Celebrate Native Plants

We’re delighted to announce that Garden in the Woods opened to the public on June 1. Click here to purchase Garden admission tickets for the month of June. 

For your safety, and to comply with state mandates, admission is limited and by advance ticket purchase only. The shop remains closed—but you can still buy our outstanding native plants with our safe purchase-and-pick-up process at either Garden in the Woods or Nasami Farm. You may also shop for plants via a Zoom video appointment.

Photo: Eastern bluebells (Mertensia virginica), Uli Lorimer ©Native Plant Trust

Our staff experts are talking up native plants on the media in New England and beyond: Don't miss Garden in the Woods on the Chronicle television show airing on Tuesday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. on WCVB ABC TV 5. Emmy-winning national gardening television and podcast host Joe Lamp'l interviewed Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture, on this podcast from Joe Gardener. Catch Uli's interview on Wisconsin Pubic Radio about native plants for home gardeners here, and his recent chat with Cultivating Place radio host Jennifer Jewell, "Navigating by Plants." Uli also spoke with Tom Christopher, host of the "Growing Greener" podcast, about the challenges of sourcing and growing locally adapted native plants. Director of Public Programs Courtney Allen and Uli also recently spoke with the Boston Globe about online programs and the joy of spring wildflowers. New York Times contributor Margaret Roach gives Native Plant Trust a shout out in "How (and Why) to Use Native Plants."

Photo: Seedlings at Nasami Farm, Cayte McDonough ©Native Plant Trust

To stay connected during the pandemic, we've curated some resources for you. Check out Director of Horticulture Uli Lorimer's weekly Glimpses of the Garden images. Follow Native Plant Trust on Facebook and Instagram for more visual stories about native plants. Listen to Maine Public Radio interviews with Director of Conservation Michael Piantedosi and Senior Research Botanist Arthur Haines. Hear Michael's thoughts on invasives, native plant conservation, and connection, as told to Margaret Roach, and Public Programs Director Courtney Allen's discussion of Reading the Landscape, on the "Cultivating Place" public radio show. More recent podcasts appear in the media box, below. 

Photo: Cypripedium parviflorum var. parviflorum, Uli Lorimer ©Native Plant Trust

As you roam the trails and poke into the corners of your yard this summer, you're bound to spy a plant you've never seen before—and have no idea what it is. Go Botany, our free, online plant-identification tool, can walk you through the process of figuring it out the way botanists do. You can open Go Botany on your phone on the spot, or snap a photo of your mystery plant to ID at home. And if you're a parent or a grandparent, this is a cool outdoor activity for restless kids. Go Botany appears on the menu of every page of our website, and you can also search for it by name online.

Photo: Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Dan Jaffe ©Native Plant Trust

Please enjoy our virtual celebration of what's blooming at Garden in the Woods this spring. Find recent photos on our Garden in the Woods page. There you can also listen to a 9-minute slide talk by Director of Conservation Michael Piantedosi about the Melanthiaceae plant family, which includes trilliums. 

Photo: Running groundsel (Packera obovata) Uli Lorimer ©Native Plant Trust

An anonymous donor is challenging you to support Native Plant Trust's public programs—the classes, field studies, symposia, and educational special events we offer throughout the region to raise awareness about the importance of native plants. For a limited time, our generous donor will match your gift dollar for dollar, so use this opportunity to increase your impact. Donate now to our Public Programs Challenge Match, and your gift will support twice as much native plant education. 

Photo: Sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis), Dan Jaffe ©Native Plant Trust