Approximately 20 million acres of land in the U.S. are planted as residential lawn.

30-60% of the potable municipal water in the U.S. is used for maintaining lawns.

67 million pounds of synthetic pesticides are used on U.S. lawns annually.

The EPA reports that 74% of Americans apply pesticides to their home lawns and gardens. These Americans apply 70 million pounds of active ingredient, or over 15 ounces per household, each year. The Union of Concerned Scientists has determined that this activity accounts for nearly 10% of our common water pollution.

1 ounce of the commonly used pesticide, diazinon is enough to exceed government aquatic life guidelines for 94 million gallons of water.

The average American uses the equivalent of 465-620 gallons of water per 1,000 square feet of lawn each time they water.

The average American uses 200 gallons of water every day, nearly half of which is used for irrigating lawns.

There are approximately 38 million gardners in the United States.

Between 1973 and 2001, the National Wildlife Federation certified over 31,000 Backyard Wildlife Habitats.

There are 418 endangered native plant species in Florida.

Early Spanish explorers were so impressed by the wealth of wildflowers in our state that they named it la Florida - the flowered land.

Florida has nearly 200 species of butterflies. You can attract many species just by planting native host and nectar plants in your yard.

The zebra longwing is the Florida state butterfly.

The cabbage palm is the Florida state tree.

Florida is home to more species of trees than any other state in the nation.

Florida has over 2,400 native species of plants, many of which can not be found any where else in the world.

In the Sarasota Bay watershed, fertilizer runoff from residential areas is estimated to be responsible for one-third of the excess nitrogen that is polluting the bay.

Shading the west side of your home with trees can reduce your air conditioning costs up to an estimated 50%.

Caterpillars are the larval form of butterflies.

Americans spend over $1 billion a year on pesticides.

There are more than 1,200 animal species in Florida, ranking the state third in the nation for wildlife diversity.

There are more than 300 species of hummingbirds, less than 20 of which, migrate north of the Mexican border.

A hummingbird's unique ability to hover allows it to feed on nearly 1,500 flowers a day!

Some ruby-throated hummingbirds fly non-stop for 18 hours to make the 500 mile migration across the Gulf of Mexico.

Many hummingbirds require stopovers during extended migrations - filling your yard with nectar rich plants will attract them to your yard, and help them refuel during their journey.

Insects can make up more than half of a hummingbird's diet.

Hummingbirds are attracted to odorless, tubular blossoms and the colors red, orange and pink. Check the native plant directory for plants with these characteristics that will bring hummers to your yard.

Eliminating pesticides in your yard gives migrating hummingbirds a chance to get their protein from spiders, mosquitoes, aphids and gnats.

In the late 1960's and early 70's, declining populations of brown pelicans, ospreys and bald eagles tipped off researchers to the toxicity of the chemical DDT, and led to it being banned in 1972.