If you are anything like us here at Natural Shore, we are totally obsessed with native plants. Driving around the Twin Cities, we often comment to one another about how an area infested with invasive plants or a turf grass shoreline could be restored with an amazing native plant community. We are sort of nerdy about looking for ways and talking about the most efficient means to incorporate more native plants into the landscape. It’s always fun to envision an area prior to human settlement, and imagine the plant diversity and how the native plant communities were covering the land.
Probably one of the most common questions that we receive from enthusiastic DIY-ers is: “How do I get started with my native plant restoration project?” We have the real pleasure of working with a wide variety of clients, from ones that want to address petite residential lots to managers that are in charge of large commercial campuses. Their reasons for ecological restoration and the types of properties vary, but how we go about first addressing a project stays pretty constant. Below are a few general topics that we start out with when coming up with an initial plan. This will help to get the creative juices flowing and put you on track for a successful project.