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I finally see why people obsess over native plant swaps

Three years ago I laughed at a neighbor in Austin who traded her purple coneflower starts for some kind of grass. Last month I went to the swap at Zilker Park and grabbed a buttonbush seedling on a whim. Watching the bees hit it within 48 hours of planting made me admit I was wrong about the whole thing. Anyone else ever dismiss a plant trend and then get hooked at a local swap?
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webb.jordan
webb.jordan22d agoMost Upvoted
...and honestly the buttonbush is what got me too, not for the bees but because it finally clicked that these swaps are like a live version of plant trial and error. You get to see what thrives in your actual neighbors' dirt, not just what a nursery tags say. My question is, did you go in with a specific hole in your yard you needed to fill, or did you just grab whatever looked cool and figure out where to put it later? Because I think that makes a huge difference in whether you stay hooked or end up with a yard full of random stuff you gotta relocate.
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