Coupled with intense water needs, the high doses of fertilizers used on many lawns are environmentally destructive and make them practically a biological desert. Replacing lawns with local native plants reduces water needs, provides a landscape that can prosper despite rainfall and temperature fluctuations, does not depend on chemical pesticides and fertilizer, and benefits wildlife populations as well. And it eliminates the heartache of staring at a brown wasteland when reduced rainfall causes water shortages. Locally native plant species have adapted over thousands of years to their particular region and are genetically suited to their location. They thrive in local soils under the rainfall patterns and temperatures of their homeland, and their root systems extend deeper into the soil.
Native plants have other ways of dealing with drought, including trapping and collecting dew.
As we've paved over natural landscapes and expanded the acres of lawn grass, the urban desert' has evolved, incapable of sustaining the wonderful diversity of plant and animal life once present. Locally native plants are more wildlife-friendly, providing the best overall food sources for backyard birds and other animals. By making a home for wildlife in their backyard, people can make a valuable contribution to protecting Mother Nature's gifts. The loss of wild places is a major reason wildlife is disappearing all over the country. Habitat restoration and conservation are critical for wildlife in urban and suburban settings where commercial and residential development have eliminated most natural areas.