“Native” has become a buzzword in the world of botany and horticulture, and I guess I’m contributing to it! Suddenly a bunch of people who didn’t care where their plants came from are ready to lionize one group of plants and villainize another. But what does “native” actually mean? This is a question that Mark Richardson and Dan Jaffe attempt to answer at the beginning of Native Plants for New England Gardens:

Or: why I use iNaturalist. I constantly see posts from my Facebook friends (and even in native plant communities) asking for recommendations on mobile apps to identify plants. Inevitably someone will pop up with PictureThis, or Google Lens, or even Seek. But here’s why I use iNaturalist.org’s mobile app. Free PictureThis is ad-supported if you don’t give them money. The premium version ranges in price from $30-$50/year, depending on plan.