Resources
There are many citizen groups, nonprofits, nurseries, and gardening groups working to encourage and enable use of native plants. The resources listed here are some of the many we have found useful for learning about gardening with native plants in the Mid-Atlantic.
Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping
This guide by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contains color photos and descriptions of more than 400 plant species native to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, including all states with drainage to the the Bay: Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York
Native Plant Center
Developed by the Alliance for Chesapeake Bay and the USFWS, this online version of the Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping guide allows the user to filter by site type, soil conditions, etc., to find native plants that meet their needs while attracting wildlife and reducing pollution to the Bay.
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, run by the University of Texas at Austin, has a native plant database that provides information about preferred site condition, best uses, height, and other practical considerations for using native plants in your garden design.
Maryland Biodiversity Project
If you have questions about whether a plant is actually native to your region, it is often helpful to consult state-based biodiversity inventory efforts, which indicate for each species whether they are native or introduced in that state.
Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
The Digital Atlas contains the most comprehensive information available on the geographic distribution of vascular plants in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Deer Resistant Native Plants
The Home & Garden Information Center (HGIC), run by University of Maryland Extension, provides a number of resources about native plants, including a list of deer-resistant native plants.
Audubon Plants for Birds Database
If you enter your zip code, Audubon's native plant database will display the best native plants for birds in your area, and what bird species you can hope to attract.
Nature's Best Hope
Doug Tallamy's presentations and his books (Bringing Nature Home and Nature's Best Hope) are amazing introductions to the role of native plants in supporting natural ecosystems and the wildlife they support.
Signs to Download
IWe have used some signs in native planting projects that we think are useful for educating people about healthy suburban ecosystems. They are available here for download in case they are of use to you as well. We find that if we print them out and laminate them before posting they last quite a while (we’ll let you know the lifespan when we reach it!).
Pollinator Garden
In our local school project, these are helping keep the grounds crew at bay!
Leave the Leaves
Our neighbors are always mystified that we come over to their side of the street to scrape leaves out of their gutters for our flower beds.
This tree is dead!
Our town was kind enough to leave a snag standing in back of our house when they removed a street tree. When a neighbor stopped by and offered to remove it, we created a sign for it.