Larry Stoter wrote:
There are good arguments in addition to financial advantage in favour of
using native plant species and trying to make sure they are true
natives:

1. The local wildlife does distinguish native from non-native.

80% of people's garden in the UK are planted with imported plants from
China, Japan, Canaries Isles, Madeira, regions of the Med. etc. When
did the insects started to distinguish natives from non natives?
Shouldn't we have no more insects left if they distinguished in the
16th century the mass imported plant species into this country?

2. Genetic diversity - using non-native species risks diluting the
local
genetic diversity.

Taking into consideration the above - monoculture is the culprit into
the dessimination of our insects, and wild life in general.
Biodiversity is the way forward, in agriculture as well as in private
gardens and public spaces. And what does 'romano british' refers to
when we look at a 'uk-native' plant such as verbena officinalis?

As far as the loss of plants, I blame greedy nurseries and garden
centre using vast quantities of chemicals and peat for decades to sell
healthy looking plants rapidly.

3. Pests and diseases - non-native plant species may bring in pests and
diseases, or escape into the wild and become pests themselves.

What pests and diseases the Rhodos. have brought in this country?

I don't think that just because a government agency is doing something,
it means they are right. More likely, a major consideration of theirs is
also financial .....

Financial insentives are in everything everywhere. I do not understand
why a company such as English Nature, giving grants (I got 2K pounds 6
years ago for a project) would preach the necessity of using uk native
plants (and issue a lil' metal plaque to put on the wall at proximity
of the project funded) and still propose to use say Vervain. The whole
argument is ridiculous. As I said previously, my butterflies don't
distinguish if the marguerites they enjoy come from Perigueux, Chamonix
or Pau. If I didn't grow these flowers, I do beleive that some insects
would not be there and therefore many birds wouldn't come to my garden.
Biodiversity is therefore the solution, and not keeping to 'uk native'
or 'non native' argument as it means nothing anymore.