Recommended Resources
From expert advice to plant profiles to the best local sources for buying native plants—I’m happy to share some of my favorite resources.
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Going Native: A Guide to Landscaping with Native Plants in Northern New Jersey — highly recommended!
Choosing native plants for your property — Tips for getting started
Create a Jersey-Friendly Yard — interactive online tool
Designing and Planting with Native Plants, with Elaine Silverstein — webinar recording
How to Create Habitat for Stem-Nesting Bees — when to cut dead plant stems
Lasagna Method (a.k.a. Sheet Mulching) to shrink the lawn and create more space for native plants
Native Plants for Pollinators and Beneficial Insects: Mid-Atlantic Region — from Xerces Society
Native Plants for the Small Yard: Easy, Beautiful Home Gardens that Support Local Ecology by Kate Brandes — includes a variety of garden designs (including container gardens), not just for small yards
Selecting Plants for Pollinators — Eastern Broadleaf Oceanic Region (which includes New Jersey)
Soil Composition Activity — Find out your soil’s texture and type with this fun test using a jar, soil, and water.
Wild Ones Native Garden Designs — created by professional landscape designers for multiple ecoregions in the U.S.
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Foote's Pond Wood — Enjoy the wildlife and wildflowers (blooming April to November) in this nearby Morristown park, an ongoing restoration by neighborhood volunteers
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Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve nursery (in New Hope, PA)
Gino's Nursery (Newtown, PA)
Izel Native Plants (mail order; for flats of plant plugs)
Pinelands Direct (mail order)
The Pollen Nation (mail order)
Toadshade Wildflower Farm (mail order and they are at many events)
Wild Ridge Plants (mail order or on-farm pickup in Pohatcong Township, NJ)
Wildstead Supply Co — NEW! Native plants and eco-friendly garden center in East Hanover, NJ
Be on the lookout for local native plant sales in the spring! They’re hosted by Great Swamp Watershed Association, Native Plant Society of New Jersey, and others.
Locally, The Farm at Green Village, Great Swamp Greenhouses and J & M Home and Garden may have some native plants. Look for straight species, not cultivars. Cultivar names are indicated in single quotes (for example: Echinacea purpurea ‘pink double delight’ is a sterile cultivar that doesn’t produce pollen and its double bloom shape makes its nectar inaccessible). If you do not see what you are looking for, be sure to ask if they can get it for you! Customer demand can drive supply. Specify that you do not want plants treated with systemic pesticides ("neo-nics").
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Doug Tallamy on "Nature's Best Hope" — Madison "Noon Zoom" event (90-minute video)
BONAP's North American Plant Atlas — Look up any plant by its scientific name to see its native region
bplant.org — Learn about plants, their ecology, and their distribution in North America
Leave the Leaves by Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Native Plant Finder — Discover plants that are native to Madison, ranked by the number of butterfly and moth species that use them as host plants for their caterpillars
Native Plants Database / Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
North American Butterfly Association — North Jersey Butterfly Club
Rethinking Mulch: Is There Ever a Good Reason to Use It in a Landscape? — Excellent article