The Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) is a great promoter of growing native plants, which for the backbone of our regional ecosystem, supporting its insects, birds and animals.
In fact, they offer six different types of native seed packages for sale, with each providing enough seed to cover 250 square feel including Mesic Woodland Edge, Rain Garden, Ohio Pollinator Oasis, Butterfly/Hummingbird, Mesic Annual/Perennial Forbs, and an Annual Seed Mix. Seed packets are available all year round so you can order right now here.
But now their staff has decided to have some fun with it. They (and one board member) are hosting Native Plants Are Awesome! March Madness. Each one represents a favorite plant and the public can vote on which ones go to the next round. There are 16 starters vying to be the favorite native plant. The winner will be crowned in April, which is (conveniently) Ohio Native Plant Month.
Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday at noon throughout March a new round of voting opens up and is open for 24 hours. Vote by writing the name of the plant in the comments SWCD’s Facebook or Instagram site.
For more info, go to npaa–native-plants-are-awesome-march-madness-2021.