Native Plant Allies: Front Range Palettes & Prairie Connections
How can the humble Three-Leaf Sumac or ethereal Blue Gramma Grass teach us design intelligence? This piece walks the shortgrass prairie and considers what it means to design with nature instead of for it. Ask yourself, "When we choose a plant palette, whose ecosystem are we serving?"
Amy Saunders
10/26/20252 min read
When we look out across the rolling hills of northern Colorado, we see more than just grasses and wildflowers. We see a living portrait of stewardship — a design ethic rooted in the land, not simply imposed upon it.
Why native plants matter
In our Front Range region — from the foothills of the Rockies down to the sage-brush flats — climate, soil and water tell a very specific story. According to the Colorado Native Plant Society and Colorado State University Extension, selecting plants that are native to this zone means choosing species already adapted to our conditions — which in turn means fewer inputs (water, fertilizer, maintenance) and more ecological resilience. Colorado State University Extension+2Colorado State University Extension+2
Design with the ecosystem, not against it
When I walk a site in Longmont, I try to ask: How does the land want to work? A prairie of native grasses doesn’t just look good—it stores carbon, builds soil, supports insects, and maps to the rhythm of our seasons. A planting palette grounded in shortgrass prairie species helps a site “talk back” to our climate rather than resist it. Colorado State University Extension+1
A faith-inflected reflection
The Book of Genesis reminds us that we are placed “to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15) When we choose a planting palette intentionally, we’re not just designing for visual appeal — we’re answering a call to caretaking. To honor the soil, the insects, the birds… the other-than-us.
A question for you
When you select a plant palette for a landscape, whose ecosystem are you designing for — the human one, or the larger community of plants, animals, soil and water?
As you consider that question, I invite you to imagine your next planting plan as a conversation with the land, not a command to it.
About Saunders Design Studio
Based in Longmont / Northern Colorado, I bring years of experience teaching K-12 and higher-ed design thinking, while practicing landscape architecture grounded in ecological ethics. My approach is to blend aesthetics + regeneration + responsibility. If you’d like to explore how native-plant palettes can anchor your next project — from campus to park to private yard — let’s talk.
Feel free to leave a comment or send a message with your own stories of working with place, soil, plants and people.