Ecological gardening / Native Plants

Places to buy native plants

• Blue Stem Natives (Norwell, MA)

• Native Plant Trust (Framingham, MA)

• Russell's Garden Center (Wayland, MA)

• The Monarch Gardener (Ipswich, MA)

• Lady Fern Farm (Central MA)

• Wild Seed Project (Maine): Northeast Native Seeds

• City Natives -  in Mattapan

How do I add native plants to my garden?

• Native Plants for the Small Yard: Easy, Beautiful Home Gardens that Support the Local Ecology (Ecological Landscaping Alliance)

• Balcony gardens – Natives in pots for urbanites and people on the move (Wild Seed Project)

• Attracting Pollinators to the Garden (Ohio State University Extension)

• Recommendations for Pollinator Gardens (Friends of Bees)

• Caterpillars, Butterflies and Bees - Keystone Plants and Soft Landings (Pollinator Pathway)

• What to Plant (Blue Stem Natives)

• Garden Design (Blue Stem Natives)

• Native Garden Design for Boston (Wild Ones)

• Break up your lawn using cardboard

• How to build a toad home in your garden

• Belmont native plant seed library at Belmont Public 

Watch or listen online

• Grow Native Massachusetts’s Experts Videos

• Ohio State University: Pollinators in the City Speaker Series

• Native Plants Healthy Planet Podcast

• Backyard Ecology Podcast

Tools

• Garden Plant Finder (Native Plant Trust)

• Native Plant Finder (Audubon Society)

• Native Plant Finder (National Wildlife Federation)

• Go Botany (Native Plant Trust)

Where can I see native plants in the wild

• Garden in the Woods - Native Plant Trust (Framingham, MA)

• Nasami Farm - Native Plant Trust (Whately, MA)

• Mass Audubon Sanctuaries (Throughout Massachusetts)

Local organizations

• Ecological Landscaping Alliance (New England)

• Friends of Bees: Working Group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice, and the Environment (Watertown, MA)

• Mystic Charles Pollinator Pathways Facebook Group

• Grow Native Massachusetts is based in Waltham and has a plant sale in the spring, usually June. Their website is also full of information

National organizations

• Homegrown National Park

• National Wildlife Federation

• • Certified Wildlife Habitat

• Pollinator Pathways - Public and private pesticide-free corridors of native plants that provide nutrition and habitat for pollinating insects and birds. Even the smallest green spaces, like flower boxes and curb strips, can be part of a pathway.

• Wild Ones