When you start gardening with native plants, you’ll notice symbiotic relationships everywhere.
One Redditor discovered a small frog resting on a massive sunflower head.
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
“My depressed sunflower has an emotional support frog,” they said in a post to r/Gardening.
While humorous, the statement was not exactly true. The sunflower was most likely completely healthy, according to one commenter.
“Sunflower heads turn down to prevent water and sun damage once the seeds are pollinated,” they remarked. “This is a good and normal thing. Sweet little frog.”
“I was wondering about that,” the original poster responded.
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Sunflowers are a great example of a native plant. There are over 50 different species that are all native to North America and Mexico, according to the U.S. Forest Service, and they can help improve the biodiversity of your yard.
They are also a great low-maintenance option; sunflowers are annuals that reseed themselves yearly. They also attract numerous bees, beetles, rare butterflies, finches, and small mammals.
Frogs love a healthy garden, and they play an important role in their environments, both as predator and prey. They can help to keep the insect population down and provide a food source for bigger amphibians.
Frogs and sunflowers don’t have an established symbiotic relationship, but nonetheless, the frog might have chosen to sit on the sunflower to help himself to leaf-eating beetles, which in turn helps the sunflower.
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Frogs also rely on vegetation like sunflowers to help moderate their body temperature. Being ectothermic (cold-blooded), frogs frequently move in and out of the sun to moderate their body temperatures. Vegetation like sunflowers can serve as both a platform for sunbathing and a source of cooling shade.
Frogs may seem like a small part of an environment, but they are what scientists call an indicator species, meaning they function as an indicator of biodiversity.
Rewilding all or part of your outdoor space by incorporating native plants or establishing a natural lawn is a surefire way to support and promote biodiversity, save money on landscaping, and improve air and soil quality.
Plants grow most efficiently in the regions to which they’ve been adapting for thousands of years; this is what is meant by “native plants.”
Native foliage evolved in response to specific soil compositions, temperatures, sunlight exposure, and the presence of local pollinators.
This is why local plants tend to require relatively low maintenance — they don’t need a lot of extra water, fertilizer, or pesticides beyond what is naturally present in a region’s weather patterns and soil.
Rewilding your lawn can yield stunning results, whether through xeriscaping, planting clover, buffalo grass, or another natural grass, or by replacing your monoculture grass with a field of wildflowers.
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