Tag Archives: Native Plants

If You Plant It, They Will Find It

Birds need food, the food that emerges from the ecosystems of native birches and oaks, willows and maples, and from elderberries, serviceberries, viburnums, and winterberries. They need food when they’re year-round residents and food when they’re migrating. And when you plant the food-supplying trees and shrubs birds need, the birds will stop.

Maryland Native Plant Legislation Supports Native Species and Restricts Invasives

In 2023, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation, signed by Governor Wes Moore, to create the Maryland Native Plants Program. In May of 2024, the governor signed the Agriculture – Invasive Plant Species – Regulation section of the Biodiversity and Agriculture Protection Act, which limits the sale of nonnative invasive plants in Maryland.

Mt. Cuba Center: Beautiful and Comprehensible Native Plant Design

I don’t recall the first time I heard of Mt. Cuba Center, but for the last few years this native plant garden in the Brandywine Valley area of Delaware has been on my bucket list of Mid-Atlantic gardens to visit. In October, I was fortunate to spend part of a day roaming the site, soaking up its inspiration for native plant design.

So What Exactly Is a Native Plant? The Pollinator-Friendly Plant Labeling Act May Have an Answer

When talking about gardening, it doesn’t take long before native plants become part of the conversation. One question comes up repeatedly in these conversations, a fundamental question with an elusive answer: “What exactly is a native plant?”

Learning from Nature, Gathering Data – Citizen Science in the Garden

On the day the International Union for the Conservation of Nature announced that migratory monarch butterflies had been added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, I found a monarch caterpillar chewing on milkweed in my garden. An internationally recognized endangered species was reproducing in my suburban garden. Could restoring the environment really be this easy?

Designing a Perennial Garden Bed

Where do I start? It’s a question heard repeatedly in gardening webinars. Or maybe the question really is, how? When you’re contemplating a piece of ground you’d like to convert to a gardened space, how do you figure out which plants to select from the many thousands available? And how do you arrange those plants to create a design? For practice, start with a manageable space.

National Native Plant Month – April 2021

Recognition of the value of native plants continues to grow. Senate Resolution 109 of the 117th Congress, which designates April 2021 as National Native Plant Month, passed with bipartisan support on March 25. The resolution “recognizes the benefits of native plants to the environment and economy of the United States.”