Given the influx of an estimated 1100 new Florida residents daily and loss of habitat, landscapes with native plants have become critical to maintaining sustainable ecosystems.
Native plants provide food and habitat for fauna, contribute to biodiversity, conserve water and eliminate the need for pesticides and fertilizers (Schnabel). Florida has more than 3,200 native plant species and ranks seventh nationally in terms of natives (Atlas). However, these native species are critical to Florida's biodiversity and are threatened by development.
Education/ outreach through programs like Florida Friendly Landscaping, Master Gardeners and branches of Florida native plant societies provide demonstration gardens and landscape tours, which have gained recognition and in popularity.
This native plant landscape tour enabled us to visit landscapes, see plant lists and discuss options with volunteers at each location. The tour offered something for everyone--designs by homeowners or professionals, recent as well as established plants, sun and shade, manicured or natural look. Natives made up from 70 percent to 98 percent of the landscapes.
This year, 260 tickets were sold.
In past years, my mistake has been to buy plants based on a hardiness zone and personal preferences.
Many residents are familiar with Florida Friendly Landscaping (FFL) and its nine principles to ensure a sustainable garden.The umbrella concept FFL includes non-native plants--those adapted to the local ecosystem but which originated in another region--and native plants, established prior to the arrival of the first Europeans and which contribute to a healthy habitat, and invasives, which have been brought in from another region and harm the environment (Silvasy).
My understanding of the importance of natives came later, following guided nature walks and an introduction to works of Doug Tallamy, Ph.D., a renowned entomologist.
Tallamy points to the importance of using native plants to support food webs and create healthy habitats and the use of those “keystone” plants (e.g., an oak tree) that attract hundreds of species of insects, which not only provide food for wildlife but combat the problem of “habit fragmentation” caused by development.
Before--A blank slate with an orchid tree (photo taken December 2021)
My understanding has grown after watching a friend's backyard in Melbourne, Fla., transition from a green lawn to a lush native plant habitat in less than three years.
Three years in the making with mostly natives and one exotic—an orchid tree, which she describes as “a treasure.” It provides a roost for ospreys.
This tree has been joined on the water’s edge by cypress, which she received at a native plant meeting. In the midsection of the lawn, she’s planted Dahoon holly, green buttonwood, sweet bay magnolia and wax myrtle. Tufts of climbing asters are abuzz with bees in the daytime and provide shelter for rabbits from predators.
Most plants came in 1- or 3-gallon pots, but the homeowner had two mature cabbage palms planted in a bed in the upper zone of the yard.
“The crowns get very busy with wildlife,” she explained.
Palms provide nesting places for birds, squirrels and bats as well as for insects. Surrounding the palms are beds of red salvia, firebush, dune sunflowers as well as bee balm and other plants.
Colors of the garden are now fading, but seeds provide to provide a source of food for vols and birds.
Above all, she says she “wants her garden to be productive.”
At nearly three years into her project, she says, “The plantings have provided the food and cover for wildlife that I hoped for.” And the garden provides interest and privacy and a buffer against the bustle of everyday life.
Works Cited
“Atlas of Florida Plants.” University of South Florida. https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/about#:~:text=Florida%20contains%20over%204%2C700%20species,many%20others%20are%20nearly%20endemic. Accessed 15 November 2025.
“Landscaping with Natives.” Florida Native Plant Society. https://www.fnps.org/what-we-do/landscaping. Accessed 14 November 2025.
Schnabel, Rose. “Inside the GrassRoots ‘Plant Rescue Ops’ to Save Florida’s Native Species.” Environment WUFT. 28 October 2024. https://www.wuft.org/environment/2024-10-28/inside-the-grassroots-plant-rescue-ops-to-save-floridas-native-species. Accessed 14 November 2025.
Silvasy, Tia. “Understanding Plant Status: Native, Florida-Friendly, and Invasive.” Blogs. UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County. 5 December 2024. https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/hillsboroughco/2024/12/05/understanding-plant-status-native-florida-friendly-and-invasive-species/. Accessed 12 November 2025.
Related Readings
Adler, Jerry. “Meet the Ecologist Who Wants You to Unleash the Wild on Your Backyard.” The Smithsonian. April 2020. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist-who-wants-unleash-wild-backyard-180974372/. Accessed 24 April 2024.
”Why Grow Florida Native Plants? The Insect Effect: Insect Decline and the Future of Our Planet.” The Villages. Florida Native Plant Society. https://thevillages.fnpschapters.org/landscaping/why-grow-natives/. Accessed 14 November 2025.
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