Native gardening isn't only beneficial to the animals in your environment, it's also a lot less of a hassle because you don't need to constantly fight the climate and conditions in your area.

To that end, a group of plant-lovers created a free native-plant garden planner that contains species lists which are tailored to 19 different US biomes.

Wild Ones, the nonprofit organization behind the online service, believes in "environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration, and establishment of native plant communities."

The eco-regions included in the planner are located in major metropolitan areas, including Boston, Chattanooga, Chicago, Columbia River Basin, Denver/Front Range, Grand Rapids, Greensboro, Lafayette, Las Cruces, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Portland, Princeton, St. Louis, Tallahassee, Toledo, Tucson, and Washington, D.C.

A plant list accompanies each design and provides a quick preview of the diversity and beauty of the native plants incorporated within each design. The nonprofit ensured the plans are formatted for printers so that users can have the plan in their hands while walking through their gardens.

"We can no longer leave conservation to the conservationists," stresses Wild Ones Honorary Director Doug Tallamy. "We must now act collectively to put our ecosystems back together again."

CHECK OUT WS's WEEKLY GARDENING COLUMN: Good Gardening

So many of the most used and coveted ornamental plants were, centuries ago, brought to Europe from China and the rest of Asia. Those traditions were passed onto gardeners in the young U.S. of A., along with species like the azalea and rhododendron, camellia and gardenia, hibiscus, peony, and chrysanthemum.

There are hundreds of attractive native ornamentals that will survive better, and attract more wildlife than these imported oriental species—and it's just a matter of getting to know them.

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