Native Substitutes for Invasive Plants

Some traditional garden favorites such as butterfly bush, common daylily, and Japanese honeysuckle are considered “invasive” because they easily escape cultivation, spread aggressively, and disrupt the local ecosystem. They consume nutrients, water, and space but often break the local nutrient cycle by failing to provide food for indigenous animals and by choking out native plants that do. Find out which native plants provide the same desired garden characteristics (flowers, foliage, etc.) as these invasive species while enhancing your backyard’s contribution to the local ecosystem.