Gardens

GETTING STARTED GUIDES

Native plants can be used in your yard, no matter how big or small, and no matter your style, whether you like the “kept” look, or the wild look.

  • Climate Resilient Landscapes    how to create a landscape that slows climate change, increase climate resilience, and stems biodiversity losses
    Climate Resilient Landscapes
    Produced by Wild Ones

FREE NATIVE GARDEN DESIGNS

Wild Ones offers 20 free, beautiful, and professionally designed, native garden plans for a number of ecoregions in the U.S. which can be downloaded here and watch a video presentation by the designers: http://nativegardendesigns.wildones.org/

               Toledo
     Grand Rapids

 

Additional Online Guides from other organizations

 

Check out some of our members’ gardens here for ideas!

 

Websites About Native Plants & Habitat

Learn more about species and garden topics:

Butterfly Gardening

Honeybees vs Native Bees

Native Plants Tolerant of Juglone (Black Walnut, etc.)

Replacing Common Invasive Ornamentals with Similar Natives

Nursery Sold Invasive Native Alternative(s) Feature
Bradford Pear      Redbud, Native Dogwoods, Shadbush/Amelanchier Small trees with spring bloom
Bamboo Eastern red-cedar   Dense, evergreen foliage for privacy
Japanese or Chinese Wisteria  American Wisteria  Similar to nonnative, but not invasive
Burning Bush Highbush blueberry or Winterberry  Brilliant fall color; edible fruit, Bright-red berries in winter
Butterfly Bush  New Jersey Tea, Button bush Attract butterflies with flowers
Japanese Barberry  Ninebark, Aromatic Sumac purple leaf color varieties, nice fall color
Privet Bayberry  Glossy foliage can be pruned to hedge
Purple Loosestrife   Blazing-star, Joe-pye weed  Spikes of purple flowers in summer Purple flowers attract butterflies
Periwinkle, English Ivy, Pachysandra Wild Strawberry, Canadian Bunchberry, Canadian Anemone, Wild Ginger Creeping phlox Attracts pollinators, Attractive groundcover