BOSTON -- Pesticides and fertilizers can help a garden thrive, but they can be dangerous and sometimes not necessary.

WCVB-TV in Boston reported that a successful, environmentally friendly garden can be as simple as going native.

The New England Wildflower Society's Garden in the Woods, a 45-acre garden, is rooted in the philosophy that going green starts with selecting the right plants.

"If you choose native plants, you're choosing plants that have evolved under the conditions that you're asking them to live under," said the garden's Nicola Caltado.

Native plants will naturally invite birds and insects that will get rid of harmful pests, experts said.

Going green at the garden also means recycling and reusing what nature has already provided. For mulch, gardeners use shredded leaves and aged, decomposing bark.

"This will provide mulch. Eventually it will become top soil. It's the natural evolution. Both of them will maintain moisture in the soil and prevent having to water it on a regular basis," Caltado said.

In addition to mixing up and varying the plant species, one of the best ways to go green in the garden is to get rid of one plant -- grass.

"I don't think I could get you to purchase any plant if I told you it needed to be pruned once or twice a week, fed every other week, watered two or three times a week and treated with various fungicides and pesticides. You'd look at me like I was crazy -- but that is what your lawn is," Caltado said.

Gardeners suggest reducing the amount of lawn by adding plants, shrubs and flowers that naturally grow in the region.