Great Resources
Useful tools to help you improve the health of your landscape
Useful Native Plant Databases
You have heard how important native plants are to our environment, but how do you find out which plants are native to your area and support your local ecosystem? One important resource is your state or local native plant society or native plant group, such as The Native Plant Center in New York. Another way to to explore regional native plants is to do some research online. Here are a number of great resources to help you along the way:
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/
Native plant database
USDA PLANTS Database
www.plants.usda.gov/java/
Plant database, including natives
Biota of North America Program
www.bonap.org
Native plants by state and county level
Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder.aspx
General plant database
Plant Native
www.plantnative.org
Native plant and nursery lists by state
More Great Resources
Lasagna Gardening
There are a number of classic gardening books that have helped changed they way we garden. One such book is Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza, that explains a simple, yet powerful way to prepare plant beds organically. The book’s title borrows from the way lasagna is made – using a…
Your Brain on Nature
For those of us who are plant geeks, it’s an easy decision to pick up yet another plant book on Amazon or at our local bookstore. There are so many great books on plants (some of my favs on native plants were written by the brilliant William Cullina, now the…
Later Blooming Native Plants to Help Bees
We have over 4,000 species of native bees in the United States, not including the European honey bee. Many of these bee species, including the honey bee, have suffered dramatic declines over the past decade. We can all help bees in our own landscapes by providing 3 seasons of bloom. …