Are you getting ready to plant your garden? The average last spring freeze date for the Triangle area is April 8. The NC State Extension has data for the first and last frost dates for each county in North Carolina on their website here.
When choosing plants for your garden, you might consider the effect those plants have on the environment. Native plants provide food and a habitat to support wildlife such as birds, insects and butterflies. It is tempting to buy the big showy flowers to have a colorful garden. Often, those plants are not food sources for the local wildlife. These non-native plants might not necessarily harm anything, but they don’t do much more than provide eye candy to humans. Consider purchasing a few native plants for your garden, too. Flowers like purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, and asters are just a few plants that are native to North Carolina.
For more inspiration, watch this TED Talk about letting your garden grow wild.
For a list of recommended native plants, please see this list from the NC Native Plant Society.
For a list of native plants for any part of the United States, visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.