Here's an opportunity to test the values of landscaping with locally indigenous trees, shrubs & groundcovers. While many of the recent "water-wise" landscapers in the U.S. include a number of showy Eurasian ornamentals, one overlooked advantage of sourcing from among plants native to a region is that those plants are most likely to be part of the ecological connections that include both insect & bird populations. Offering familiar plant species to both local & migrating animals may keep at least a shred of the kind of habitat continuity which is generally lost when large areas of land are used for development purposes (as well as what is taken by agricultural expansion), at a time when many populations of wildlife are being badly stressed. This is a hopeful sign that humans may be considering more than just our own degree of comfort, with regard to the finite resource base we find here on Planet Earth. ^..^