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EXPAND your landscape

Expanding or creating landscape beds with native or drought-tolerant plants and trees can reduce the size of your lawn, which has many benefits.

Why add native plants and trees to your yard?

The traditional home landscape typically looks the same, with similar types of non-native plants and large areas of regularly mowed lawns. Because people have developed so much land, we risk losing precious biodiversity to sustain ecosystems and the critical environmental services they provide.

  • Landscape beds can reduce the amount of runoff and help clean it by acting as filters.
  • Native plants and trees can provide valuable habitat for wildlife, attracting birds and butterflies to your home landscape.
  • Trees can improve air quality and reduce energy consumption by shading and cooling our homes.

In addition to the environmental benefits, native or drought-tolerant plants appropriate for your yard’s conditions (soil type, amount of sunlight, etc.) often require little to no irrigation and fertilizer once established, saving you time and money.

By planting more shade trees, reducing lawn, recycling grass clippings, using leaves as mulch, planting dense groundcovers, and incorporating more native plants into the landscape, we can redesign our home gardens to accommodate more biodiversity.

Where can I learn more about native plants in Delaware?

Plants for a Livable Delaware, initiated by the University of Delaware, was created to reduce the use of some common invasive plants by suggesting viable alternatives that provide similar ornamental and cultural features. Download these brochures to learn about alternatives to invasive plants, control methods, and design recommendations for sustainable lawns and landscapes.

The University of Delaware Botanic Gardens also has a helpful brochure called Native Plants for Delaware Landscapes.

Where can I buy native plants in Delaware?

Many local garden centers stock an array of native plants, and you can even find some scattered at the big box stores.  Also, look for native plant sales hosted by local nature organizations that carry a comprehensive assortment of natives.