honestly. The city still has to water them but so what, that's what sprinklers are for. Seems like people get really worked up over some plants being from the wrong place. As long as it's green and doesn't die, who cares where it's from originally.