Why do native plants matter?
Native plants provide food and shelter for 10-15 times more species of birds, butterflies and other local wildlife than non-native plants – yet more than half of the plants in our yards and neighborhoods are non-native species and cultivars (often times it is greater than 90%).
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Learn more by listening to Dr. Doug Tallamy, author of "Bringing Nature Home"...
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This is not to say that non-native plants have no habitat value or place in the local landscape. However; homeowners, landscapers, and local public official can benefit birds, pollinators and other wildlife by selecting native plants when making their landscaping decisions.
What plants are considered native in the Bemidji area?
Click table above for complete list
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Click here for a list of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers benefiting birds and pollinators created for our local area. It includes pictures and links to information about each species available from Minnesota Wildflowers, or MN DNR Native Plant Encyclopedia. Look through this list to help you decide what would work in your garden planter or landscape and then make a trip to your local nursery or garden center (see below for suggestions)
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Where can I purchase native plants?Start by asking our local nurseries or garden centers if they have these plants available. Several are participating in our Birds, Bees, Butterflies & Bemidji campaign to encourage Bemidji residents and businesses to add native plants to their landscapes and garden.
If you don’t find what you are looking for at one of these garden centers, click on the map and try one of these nurseries that specialize in native plants and seeds:
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Additional resources on native plants in our area:
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Minnesota Wildflowers: Here you'll find photos and information about wild plants that grow in Minnesota, both native and non-native. More than just wildflowers, we also include trees, shrubs, vines, ferns and fern allies, and grasses, sedges and rushes.
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Audubon Native Plants Database: Enter your zip code to use Audubon’s native plants database and view a list of the best plants for birds in your area, as well as local resources and links to more information. By entering your email address, you'll receive an emailed list of the native plants you've selected, get additional tips on creating your bird-friendly habitat.
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MNTaxa: The State of Minnesota Vascular Plant Checklist : MNTaxa is the MNDNR's list of the vascular plant species that have been documented in Minnesota. For each taxon listed, MNTaxa provides full scientific name, including family, genus, species, and variety or subspecies (when applicable). Other attributes available include: whether the species is introduced to Minnesota; current status according to Minnesota's Endangered Species Statute and associated Rules; physiognomy; and the counties and subcounties.
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The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. It includes names, plant symbols, checklists, distributional data, species abstracts, characteristics, images, crop information, automated tools, onward Web links, and references. The PLANTS Database in maintained by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
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The Biota of North America Program, North American Vascular Flora (Taxonomic Data Center). The TDC Query Page is an online application that provides access to BONAP’s floristic data. It features a fully synonymized listing of the plants of North American, incorporating the most current nomenclature and taxonomy in conjunction with scores of unique search and sort capabilities, thus enabling users to query on attributes of taxonomy, morphology and phytogeography to retrieve data through a random access process.
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Help for creating bird and pollinator friendly landscapes
Where do I start? How do I plan, prepare, select plants, and maintain native plants in my garden, planter or landscape? Here are a number of resources that provide a lot of good advice…
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Audubon Chapters of Minnesota: Planting for Birds Great Minnesota-based Facebook site with resources, articles, and news to help people create and enhance native plant habitats for birds. By planting more native plants we give birds, insect and other wildlife more choices for the food and shelter they need to survive
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Wild Ones - Twin Cities: The mission of Wild Ones is "Educating the public about the benefits of preserving and restoring biodiversity of our native plant communities, beginning in our own yards and gardens". They have a great resource page!
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Lawns to Legumes (L2L) : The Lawns to Legumes program offers a combination of workshops, coaching, planting guides and cost-share funding for installing pollinator-friendly native plantings in residential lawns. The program also includes a public education campaign to raise awareness for pollinator habitat projects and will establish demonstration neighborhoods that showcase best practices. Partners include Blue Thumb - Planting for Clean Water and Metro Blooms. The L2L website offers some technical resources, including a publication called Planting for Pollinators.
Funding is provided through the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) and will be targeted in priority areas to benefit the Rusty patched bumblebee and other at-risk species |
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Go native' to sustain songbirds and other wildlife in your garden: This booklet was prepared by the St. Paul Audubon Society. It describes a number of native trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grasses you can plant in Central Minnesota to attract insects.
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Living Landscapes in Minnesota : A guide to native plantscaping. USDA NRCS
The information in this publication will help you select and grow native plants that are naturally adapted and will thrive for years under extreme environmental conditions of Minnesota. This booklet provides an overview of native landscaping principles and practices. It integrates the principles of reduced water, energy, and chemical usage; wildlife habitat enhancement; and invasive weed management. |
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Bee and Pollinator books by Heather Holm
A comprehensive guide illustrating the bees that occur in north-central and eastern United States and southern Canada. In-depth profiles of 27 bee genera covering the life cycles, habitats, diet, foraging behaviors, crops pollinated, nesting lifestyles, seasonality, and preferred native forage plants. Heather’s website also includes lists of pollinator plants for different soil types and amounts of sun. |
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Selecting Plants for Pollinators: A Regional Guide for Farmers, Land Managers, and Gardeners in the Laurentian Mixed Forest Province:
This regional guide is just one in a series of plant selection tools designed to provide information on how individuals can influence pollinator populations through choices they make when they farm a plot of ground, manage large tracts of public land, or plant a garden |
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Recommended native plants that are highly attractive to pollinators in the Great Lakes Region such as native bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds, and are well-suited for small-scale plantings in gardens, on business and school campuses, in urban greenspaces, and in farm field borders. You can also find a list of Great Lakes nectar plants for monarchs here as well. The Xerces Society
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Recommended native plants that are highly attractive to pollinators in the Midwest Region such as native bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds, and are well-suited for small-scale plantings in gardens, on business and school campuses, in urban greenspaces, and in farm field borders. The Xerces Society
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The Minnesota Bee Lab's mission is to promote the conservation, health, and diversity of bee pollinators through research, education, and hands-on mentorship. There are hundreds of different bee species in Minnesota. Different types of bees prefer different flowers. The MN Bee Lab provides a good list of flowers (mostly native) to plant for bees.
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Douglas Tallamy’s seminal book covers everything you need to know about the “why” and “how” of going native in your garden. Bursting with color photographs of “bird food” (i.e., insects) and helpful how-to’s, this book will make proponents of seed feeders rethink their means of provisioning birds. This book is full of real science (including specific regional guides to native plants and a table of butterfly/moth host plants), making even the most casual gardener feel like an ecologist
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weed or native plant? identifying seedlings
Once you've planted a native garden, how can you tell if what's growing is a native species or a weed that needs to be pulled? This can be tricky, especially if you started with seeds. Here are a couple of resources to help you out: