There's nothing more pleasurable than communing with Mother Nature.
Watching the beauty of the birds as they gracefully soar through the skies, enjoying the antics of the comical squirrels and feeling the amazing soft bodies of the bumblebee (Yes, if you sit very still, they'll land on you and are quite harmless-unless you attack them.
) are simple pleasures you can't purchase, you just have to hope to experience.
You can, however, improve your chances at witnessing this glory and do a service for all the local wildlife by planting native plants.
Native plants have been in the area for hundreds of years.
Instinctively, animals know they provide food or shelter.
If you put a banana tree in a garden in a non-tropical location, few animals who would understand the banana was food, perhaps raccoons would, but they'll eat anything.
It's a far-fetched example, but prominently demonstrates the point.
Cultivators and introduced species seldom fill the needs of local animals, butterflies and birds.
Some native plants attract pollinators to the area that help other plants propagate.
While the plants that attract the pollinators may only provide food or shelter for a small segment of wildlife, the other plants receiving the benefit from the pollinators may be food sources or shelter for a much larger portion of wildlife species.
The ecosystem is just that, a system of interconnected plants and animals that has provided benefits to each other for centuries without man's intervention.
When you grow native plants, you have to change your expectations of what a garden should look like.
It won't maintain a specific design or remain in perfect rows.
It will spread and overlap in a symphony of varying colors and shapes.
It may look a bit disorganized to the strict gardener who takes time to plant flowers that spell his name but it's a beautiful sight when you realize you've created a home for woodland creatures and provided food for them without putting up a feeder or a birdhouse.
You'll eventually find many beautiful local birds have taken up residence in your trees and be able to watch the antics of small woodland creatures as they scamper across the environment you created.
You'll probably even see a few hummingbirds too.
There's nothing more beautiful than watching the interaction of Mother Nature's creatures and you'll have a front row seat when you dedicate part of your land to growing native plants.
You may find it so rewarding, you'll return all your land back to its natural state.