Can you eat it? Make tea from it? Does it serve wildlife? Does it taste good or provide a health benefit? Is it low maintenance? Does it have a fun story? Does it provide a unique landscape service? Oh, and is it attractive?
These are the questions Monika Maeckle asked of each plant included in her most recent book, Plants with Purpose: Twenty-five Ecosystem Multitaskers. To qualify, the plant had to answer YES to at least three besides attractiveness. Beauty alone is no longer reason enough to choose a plant that will occupy valuable real estate in your landscape. We owe functional plants–plants that do more than look good–to the ecosystem.