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Everyone in my neighborhood is planting the same three shrubs this spring.
I counted seven houses on my street in Charlotte with new boxwoods, hydrangeas, and loropetalum. It makes every yard look the same and ignores what the local soil needs. What are some good native plants for zone 7 that add more variety?
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the_thomas2mo ago
Man, my yard is proof you can't kill native plants! Try some Virginia sweetspire or oakleaf hydrangea instead. They handle our weird clay and still look unique.
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henderson.eva2mo ago
Notice how the thomas mentioned oakleaf hydrangea, that's a great swap. It makes me wonder if people just buy what's stacked up at the big box store. Have you looked into adding something like a fringe tree or a Carolina allspice for smell? They're native here and bring in birds and bees instead of just looking green and samey.
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cameron_chen1mo ago
Wait but what if people actually just want something that looks good and doesn't take a ton of work? Not everyone's trying to turn their yard into a nature preserve or whatever. Some of us just want a plant that won't die in two weeks and looks halfway decent.
I tried planting native stuff a few years back and half of it just flopped or got eaten by bugs or whatever. Meanwhile my neighbor has a boring boxwood hedge that's been fine for ten years with zero effort. And honestly those big box stores sell what sells because people like it.
Don't get me wrong natives have their place. But acting like everyone's wrong for buying a Japanese maple or a regular hydrangea feels kinda gatekeepy. Some people just want green and easy. Let them have it.
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