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American Hazelnut: “My Favorite Shrub”

American Hazelnut: "My Favorite Shrub" There are gobs of native plant species that I eagerly recommend to fellow wildlife gardeners. But there aren’t many that cause me to enthusiastically proclaim, “It’s my favorite!,” especially in...

Tree Size Matters: Why Planting Bigger is Not Better

Tree Size Matters: Why Planting Bigger is Not Better Look at that little tree grow!Planted when it was a mere twelve inches tall, the white oak in my front garden now towers well over twelve feet....

Anatomy of a Curbside Planting

Anatomy of a Curbside Planting There I was… the sun shining, my windows down… just innocently cruisin’ along. Then it happened: The drive-by double take. Not surprisingly, only a native planting could grab my attention...

Your Very Own Wildlife Habitat Can Bring Relief to These Troubling Times

Your Very Own Wildlife Habitat Can Bring Relief to These Troubling Times What a wild ride. The past eight months have been a roller coaster of unprecedented challenges—seemingly insurmountable ones at that. I think I...

The Irresistible Thistle: Why Our Gardens Are Incomplete Without This Invaluable Native

The Irresistible Thistle: Why Our Gardens Are Incomplete Without This Invaluable Native It’s been many years since the first pasture thistle I added to the sunny front garden developed a single lavender-pink flower. The thick...

Honey Bees? It’s Our Native Bees That Need the Buzz

HONEY BEES? IT'S OUR NATIVE BEES THAT NEED THE BUZZ Many years ago, someone recommended that I plant clustered mountain-mint, Pycnanthemum muticum, the native perennial gardeners refer to as “THE pollinator magnet.” I did and...

Muerte Y Mariposas (Death & Butterflies): A Personal Journey

MUERTE Y MARIPOSAS (DEATH & BUTTERFLIES): A PERSONAL JOURNEY They flow down and toward me, hitching a ride on a warm current of air. A funnel of vibrant orange against an intense blue sky. At...

Plant Native Ground Covers & Make America Green Again

PLANT NATIVE GROUND COVERS & MAKE AMERICA GREEN AGAIN When I think about making America green again, I dream of filling in all those stark areas of unnaturally dyed mulch. I fantasize about less lawn,...

Nectar Sources for Large-Winged Butterflies of the Mid-Atlantic

NECTAR SOURCES FOR LARGE-WINGED BUTTERFLIES OF THE MID-ATLANTIC Ooooo, a monarch! It takes an erratic path across the garden, bright orange wings gliding and flapping, drifting and fluttering. It floats down and lights on a...

How to Feed a Hummingbird Part II: Flowers & Nectar

HOW TO FEED A HUMMINGBIRD PART II: FLOWERS & NECTAR This is Part II in a two-part series.Part I of "How to Feed a Hummingbird: Insects & Protein" revealed that 80 percent of a hummingbird’s...

How to Feed a Hummingbird Part I: Insects & Protein

HOW TO FEED A HUMMINGBIRD PART I: INSECTS & PROTEIN This is Part I of a two-part series. There’s high excitement on this lovely afternoon as a male ruby-throated hummingbird guzzles at our feeder. It’s...

Death by Urban Landscaping: How Popular Landscape Plants Are Destroying Local Forests

DEATH BY URBAN LANDSCAPING: HOW POPULAR LANDSCAPE PLANTS ARE DESTROYING LOCAL FORESTS by Beverley Rivera As the weather warms, Northern Virginia appears to come alive almost overnight, trees leaf out and unique wildflowers blossom beneath...

Native Plants for Nesting Birds: Top 12 Picks

NATIVE PLANTS FOR NESTING BIRDS: TOP 12 PICKS Derek Stoner, Project Coordinator for the Delaware Nature Society, helped restore the 860-acre Middle Run Natural Area by “intensive habitat management”, including planting 12,000 trees and shrubs.  His lecture,...

How I Killed a Tree (And the Lessons I Learned)

HOW I KILLED A TREE (AND THE LESSONS I LEARNED) Once upon a time, not long ago, I shared my property with a handsome, thriving tree. It’s now dead. The oak had lived for 55 years,...

Reflections on Establishing a Native Plant Garden

REFLECTIONS ON ESTABLISHING A NATIVE PLANT GARDEN by Beverley Rivera As summer starts to fade, a sea of late-blooming goldenrods explode with sunny yellow, their honey-like fragrance enticing thousands of busy pollinators to my native...

The Brush Pile: Build It for Our Wild Friends

THE BRUSH PILE: BUILD IT FOR OUR WILD FRIENDS A brush pile is an uncomplicated, no-cost structure. It’s basically a large pile of sticks that offers habitat to all sorts of wildlife. Squirrels climb and...

Virginia “Rabbit Proof” Native Plants

VIRGINIA'S RABBIT-PROOF NATIVE PLANTS Precious pink wiggly nose, slender silken ears, a fuzzy snowball of a tail — all wrapped up in a cuddly but voracious plant-chomping package. Ahhh, our Eastern cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) are...

The Hummingbirds: A Poem

THE HUMMINGBIRDS: A POEM Every spring, Robert and Arlene anticipate the arrival of the ruby-throated hummingbirds to their mountain home. They observe in awe as these tiny beings nest and feed and hover and swoop...

Lisa Bright Shares Her Garden Faves

LISA BRIGHT SHARES HER GARDEN FAVES CHOOSING THE RIGHT NATIVE PLANTS FOR YOUR GARDEN Lisa Bright, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Earth Sangha in Springfield, Virginia, shares some of her favorite native plants for gardeners...

A Garden Is a Potential Smorgasbord: Native Plants with Real Value

A GARDEN IS A POTENTIAL SMORGASBORD: NATIVE PLANTS WITH REAL VALUE Natives rock! They invite all kinds of wildlife into a garden. And because all native plants are not created equal, striving to plant the...

Doug Tallamy: A Man on a Mission

DOUG TALLAMY: A MAN ON A MISSION Dr. Doug Tallamy: American entomologist and visionary native plant promoter. Our hero. His call to action singlehandedly knocked our gardening socks off and inspired us to get out...

Plant Natives to Feed the Birds

PLANT NATIVES TO FEED THE BIRDS If you are troubled about dwindling bird populations and you’d like to help our feathery friends, you need to know a few things like this: It takes more than...

Why Cultivars Could Be Problematic

WHY CULTIVARS COULD BE PROBLEMATIC The topic of cultivars can be a polarizing one for folks in the native gardening community. It’s true, cultivars can provide food and cover for our wildlife just like our...

Native Plants for the Penny-Wise

NATIVE PLANTS FOR THE PENNY-WISE Sticker shock. That term is usually associated with purchasing a car but it can happen when shopping for plants, too. Plants can be fairly pricey — especially those larger-sized garden...

Easy Mosquito Larva Trap

EASY MOSQUITO LARVA TRAP By the end of the summer, my legs are dotted with scars from the mosquito bites that I’ve furiously scratched. Yeah, it’s not my best look. Plus mosquitoes can carry diseases....

Rat Poison Kills a Hell of a Lot More Than Just Rodents

RAT POISON KILLS A HELL OF A LOT MORE THAN JUST RODENTS I inspected the tiny creature closely. It must have died recently, its brown and white furred body still soft and supple. Was it...

Push Power! Making Our Native Garden Greener

PUSH POWER! MAKING OUR NATIVE GARDEN GREENER I have been mowing the lawn since I purchased my first townhouse in the 1990s. At the time I owned a manual reel or push mower. The lawn...

How To Control Mosquitoes Without Killing Pollinators

HOW TO CONTROL MOSQUITOES WITHOUT KILLING POLLINATORS& OTHER IMPORTANT WILDLIFE by Susan Gitlin Warm weather and mosquitoes will be here before you know it, leading many of us to look for ways to enjoy the...

Zika Virus Threat: Don’t Double Down On Trouble

ZIKA VIRUS THREAT: DON’T DOUBLE DOWN ON TROUBLE Editorial by Miles Benson First responders to any Zika virus threat in this country had better be careful. Very careful.The worst consequences of exposure to the disease...

Changing Landscapes into Gardens: The Lawn

CHANGING LANDSCAPES INTO GARDENS: THE LAWN by Julie LiuSuburban neighborhoods keep changing.  New families move onto older blocks, bringing with them a fresh aesthetic. Throughout the Washington DC suburbs homeowners are downsizing, upsizing, painting, adding...

The Killing of Lawn (And the Planting of Native Plants)

THE KILLING OF LAWN (AND THE PLANTING OF NATIVE PLANTS) I confess. I did it. I smothered our lawn. There was a vibrant swath of lush turf occupying the bulk of the front yard and...

Mosquito Control Without Pesticides

MOSQUITO CONTROL WITHOUT PESTICIDES by Marc Genberg Many folks are tempted to use any means necessary to control the annoying swarms of mosquitoes that infiltrate our yards in the heat of summer. We can get...

Why Go Native?

WHY GO NATIVE? In the warmth of the growing season, my garden is humming with life. A dizzying array of native bees, swallowtail butterflies, skippers and fritillaries, click beetles and praying mantises, buzz and flutter...

Pesticides: An American Tradition

AN AMERICAN TRADITION We all embrace customs, some silly and small, some big and important.  Summer barbecues.  4th of July parades.  The Superbowl party.  Pumpkin pie.  An aversion to the metric system.  Ours is a...

Love and Stiltgrass

LOVE and STILTGRASS “Indefatigable.” That’s the adjective that best describes the many exceptional individuals leading invasive plant removals in our local parks and other natural areas. Sure, I’ve previously pitched in on their efforts, helping...

Cats Preying on Wildlife: Natural or Not?

CATS PREYING ON WILDLIFE: NATURAL OR NOT? by Rosemary Jann Free-roaming cats are a common sight in our suburban neighborhoods, but the toll they take on native wildlife often remains invisible. According to a 2013 study...

Do Not Plant: Bradford Pear

DO NOT PLANT: BRADFORD PEAR The asian import, Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana), commonly called Bradford Pear, is an ornamental tree that’s widely used in landscaping.  It has, like so many other nursery-grown plants, escaped from...

Did the Pachysandra Kill the Hickory Tree?

DID THE PACHYSANDRA KILL THE HICKORY TREE? by Joan Gottlieb In my yard there is a large bed of Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis), a plant widely used in landscaping. This hardy evergreen ground cover spreads...

English Ivy: Doing What We Can May Be a Good Idea

DOING WHAT WE CAN MAY BE A GOOD IDEA by Miles Benson Lovely and seductive, this leafy, easy-to-grow and innocent-looking charmer has been around a long time.  It is an inexpensive decorative plant found inside homes...

Ditch the “Ditch Lily”

DITCH THE "DITCH LILY" It is ubiquitous. The plant with striking orange flowers thriving in dense drifts.  In the shade, in the sun. In moist and dry locations.  On roadsides, in suburban yards. Hemerocallis fulva....

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Native Nurseries

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ChooseNatives.org lists nurseries that sell only native plants.

NATIVE PLANT NURSERIES Choose Natives lists nurseries that sell only native plants.Why?  Because we want to help you, constant steward, to find an ecologically conscientious nursery. We also feel it's important to support the organizations that aren't profiting from invasive plants such as English ivy, Bradford Pear or butterfly bush. Let's give the local "green"...

Native Plant
Resources

NATIVE PLANT RESOURCES There is so much to learn about native plants—especially the reasons why we should grow them. The following organizations are listed to both inform and inspire. Feel free to browse the General... Browse

Invasive Plant
Resources

INVASIVE PLANT RESOURCES Removing invasive plants is equally as important as planting locally native ones. Invasives pop up endlessly in yards and can easily spread from one property to another, or worse, find their way... Browse

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We provide the curious with information on planting natives, advocating for critters, developing pesticide free landscapes, and identifying invasive aliens. An equally essential part of our mission is to assist Mid-Atlantic region gardeners in locating native plant nurseries and plant sales. Gardeners have a choice when purchasing landscaping plants… we shout Choose Natives!

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