Overland Park will start allowing native plants in home lawns and gardens. Here's why that...

Overland Park is updating city codes to make space for planned native landscapes, which have long been banned as "weeds." That could mean front yard gardens featuring milkweed, blue sage, native flowers and other species that once dominated the northeastern Kansas landscape.
Overland Park residents may soon be able to plant more native plants in their yards and gardens.

The city is in the process of updating its codes to make space for planned native landscapes for their ecological and stormwater benefits. That could mean front yard gardens featuring milkweed, blue sage, native flowers and other species that once dominated the northeastern Kansas landscape.

Native plants, according to Johnson County Extension, are “well-adapted to a local ecosystem” and tend to evolve in an area “without the influence of man.”

They also have deeper root systems that infiltrate the soil better than non-native plant species, like grass. Those deeper roots help water absorb better in the ground, preventing runoff and offsetting flooding risks.