Why grow natives?

Why Not!!!

Why grow any plant that is suited to the place it will grow and your reason for growing?

I can only address how and why plants are used in my own garden.
When deciding what would be planted the Mr and I talked about what purpose the garden would serve in our lives.
First we would like to grow some food for ourselves. Then we would like a space full of growing plants and as much wildlife as our small urban space could accomadate.
Each choice could be looked at to accomplish this.

While looking into plant choices for sustaining a wildlife population we found that many times native species would be the best choice. One reason for this is that the wildlife and the plant life evolved over time together. Human interference while complex is still fairly recent in world history.
Problems of disturbance to habitat can not be completely overcome but can be looked at the same way any natural disturbance would be dealt with. Floods, storms, fire happen, flora and fauna recover. Populations explode , crash, recover. It is the way of the intricate web called life on earth.

We learned to evaluate the climate, the soil and the species of wildlife that could or should be found in this area. We also learned that food and water are only part of the picture. A habitat that supports reproduction and provides protection during the changing seasons and life cycles of wildlife must be part of the picture to be successful to our purpose.

And so native species of plants became a valuble resource. Whenever choosing even food plants for ourselves this criteria is taken into account. Berries and nuts ,prairie roses that produce hips,
greens to flavor salads, herbs with which to cook,foods that we enjoy and serve a double purpose.

I'm not saying this is the route for everyone or that it is the only answer. But it is another successful way to look at the garden.