Want the secret to a nearly maintenance-free garden? Go native. Plants that are indigenous to your area have evolved over centuries to survive whatever unique regional botanic terror nature hurls their way: annual droughts, waist-high snows, hellish heat, or brutally thick soil. Like backyard superheroes, native plants have developed the defenses to take these assaults in stride and keep on blooming.

You won't have to alter your environment for these plants; they are the environment. Because native plants are intimately linked with the geography, hydrology, and climate of your region, they will need no soil amendments, fertilizers, or additional water to thrive. They know the story all too well; your garden is their ancestral home.

And, when it comes to reducing pesticide use (the Environmental Protection Agency says we apply more than 70 million pounds of pesticides annually to lawns alone), it's the natives to the rescue, again. After living side by side with your native insects and diseases for hundreds or thousands of years, these plants have developed successful strategies to co-exist with most of them. You won't need to spray because the villains have been thwarted.

You can transform your back yard into a mini-natural discovery museum with native plants. Songbirds, butterflies, and beneficial insects find food and shelter in native plants. Put a couple of native shrubs or perennials in your back yard and they'll quickly come flocking because, just like at the office, word spreads fast when it comes to free food.

There Are Plants Among Us!
So, if these plants are so terrific, how come no one uses them? Some native plant aficionados suggest it's the very nativeness of the plants that works against them. It's like a company that won't advance employees from within--"How good could they be if they've been here all along?"

Others suggest that the natives have long been overlooked, their beauty ignored, in favor of the familiar plants brought from all the old countries from which we descend. Long dismissed as weeds, only in the past two decades have native plants begun to creep into the garden as a new aesthetic, one that focuses on gardens that are easier to maintain, more environmentally compatible, and more beautiful, develops.

And no argument in favor of native plants can conclude without mentioning their sheer beauty. From prairie wildflowers to coastal redwoods, native plants are spectacular. They're an arresting balance of form and function.

On a somber note, North American native plants are disappearing at an alarming rate. We're paving over their habitats, and invasive, non-native plants are driving out the rest. By using native plants, you can make a contribution to the longevity of any local species, save yourself work and money, and get a good-looking plant in the deal.

To get started with natives, simply plant one. Start small and keep it simple. Seek out a native plant nursery and check nearby college and arboreta plant sales for more information. Contact a local native plant society; most have Web sites. Or access the Web site of The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for information on native plant organizations in North America.

Also, several books have recently been published encouraging the use of native plants, including Janet Marinelli's Stalking The Wild Amaranth: Gardening In The Age Of Extinction; Judith Larner Lowry's Gardening With A Wild Heart; and The Landscaping Revolution: Garden With Mother Nature, Not Against Her, by Andy Wasowski.

Test Your Knowledge Since humans first began wandering the globe, they've taken their plants with them. In fact, plants have crisscrossed the globe as much as people have, so much so that it's difficult to be sure of which plants are native to where. Can you match these common garden flowers to their homelands?
FLOWER	HOMELAND
1. Gladiolas	A. Mexico
2. Zinnias	B. South Africa
3. Tulips	C. Turkey
4. Dahlias	D. China
5. Camellia	E. China
6. Sunflowers	F. United States
7. Chrysanthemums	G. Mexico
Click here for the answers.

--Lisa Van Cleef is a gardening writer in San Francisco