We live in the western suburbs of Chicago. The front of our house is mostly in shade with direct sun for a couple of hours a day (we have two trees that block the sun until the mid afternoon). We are considering converting our front lawn to a native state. We really don't have much gardening experience and have no idea where to start. Can anyone point me toward resources that could walk me through the process as well as the pros and cons of having native plants for a yard? After digging around on the internet for awhile I thought this might be the best place to ask for advice. I'm a newb so easy to understand resources are appreciated.

Crios - Chicago Botanic Garden has a native plants garden. Perhaps a stroll through some of the appropriate areas would give you some preliminary ideas. Although I haven't been in years, there should be some plant identification markers so that you could jot down the names of some of the plants you like and then do some research. Depending on how far you want to go native will determine what, if any, maintenance you would need to do. Seems from your description that you would be looking into plants that thrive at the edge of a woodland or open field.

@DavidLMO is our area native plant expert. He should have some ideas for you. I just tagged his name so he will know to come to this thread.

And welcome!!