Native-Plant Landscaping Enhances Floral Visitation By Insects and Birds in Residential Yards
May 2026 – A research paper comparing pollinator visitors between Southern California native gardens and traditional gardens has been published. CNPS SGM members participated by making their gardens available to students for their research project. Authors: Esmeralda Reyes, professor Eric Wood at CalState LA, and Noriko Smallwood.
Read the paper in Urban Ecosystems. Key takeaway: “Native yards supported 4× higher floral-visitor abundance and more complex interaction networks than conventional yards. Importantly, scaling our observed network differences suggests that even modest adoption could yield meaningful ecological gains.”
Photo Credits: Kathy Sturdevant – from her native garden