Why swap it
Hosta is a shade-garden staple that offers little to local insects. These native shade plants give you the same lush, low, leafy fill and actually feed pollinators and caterpillars.
Native plants to grow instead
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1Wild BergamotMonarda fistulosa
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
Helps at-risk wildlifeOnce common across eastern North America, now almost gone. It feeds on wild bergamot and asters, flowers any yard can grow.
Brings back: Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Barn Swallow
2BonesetEupatorium perfoliatum
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
Helps at-risk wildlifeOnce common across eastern North America, now almost gone. It feeds on wild bergamot and asters, flowers any yard can grow.
Brings back: Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Little Brown Bat, Bank Swallow
3Common Evening-PrimroseOenothera biennis
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
Helps at-risk wildlifeDisease wiped out most of them. A single bat eats thousands of insects a night, the ones night-blooming natives raise.
Brings back: Little Brown Bat, Chimney Swift, Common Nighthawk
4Scarlet BeebalmMonarda didyma
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
Helps at-risk wildlifeA once-common bumble bee in decline. Beebalm and columbine are among its favourites.
Brings back: Chimney Swift, Yellow-banded Bumble Bee
5Purple Giant-HyssopAgastache scrophulariifolia
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
Helps at-risk wildlifeA once-common bumble bee in decline. Beebalm and columbine are among its favourites.
Brings back: Yellow-banded Bumble Bee
6Swamp MilkweedAsclepias incarnata
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
Helps at-risk wildlifeA Monarch can only raise its young on milkweed. No milkweed, no Monarchs. It's that simple, and that fixable.
Brings back: Monarch Butterfly
7Culver's RootVeronicastrum virginicum
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
A larval host plant. The caterpillars it raises are the primary food source for baby songbirds.
8Long-Leaved BluetsHoustonia longifolia
a native perennial for the same colour and fill
A larval host plant. The caterpillars it raises are the primary food source for baby songbirds.
Showing the 8 strongest of 157 native plants that fill the same role. Browse the full native library →
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