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My brother said native plants are a waste of space in a home garden

We were looking at my little plot in Cincinnati and he pointed at my milkweed and said 'That's just a weed, you could have real flowers there.' It made me realize I've been defending native species without really explaining their role to people who just see a pretty yard. How do you talk to non-botany folks about why these plants matter?
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the_hugo
the_hugo9d ago
Trying to explain native plants can feel like talking to a brick wall sometimes. My neighbor called my coneflowers "messy" until a swarm of butterflies showed up for lunch. Now he asks what they are.
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faith_torres83
Yeah, it's tough when people just see weeds. I had luck showing my cousin how my native plants were covered in bees and butterflies, kind of like what happened with @the_hugo's neighbor.
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