The Wildlife Value of Plants
Plants offer crucial wildlife value by forming the base of food webs, providing food (seeds, fruits, nectar, foliage for larvae) and essential shelter/cover for birds, insects, mammals, and pollinators, with native species being far superior because they've co-evolved with local wildlife, supporting specialized insect needs (like monarch caterpillars on milkweed) and boosting overall biodiversity, resilience, and ecosystem health.¹
Native plants have the best wildlife value because of their ability to meet the specialized needs of certain wildlife, and because they are more resilient to changes in weather and climate, and because they require fewer chemical inputs.
Specialized Needs: Many insects (like monarchs) rely only on specific native host plants for their larvae.
Resilience: Adapted to local climate and soil, requiring less water/fertilizer and supporting native resilience.
Reduced Chemicals: Native plantings often avoid pests that require harmful pesticides, protecting waterways and wildlife.
By planting natives, you create essential islands of food and habitat in your landscape. The National Wildlife Federation recommends that yards strive for 70% native plants to provide multi-season bloom, including flowers, shrubs, grasses, groundcovers, and trees.² Conventional landscapes with maintained lawns tended to host “generalist” birds such as house sparrows, house finches, crows, and grackles. By contrast, those that include native plants tend to support more “specialist” birds that have evolved specific needs for resources most likely to be found in their native habitats.
Research at the University of Delaware conducted by Doug Tallamy highlighted that Carolina Chickadees rely on caterpillars of butterflies and moths as a primary food source for their young, and these caterpillars need native plants as their primary food source. The reproduction and survival of Carolina chickadees within residential yards and found that when nonnative plants increased, both insect availability and chickadee population growth declined.³
Recommended native plants for Brunswick County via the National Wildlife Foundation which are available in the Spring 2026 Sale include:
Solidago (Golden Rod) Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan) Penstemon (Beardtongue)
Helianthus (Sunflowers) Asclepias (Milkweed) Phlox
Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) Monarda (Bee Balm) Coreopsis (Tickseed)
Panicum (Grasses) Yucca Liatris (Blazing Star)
Veronia (Ironweed) Symphyotrichum (Asters) Guara
Baptisia (False Indigo) Verbena (aka Vervain) Passiflora (passion vine)
Schizachyrium (Little Bluestem) Salvia (Sage) Veronica (Speedwell)
Gaillardia (Blanket Flower) Pycnanthemum (Mountain Mint) Indigo
Muhlenbergia (Muhly Grass) Uniola (Sea Oats) Vaccinium (Blueberry)
Amelanchier (Serviceberry) Vitis (Grapes) Ilex (Holly)
Lonicera (Honeysuckle) Sambucus (Elderberry) Ficus (Fig)
Asimina (Paw Paw) Beautyberry (Callicarpa)
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