What a concept!

Doug Tallamy, University of Delaware professor and author of Bringing Nature Home and Nature’s Best Hope, encourages homeowners across the country to create native plant landscapes and to join a growing movement called Homegrown National Park.

Homegrown National Park (HGNP) is not a real national park, nor is it a substitute for our magnificent public lands. Rather, it is a nationwide effort to link real privately restored native landscapes to a vast symbolic national park.

So far 51,000+ people have joined HGNP by restoring 175,000+ acres of habitat.

The opportunity is enormous because most land in the United States is privately owned. Remarkably, Americans maintain an estimated 63 million acres of lawn—one of the least biologically productive landscapes we can create. Homegrown National Park seeks to transform 20 million of those acres into thriving native ecosystems.

Tallamy explains the vision this way: “If half of American lawns were replaced with native plants, we would create the equivalent of a 20-million-acre national park—nine times larger than Yellowstone.” He reminds us that “native plants are the foundation of healthy ecosystems and that creating habitat is one of the most meaningful actions individuals can take to support wildlife.”

Long before Tallamy introduced the Homegrown National Park concept, we transformed our Seattle yard with native plants. Ten years later, we are pleased with the results.

Now:

We no longer mow the lawn—because it no longer exists!
More than 30 species of native plants grow where there was once only grass.
Twelve new bird species have been recorded in our yard since we “went native.”* (see “New bird species recorded in our yard” below.
A succession of blooms now brightens our yard from spring through summer, including Trillium, Red-flowering Currant, Red Columbine, Blue Camas, Pacific Iris, Honeysuckle, Mock Orange, Tiger Lily, and Rhododendrons.
Our yard has become an urban refuge with birds, pollinators, and other wildlife
2026 – after native plantings

As Tallamy says, creating a native landscape is “not a burden; it’s an invitation.” I would add that it is also a relief! Traditional lawns demand water, fertilizer, mowing, and often chemicals, yet provide little value for wildlife and are aesthetically bleak. Native plantings offer beauty, biodiversity, and a stronger connection to nature.

Why natives and not just any plants? Native plants, birds and animals have evolved together over millions of years. These relationships determine who can survive in a given environment. Many of the most important relationships are between plants and insects (including caterpillars). Non-native species do not attract the same quantity or quality of insects and therefore do not help pollinate and/or feed native birds and wildlife. Plants and insects form the base of the food pyramid for healthy ecosystems.

Converting a yard to native plants does not have to happen all at once. You can proceed gradually, replacing lawn in stages. A garden bed, rain garden, planting strip, or even a collection of native plants in containers can provide valuable habitat. We hired professionals to help with portions of our conversion, but many homeowners successfully tackle projects themselves.

Going native is a simple, tangible way to make the world a better place—one yard at a time. Join the movement by visiting the Homegrown National Park website:

https://homegrownnationalpark.org/

The site provides practical guidance for replacing lawns with native landscapes. I also share lessons from our own experience in these earlier blog posts:

https://conservationcatalyst.org/native-plants-bring-nature-home/

https://conservationcatalyst.org/when-yards-go-native/

*New bird species recorded in our yard since going native include Hermit Thrush, MacGillivray’s Warbler, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Willow Flycatcher, Cooper’s Hawk, California Scrub-Jay, Varied Thrush, Common Redpoll, Band-tailed Pigeon, Chipping Sparrow, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Red-winged Blackbird (several species shown below). I know these species were absent before because I have maintained a yard bird list for 27 years. The food, cover, and nesting opportunities provided by native plants clearly support a richer diversity of bird life.

McGillivray’s Warbler