Grow an Ohio Garden with the Native Plant Backyard Challenge

With daylight savings time and extra sunlight comes the time to start thinking about everyone’s favorite spring pastime: yard work. Yes, it’s time to break out the gardening gloves and get ready to mulch, mow and, best of all, plan your garden.

But, before you head to the hardware store to browse their selection of annuals and perennials, why not consider making your outdoor space a home for native Ohio plants and a haven for pollinators, birds and other wildlife. Not sure where to start? The National Audubon Society’s 2025 Native Plant Backyard Challenge may just provide the jumpstart you need. In Ohio, Grange Insurance Audubon Center in Columbus and Aullwood Audubon Center in Dayton are offering the guidance needed to make the leap. (Registration for the challenge at Grange Insurance Audubon Center is open through March 21.)

Not an expert? It’s okay, because the program is designed for all gardeners and home owners, no matter their planting prowess or yard acreage. As part of the challenge, Ohio’s Audubon organizations provide participants with the support. As of March 7, 2025, 580 central Ohio households had already pledged to take part in the 2025 program. 

Native plants not only respond well to the soil and water conditions of Ohio, but they also can help the environment. Planting native shrubs, flowers and trees in place of grass has the potential to improve water quality by reducing runoff, decreasing reliance on pesticides and other chemicals and helping reduce erosion.

“Native plants are the foundation of a healthy ecosystem, providing food, shelter and nesting habitat for birds and pollinators,” Grange Insurance Audubon Center engagement manager Sandy Libertini said in a March 7, 2025, press release. “The Native Plant Backyard Challenge gives people the tools and confidence to transform their yards, patios and spaces into vibrant, ecologically rich habitat.”

As part of the challenge, several events are being hosted at Grange Insurance Audubon Center, which is located in downtown Columbus’ Scioto Audubon Metro Park. The challenge begins April 6 with a kickoff event. Here, local experts in native planting will be available to help you get started. Throughout the season, challengers can also enjoy a native plant sale on May 4, a native food forest event on June 1 and a garden tour on Aug. 24. The challenge ends Sept. 7 with a celebration at the center.

This is the first year that Aullwood Audubon Center and the Dayton-area are participating in the Native Plant Backyard Challenge. Those who want to participate are free to join at anytime throughout the season, which starts the week of their Native Plant Sale hosted at Aullwood Audubon on April 25. Prior to that, there will be a speaker series on native plants on March 30. 

“Together, we can create a healthier, bird-friendly landscape,” Libertini said in the March 7 release. “One native plant at a time.”

For more information, visit grange.audubon.org or aullwood.audubon.org

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