At least that is the view of Benjamin Vogt who has arrived at this conclusion as a result of personal experience. When he moved into his first home he wanted a garden, but had not yet acquired a green thumb. He purchased large numbers of plants from the local garden center and then discovered that many did not thrive in his conditions. What he did notice was that plants that were native to the area were the ones that performed best and needed little maintenance. You can read his story below which I found on the Houzz website where he describes the three ways that native plants make gardening so much better.

Six years ago my wife and I married (on 7/7/’07, like so many others), and we immediately moved into our first home together. I told her I wanted a garden, and when she said, “Go for it,” I’m not sure we knew what that would mean. Neither of us had any idea just how madly I’d fall in love with gardening and what I’d come to learn about myself, our marriage and the environment as I got dirty in the Nebraska dirt.

Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

I remember the first two summers of gardening like I remember my first kiss ? it was a sloppy, goopy affair that only made me more curious. I loaded up carts full of perennials and shrubs at local independent nurseries, spending money like I was a rock star ? one time almost $1,000. On one trip. That was just irresponsible, but I wanted a garden. Badly.
I bought whatever the nursery had and whatever the plant tag insinuated might work. Little did I know then that plant tags can often fail us and are geared more toward marketing than practical advice. I loaded up with irises for a wet area but have found that few butterflies visit them. My mother ? who thankfully forced me to garden as a kid ? said I should get as many coral bells as I could, but they burned up in my dry summer clay soil.