Incorporating Native Plants in Your Residential Landscape

What are Native Plants?

Native plants are defined as naturally occurring species of the site, ecosystem, or region in question prior to Euro-American settlement of North America.  Native plants are not a result of human intervention or breeding and have natural genetic diversity.  Native plants are adapted to the local climate, geology, and soil conditions of their native ecosystems.  Each species of native plant evolved complex relationships with other species of native plants, fungi, microbes, insects, and wildlife, forming the foundation of local food webs and contributing to healthy ecosystem function.

Why Consider Native Plants?

Native Biodiversity Needs Our Help

Globally and locally, native biodiversity is rapidly declining due to habitat destruction and invasive species.  In New Jersey, and across the county, conserved habitats and parklands do not offer sufficient refuge to preserve our native species.  Yet in much of our residential developed lands we have an opportunity to support native species instead of hindering them with non-native and invasive plants.  Planting locally native plants in your home landscape can be a great way to help rebuild crucial habitats that support at-risk species, pollinators, butterflies, birds and other wildlife.  Native plants offer floral resources, forage, shelter, and notably larval hosting to insects they co-evolved with, that feed other native wildlife in the food web.  For example, the Carolina chickadee, an insectivorous bird species, requires greater than 70% of native plant species in their immediate foraging and nesting area to successfully fledge their young and maintain their populations (Narango et al., 2018).  This is one of many studies that has shown we must provide native plants as foundations of our local ecosystem to support wildlife, food webs, and healthy ecosystem functions, even in developed and residential landscapes.

Native Plants are Sustainable and Resilient

Native plants growing in their proper environments are very well-suited to persist and thrive without synthetics inputs like fertilizers or pesticides.  In general, native plants require little care once established and are resilient to extreme weather events as well.  Furthermore, if native plant leaf litter is left in beds and under plants, they become even more resilient, as they evolved to regulate soil moisture and feed themselves with decomposing leaves as they replenish soil nutrients (Epiphan, J. 2024).  Overall, yards that maintain locally native plants with leaf litter as mulch are highly self-sustaining.

Promote Natural Heritage in Ornamental Landscapes

If designed effectively, native plants can be very ornamental and improve the aesthetic quality of your landscape, while promoting local natural heritage and authentic landscape identity.  Too many landscapes rely on the same limited palettes of invasive and non-native plants that create predictable "copy-paste" landscape designs regardless of the region.  This creates a loss of regional or even national aesthetic identity.  Planting locally native plants, from canopy to groundcover, helps to promote true natural heritage and local landscape identity.

How to Start Incorporating Native Plants in Your Yard

When considering the use of native plants in your residential landscape, it is necessary to evaluate your yard first.  This will greatly help your design and make the most appropriate native plants selections for each location on your property.  Follow the four steps below to guide your process.  Remember, this is a process that can be accomplished slowly over time, plant by plant, or in one full renovation.  As long as you are taking steps to incorporate native plants in your yard, you are sustainably supporting native biodiversity and natural heritage.

Step 1:  Identify Plant Species

It is best to know what you have growing on your property before you begin making changes.  Refer to the resources section Plant Identification References for plant identification reference books and online websites.  Plant identification apps can help as well as contacting your local county extension office Master Gardener Helpline or sending samples to the Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Laboratory.

It is crucial not to skip this step as there may be native plants and trees that can be conserved and protected in an updated landscape design.  Some non-commercially available species or irreplaceable native plants can be present in your yard, plus, they are often highly sensitive to soil disturbances and can decline if site conditions change.  It is best practice to protect and not disturb naturally occurring native species if they occur in your yard such.  Examples of sensitive species that only appear in spring include spring beauty (Claytonia virginiana), yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum), and bear corn (Conopholus americana) among many others (Figure 4).

It is critical to know if you have detrimental non-native or invasive plants in your yard, as many can harm and prevent growth of native plants with their highly competitive mechanisms or soil altering compounds.  Such detrimental or invasive species include but are not limited to Norway maple (Acer platanoides), English ivy (Hedera helix), barberry (Berberis thunbergii), zelkova (Zelkova serrata), Norway spruce (Picea abies), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), and tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima).  Refer to the resources section for invasive plant identification information and tools.

Step 2:  Creating Sustainable Spaces for Native Plants

Many residential landscapes are highly designed, and finding available space for new native plants can be a challenge.  Yet, in renewing a yard to incorporate native plants, consider removing invasives to make space for native plants and improve ecosystem health.  An excellent goal to strive for is to remove invasive plants and reduce remaining non-native species to below 30% cover; then attain greater than 70% native plant cover.  For information on how to remove invasive plant refer to The New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team information pages or the Rutgers Invasive Species of the Month Articles.

Standard lawn grass species are not native plants.  Lawn grass and its care can harm native trees and shrubs that require natural soil structure, differing soil pH, or native leaf mulch.  Removing lawn areas from under tree canopy driplines and increasing garden bed size is important for promoting long-term health and sustainability for native woody plants.  If you have existing native trees and shrubs that can have their beds expanded, these areas can be planted with native understory plants, that offer "soft landings" for native insects and wildlife while benefiting woody plant and ecosystem health (Holm, H. and Neighborhood Greening, 2021).

Unused lawn areas can be converted to native garden beds, rain gardens, or reforestation areas with multiple layers of native vegetation.  Landscape design companies can offer non-chemical lawn removal services such as sod cutting in areas that are not impacting tree roots.  Manual removal of lawn is easier after autumn leaves are left for a growing season to smother it or use a sheet mulching technique.

Many garden beds are over-mulched and create convex, mounded beds that direct needed water away from plants.  Consider reducing the height of these beds as this will reduce watering needs and drought conditions.  Beds can be created or renovated to capture and retain stormwater in your landscape for your new plants.  Plus, concave beds also help to capture fallen leaves, the optimal mulch for native plants, especially those that require humusy or rich soils derived from leaf mold.

Step 3:  Assessing Landscape Conditions

There are four elements to assess for each available planting area on your property.  These individual assessments are necessary as conditions can vary depending on the location.  The results will inform which native plants are suitable for each location.

1. Sunlight: What amount of sunlight is available throughout the day? Full sun equals 6+ hours of direct sunlight, part sun equals 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight, part shade equals 2 to 4 hours of direct sunlight, and shade equals less than 2 hours of direct sunlight.
2. Soil: Is the soil mostly sand, silt or clay textured? Wet, or well-drained? Is the soil acidic, neutral or alkaline? If you don't know, options include doing a basic soil test or purchasing an inexpensive soil pH and moisture meter.
3. Water: How much water is available by natural means? You must be willing to commit to watering any new plants when there's inadequate rainfall to get them established in the first year and during heat waves.  Beware, lawn irrigation systems can harm native plants by aerial splashing or over-watering.  For automated options, drip lines are best.
4. Deer: Do you have herds of deer in your yard? White-tailed deer are highly overpopulated in New Jersey and will eat native plants that are not resistant as well as buck rub sapling and shrub stems.  If deer pressure is exceedingly high in your yard, physical barriers are the best form of protection.  Tall perimeter deer fencing, smaller 6-ft wire mesh exclosures or single tree/plant cages (Figure 2), and young tree stem guards are effective options.

Step 4:  Selecting and Acquiring the Plants for your Landscape

Now the fun part begins by identifying what native plants you'd like for your landscape.  Table 1 identifies commercially available, native plants that are of high value to native wildlife, provide habitat, and other crucial ecosystem services.  It includes all the main site requirements you assessed in your yard and the mature size of plants and growth rates, to plan your landscape design accordingly.  The list of native plants in Table 1 is not exhaustive, but rather a starting place of easy to grow, resilient species that are native to all or most of New Jersey's ecosystems.  Other references for plant selections appropriate for New Jersey, by physiographic region, or specific plant community type are listed below under Native Plants of New Jersey References.

Native plants should be purchased or propagated from seed; they should never be removed from the wild.  For a list of native plant retail nurseries, visit the Native Plant Society of New Jersey's directory of native plant retailers.

When purchasing native plants, it is very important to use scientific (Latin) names because common names can be interchanged or inaccurate.  As cultivated species are not truly native, choose species that do not have a name in quotes after the common or scientific name, such as red maple 'October Glory'.  It is best to source plants from nurseries that collect native seeds locally to grow and sell local progeny; this is optimal as they are well adapted to your local climate, soils, and ecosystems.  Moreover, wild type progeny has high genetic diversity which is most sustainable.

Keep in mind that if planted in the best location, native plants will grow readily so consider buying smaller sized plants.  Smaller sized plants adapt better to their new locations, suffer less transplant shock, and grow faster than larger sized plants.

Seeds of native plants are easy to acquire from local nurseries, native seed mail order companies, native seed libraries, and local seed swap events.  To learn more about growing native plants from seed, reference Rutgers fact sheet FS1329, Native Plant Seed Propagation.

Table 1

Examples of commercially available native plants, indigenous to all or most of New Jersey, that support native biodiversity and wildlife habitat.  The following plants are easy to grow if planted according to their site requirements.  Native plants must not be removed from the wild.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Soil Moisture & Texture (if specific)	Soil pH Ideal Range	Sunlight	Average Mature Height in Feet	Growth Rate	Deer Resistance
CANOPY TREES
Acer rubrum	Red maple	Well-drained to wet	4.5–7	Part shade to sun	60–90	Moderate	Low
Carya cordiformis	Bitternut hickory	Well-drained to wet	5.5–8	Part shade to sun	60–90	Slow	Low
Carya glabra	Pignut hickory	Well-drained to moist	5–8	Part shade to sun	60–90	Slow	Low
Carya ovata	Shagbark hickory	Well-drained to moist	5.5–7.5	Part shade to sun	60–90	Slow	Low
Carya tomentosa	Mockernut hickory	Well-drained to moist	5–7.5	Part shade to sun	60–90	Slow	Low
Juniperus virginiana	Eastern redcedar	Well-drained, dry to moist	5–8.5	Sun to part sun	30–60	Fast	Low
Liriodendron tulipifera	Tulip tree	Well-drained to moist	5.5–7.5	Sun to part sun	80–150	Fast	Moderate
Nyssa sylvatica	Black tupelo	Wet to well-drained	5–6.5	Part shade to sun	60–80	Moderate	Low
Pinus rigida	Pitch pine	Well-drained, dry to moist, sandy or rocky	4.5–6.5	Full sun	40–70	Slow	Moderate
Prunus serotina	Black cherry	Well-drained to moist, sandy or loamy	5.5–7	Full to part sun	50–80	Fast	Low
Quercus alba	White oak	Well-drained to moist	5–7	Part shade to sun	80–100	Slow	Low
Quercus bicolor	Swamp white oak	Wet to moist to well-drained	4.5–6.5	Part shade to sun	60–75	Slow	Low
Quercus montana	Chestnut oak	Well-drained, rocky to sandy loam	5–7	Part shade to sun	50–100	Slow	Low
Sassafras albidum	Sassafras	Well-drained to moist, sandy to loamy	6–7	Sun to part shade	30–60	Moderate	Low
SMALL TREES & UNDERSTORY TREES
Amelanchier arborea	Downy serviceberry	Well-drained to moist	5.5–7	Part sun to shade	30–40	Moderate	Low
Amelanchier canadensis	Serviceberry	Well-drained to moist, rich	5.5–7	Part sun to shade	15–30	Moderate	Low
Betula populifolia	Grey birch	Well-drained to moist	5–7	Full to part sun	20–30	Fast	Low
Carpinus caroliniana	American hornbeam	Well-drained to wet, rich	4.5–7.2	Part sun to shade	30–40	Moderate	Low
Cornus alternifolia	Alternate-leaf dogwood	Moist to well-drained, rich, loamy	5–6.5	Part sun to shade	25–30	Slow	Low
Cornus florida	Flowering dogwood	Moist to well-drained, rich, sandy to loamy	5.5–6.5	Part sun to shade	30–40	Slow	Low
Ilex opaca	American holly	Well-drained to moist	5–7	Sun to shade	35–50	Slow	High
Magnolia virginiana	Sweetbay magnolia	Wet to moist, rich	5.5–6.5	Full to part sun	30–50	Moderate	Low
Rhus copallinum	Winged sumac	Well-drained, dry to moist	6–7	Full to part sun	15–30	Fast	Low
SHRUBS
Cephalanthus occidentalis	Buttonbush	Wet to moist	6–7.2	Sun to shade	6–15	Moderate	Moderate
Clethra alnifolia	Sweet pepperbush	Wet to moist, sandy to loamy	4.5–6.5	Part sun to part shade	6–10	Moderate	Low
Comptonia peregrina	Sweet fern	Well-drained to moist, sandy, peaty, loamy	4–6.5	Part sun to part shade	2–3	Moderate	High
Cornus racemosa	Grey dogwood	Well-drained	5.5–7.5	Part sun to part shade	10–15	Moderate	Moderate
Cornus sericea	Red-osier dogwood	Moist	5.5–7	Part sun to part shade	6–9	Fast	Low
Corylus americana	American hazelnut	Well-drained to moist	5.5–7.5	Part sun to full shade	6–15	Moderate	Low
Ilex glabra	Inkberry holly	Moist to wet, sandy, peaty or loamy	4.5–6.5	Part sun to part shade	5–8	Slow	Moderate
Ilex verticillata	Winterberry holly	Wet to moist	4.5–6.5	Part sun to part shade	5–15	Slow	Low
Hamamelis virginiana	Witch hazel	Well-drained to moist, rich	5–6.8	Part sun to full shade	15–25	Slow	Low
Kalmia latifolia	Mountain laurel	Well-drained to moist	4.5–6	Part sun to part shade	6–15	Slow	Low
Lindera benzoin	Spicebush	Wet to moist, rich, loam, clay	5–8	Part shade, shade	6–12	Moderate	Low
Morella pensylvanica	Northern bayberry	Moist to well-drained, sandy to loamy	5–7	Full to part sun	5–12	Moderate	High
Rhododendron periclymenoides	Pinxter azalea	Well-drained to moist, rich, sandy to loamy	4.5–6	Part sun to part shade	4–10	Slow	Low
Rhododendron viscosum	Swamp azalea	Wet to moist, rich, sandy to loamy	4.5–6	Part sun to part shade	3–8	Slow	Low
Salix discolor	Pussy willow	Wet to moist	6–7.2	Full sun	10–20	Fast	Low
Sambucus nigra	Black elderberry	Wet to moist	5.5–7.2	Full to part sun	8–20	Fast	Moderate
Spirea alba	Meadowsweet	Wet to moist	4–7	Full to part sun	3–6	Moderate	Low
Vaccinium corymbosum	Highbush blueberry	Wet to moist	4.2–5.5	Part sun to part shade	6–12	Moderate	Low
Viburnum prunifolium	Blackhaw viburnum	Moist to well-drained	5.5–7.5	Part sun to part shade	12–20	Moderate	Moderate
WOODY VINES
Lonicera sempervirens	Coral honeysuckle	Well-drained	6–7	Full sun	8–20	Fast	High
Parthenocissus quinquefolia	Virginia creeper	Wet to well-drained	5–8	Sun to shade	2–60	Fast	Moderate
Vitis vulpina	Frost grape	Wet to well-drained	5.5–6.5	Part sun to part shade	15–20	Fast	Moderate
FLOWERING PERENNIALS
Allium tricoccum	Wild leeks (ramps)	Well-drained, moist, rich, loamy	5.5–7	Part sun to shade	1–1.5	Slow	High
Asclepias incarnata	Swamp milkweed	Wet to moist	6–7.5	Full to part sun	3–5	Moderate	High
Asclepias tuberosa	Butterfly milkweed	Well-drained	6–7	Full sun	1–3	Moderate	High
Eurybia divaricata	White wood aster	Moist to well-drained	5.5–7.2	Part sun to full shade	2–3	Moderate	Moderate
Eutrochium maculatum	Spotted joe-pye-weed	Moist to wet, rich	5–8	Sun to part shade	4–8	Moderate	Moderate
Eutrochium purpureum	Sweet-scented joe-pye-weed	Moist to well-drained	5–7.2	Sun to part shade	4–8	Moderate	Moderate
Helenium autumnale	Sneezeweed	Moist to wet, rich	5.5–7	Sun to part sun	3–5	Fast	High
Helianthus decaptalus	Ten-petaled sunflower	Well-drained to moist, rich, loamy	6–7.5	Part sun to part shade	4–6	Fast	Moderate
Helianthus divaricatus	Woodland sunflower	Well-drained, sandy to loamy	6–7.5	Part sun to part shade	4–6	Fast	Moderate
Hibiscus moscheutos	Swamp rose mallow	Wet to moist	6–7.2	Full to part sun	4–6	Moderate	Moderate
Lobelia siphilitica	Blue lobelia	Moist to wet	6–7	Part sun to shade	2–3	Moderate	Moderate
Monarda fistulosa	Wild bergamot	Moist to well-drained	6–8	Full sun	3–5	Moderate	High
Packera aurea	Golden ragwort	Moist to wet, rich	5.5–7	Part sun to shade	1–2	Moderate	High
Phlox subulata	Moss phlox	Well-drained, rocky or sandy	5–7	Full sun	< 1	Moderate	Moderate
Podophyllum peltatum	Mayapple	Moist to well-drained, rich, loam to sandy loam	5–7	Part to full shade	1–2	Moderate	High
Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum	Giant Solomon's seal	Well-drained, moist, rich, loamy	5.5–7	Part to full shade	2–4	Slow	Moderate
Pycnanthemum muticum	Short-toothed mountain mint	Moist to well-drained	6–7.5	Full sun to part shade	2–4	Fast	High
Rudbeckia fulgida	Orange coneflower	Moist to well-drained	5.8–7.5	Full to part sun	2–3	Moderate	High
Solidago caesia	Bluestem goldenrod	Well-drained to moist	5.5–7.2	Part sun to shade	1–3	Moderate	Moderate
Solidago odora	Anise-scented goldenrod	Well-drained, moist to dry	5–6.8	Full sun to part shade	3–5	Moderate	High
Solidago rugosa	Wrinkleleaf goldenrod	Well-drained to moist	5.5–7.5	Full sun to part shade	3–4	Fast	High
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae	New England aster	Moist to wet, rich	5–7	Full to part sun	3–4	Moderate	Moderate
Symphyotrichum lateriflorum	Calico aster	Moist to well-drained	6.5–8	Part sun to part shade	3–4	Moderate	High
Thalictrum pubescens	Tall meadow-rue	Wet to moist, rich, loamy	5.5–7	Part sun to part shade	5–6	Moderate	High
Vernonia noveboracensis	New York Ironweed	Wet to moist	5–7	Full to part sun	6–8	Fast	Moderate
Viola sororia	Common blue violet	Well-drained to moist	6–7	Part sun to part shade	< 1	Fast	High
Zizia aptea	Heartleaf Alexanders	Well-drained, moist to dry	6–7.5	Full to part sun	2–3	Fast	High
Zizia aurea	Golden Alexander	Moist to well-drained	6–7.5	Full to part sun	2–3	Fast	High
GRASSES, SEDGES, & RUSHES
Andropogon gerardii	Big bluestem	Well-drained, dry to moist	5.5–7.5	Full sun	4–5	Fast	High
Andropogon virginicus	Broom sedge	Well-drained, dry to moist	6–8	Sun to part shade	3–5	Moderate	High
Carex laxiculmis	Blue wood sedge	Moist to well-drained, rich	5.5–7	Part to full shade	< 1	Moderate	High
Carex pensylvanica	Pennsylvania sedge	Well-drained to moist, rich, loamy or sandy	5–7	Part to full shade	< 1	Slow	High
Carex rosea	Rosy sedge	Moist to well drained, rich	5.5–7.5	Part sun to shade	< 1–2	Moderate	High
Dichanthelium clandestinum	Deertongue grass	Well-drained to moist	5–7.2	Sun to shade	2–4	Moderate	High
Elymus hystrix	Bottlebrush grass	Well-drained to moist	6–8	Part sun to part shade	3–5	Moderate	High
Eragrostis spectabilis	Purple lovegrass	Well-drained to dry	6–7	Full sun	1–2	Moderate	High
Juncus effusus	Soft rush	Wet to moist	6–7.5	Full to part sun	3–4	Moderate	High
Panicum virgatum	Switchgrass	Moist, well-drained to wet	5.5–7	Full sun	4–5	Fast	High
Schizachyrium scoparium	Little bluestem	Well-drained, dry to moist	5.5–8	Full sun	2–3	Moderate	High
Sorghastrum nutans	Indian grass	Well-drained	5–7.5	Full sun	4–6	Moderate	High
FERNS
Athryium filix-femina	Lady fern	Moist to wet, rich	5.5–7.2	Part to full shade	1–3	Moderate	Moderate
Adiantum pedatum	Northern maidenhair fern	Moist to well-drained, rich, loamy	6–7.5	Part to full shade	1–3	Slow	High
Dryopteris marginalis	Marginal woodfern	Well-drained to moist, rich, rocky	4.5–7	Part to full shade	1–3	Slow	High
Onoclea sensibilis	Sensitive fern	Wet to moist, rich	5–7.2	Part sun to part shade	1–3	Fast	Moderate
Osmunda reglalis	Royal fern	Wet to moist, rich	5–6.8	Sun to part shade	4–5	Moderate	Moderate
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum	Cinnamon fern	Wet to moist, rich	5–6.8	Part to full shade	2–4	Moderate	Moderate
Polystichum acrostitchoides	Christmas fern	Well-drained to moist, rich, sandy to rocky, or loamy	4.5–6.8	Part to full shade	1–2	Slow	High

This updated fact sheet is based on the work originally authored by Meredith Melendez during her tenure as Burlington County Horticulturist, and Deborah Pinto, Rutgers Master Gardener of Burlington County.

Plant Identification References

• iNaturalist
• Newcomb, L. 1989. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Boston; Toronto: Little, Brown and Company.
• Virgina Tech Dendrology

Native Plants of New Jersey References

1. Breden, T. F., Y., Alger, K. Strakosch Walz, and A., Windisch. 2001. Classification of Vegetation Communities of New Jersey: Second Iteration. Office of Natural Lands Management, Division of Parks and Forestry NJDEP. Available at RUcore: Rutgers University Community Repository.
2. Collins, B. R. and Anderson, K. H. 1994. Plant Communities of New Jersey. New Brunswick.
3. Rosenbaum, J. 2022. Wild Plant Culture: A Guide to Restoring Edible and Medicinal Native Plant Communities. New Society Publishers.
4. Walz, K. and J. Hafstad. 2022. New Jersey Native Regional Plant List. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Office of Natural Lands Management. Treton, NJ.

Text References

1. Epiphan, J. 2024. Why Leave the Leaves and How to Do it. Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Fact Sheet FS1369.
2. Holm, H., and Neighborhood Greening. 2021. Soft Landings. Story Map accessed 1-2-2026.
3. Narango, D. L., Tallamy, D. W. and Marra, P.P., 2018. Nonnative plants reduce population growth of an insectivorous bird. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(45), pp.11549-11554.
4. Narango, D. L., Tallamy, D. W. and Marra, P.P., 2017. Native plants improve breeding and foraging habitat for an insectivorous bird. Biological Conservation, 213, pp.42-50.
5. Szkodny, V. and M. Bakacs. Native Plant Seed Propagation. Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Fact Sheet FS1369.

Resources for More Information

1. Audubon. Native Plant Database.
2. Brandes, K. Native Plant for the Small Yards: Easy, Beautiful Home Gardens that Support Local Ecology (PDF).
3. Bakacs, M. and W. Errickson. 2023. Invasive Plants and Native Alternatives for Landscapes. Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Fact Sheet FS1353.
4. Camu, B. 2024. From Wasteland to Wonder: Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape. Leaf & Limb.
5. Homegrown National Park
6. Invasive Species of the Month Archives. Rutgers Agricultural Experiment Station. Environmental Stewards.
7. Jersey Friendly Yards
8. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
9. National Wildlife Federation. Native Plants for Wildlife.
10. Native Plant Society of New Jersey
11. New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team. 2025. Info Center. Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space.
12. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. 2024. Invasive Plants.
13. Tallamy, D. W., 2021. The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees. Timber Press.
14. Tallamy, D. W., 2020. Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard. Timber Press.
15. West, C., 2016. Planting in a Post-Wild World. Timber Press.
16. Wild Ones Natural Landscapers. Native Plant Landscaping.
17. Zorach, A. Bplant.

Top Photo Captions

(l–r): Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), Giant Solomon's seal (Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum), Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) tree. Photo credits: Jean Epiphan.

March 2026