I have been busy making a list and checking it twice. And thrice.

No, I am not trying to get an absurdly early start to Christmas. I am trying to decide what new plants to add to my many containers and small backyard plots.

My recent visit to the Philadelphia Flower Show put me in the mood, as it always does, for working in the garden, and plant and seed catalogs have been filling my mailbox for months, enticing me with gorgeous photos and bargain prices.

Admittedly, small-space gardening is a challenge.

We live in the city and have a limited area to work with, so I have been focusing more on containers. My herbs grow especially well in these large patio pots.

But this year, I also want more plants, preferably perennials, in the narrow backyard bounded by fences on both sides.

Whenever I plant directly in the ground, I try to select native plants that will appeal to wildlife and pollinators.

I love looking out the kitchen window in summer and seeing hummingbirds on the red native honeysuckle vines and bees and butterflies on the coneflowers and black-eyed Susans.

I have been a proponent of native plants for years and gradually have added more every time I plant something new. Not only do native plants benefit wildlife by providing the best habitat and food needed by the critters to survive, but these plants also require less maintenance, reducing the need for water, fertilizer and pesticides.

Sometimes, I am asked what constitutes a native plant. In simple terms, native plants are those that were in Pennsylvania before Europeans settled here and introduced nonnative varieties.

These “introduced” plants threaten the botanical diversity of our state because nonnatives displace natives and destroy their habitat and introduce pests and diseases unknown to the natives.

Some of these nonnative plants also are invasive and aggressively spread, eliminating the beneficial native plants growing nearby.

This year, in addition to adding more purple coneflowers, I plan to look for goldenrods, which some folks confuse with the allergy-inducing ragweeds.

Goldenrods are herbaceous native perennials featuring bright yellow flowers that bloom from late summer into fall and provide pollen, nectar and shelter for butterflies and native bees. In winter, songbirds enjoy the goldenrod seed heads after the blossoms have faded.

I always leave the seed heads on my spent coneflowers, too, because we like to watch birds in fall and winter perch on the tall stems and peck away at the seeds. What an easy and natural way to provide for our feathered friends.

Other beneficial natives I might add this year are milkweed, for the monarch butterflies and asters, which bloom in fall. Both are perennials, so I won’t have to plant those areas again next year.

As always, I will use only natural compost from our vegetables, fruits, fall leaves, eggshells, tea bags, etc., to fertilize the soil around our plants.

In the 40-plus years I have owned this house, no pesticides have ever been used in the yard or gardens. With so many native plants here, our space attracts beneficial insects, which do a pretty good job controlling pests the natural way.

Spring is here! ’Tis the season to dream, to plan, to design, to plant, to enjoy.

This year, why not try something new? In the interest of diversity, consider embracing a native or two.