This is especially important since our native plants and wildlife have co-evolved. Select plants that provide natural foods such as fruits, seeds, nuts, and nectar. Choose your plants to provide food for backyard wildlife throughout the year. Native perennials and annuals provide nectar for both butterflies and hummingbirds. This is because hummingbirds tend to visit tube-shaped, red flowers such as bee balm, wild columbine, and our native honeysuckles.
Butterflies prefer flat or clustered flowers, such as purple coneflower, phlox, and zinnias.
By choosing native plants suited to the site conditions, little maintenance, chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or additional watering will be necessary for the plants to thrive. This all adds up to a direct time and cost savings for your school and a healthier habitat for students, teachers, community members, and the wildlife that inhabits your schoolyard. To find out which plants are native to your area, contact your state or local native plant society listed on the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center s web site. Keep in mind that bird feeders should only be used as a supplement to natural food provided by native plants. Water Wildlife needs water, for drinking, bathing, and in some cases, breeding.