Resources

Lists of Best Native Plants for Pollinators/Birds for your Region

• Xerces Society - Pollinator Plants Northeast Region (New England)

• Xerces Society - Pollinator Friendly Plant Lists (all other U.S. Regions)

• Connecticut Audobon - Planting for Birds

• Native Plant Trust - Garden Plant Finder (plants native to New England)

More Reasons to Plant Native

• Why we need to kill the lawn - Doug Tallamy's book review by Adele Peters (March 9, 2020)

• Bring Birds Back - National Audobon Society

• Bring Back the Pollinators - Xerces Society

Find Native Plants at your Local Nursery or Order Online

• Ask your local nursery which plants they can show you that are native to your region. If your favorite local nursery does not carry many native plant options, they might be able to special order from your list. If not, look for a Native Plant Nursery near you (we LOVE EarthTones in Woodbury, CT) or choose a mail-order company that sells native plant plugs, bare root plants and plant seeds.

• Beautiful up-close images of native plants: Prairie Moon Nursery Native Gardener's Companion Spring 2020 Catalog

• Detailed list (.pdf) of great native plants to look for at your local nursery: Native Plant - Insect Interactions Guide by Heather Holm & Prairie Moon Nursery

Healthy Landscaping

• Gardening with climate-smart native plants in the Northeast - UMASS Amherst

• Ecological Landscape Alliance - Sustainable approaches to landscape design, construction, and management

• Speaking of Landscape - Ideas, Designs, Plans with Kathy Connolly

• Using Arborist Wood Chips as Landscape Mulch - by Linda Chalker-Scott, Washington State University

Stop Using Pesticides

Pesticides are toxic and linked to health issues. It's better for you, your children, your pets, your neighbors, pollinators, local wildlife and water systems to not use herbicides and insecticides.

• Alternatives for Safer Lawn Care - Beyond Pesticides

• Canine Cancers Linked to Lawn Care Chemicals - Environmental Magazine by Kate Harveston (March 13, 2019)

• Create Safer Spaces for Children - Pesticide Action Network

• Spraying chemicals in your garden can harm beneficial insects - Pesticide Action Network

Large Scale Pollinator Habitat Planting (for the more ambitious gardeners)

• Organic Site Preparation For Wildflower Establishment / The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

• Creating a Wildflower Meadow / Species Selection, Site Prep, Planting and Maintenance / presentation by UNH Cooperative Extension

• Wildseed Farms devotes a section of their catalog to proper site preparation for starting wildflowers from seed

Suggested Books for Further Reading

• Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies, by the Xerces Society

• Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, by Doug Tallamy

• Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard, by Doug Tallamy

• The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening; Attract and Support Bees, Beetles, Butterflies, Bats, and other Pollinators, by Kim Eierman

• The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden, by Rick Darke and Douglas W. Tallamy

• Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden, MOIST SOILS / FULL TO PART SUN EXPOSURE

• Woodland Garden, MEDIUM SOIL / FULL TO PART SHADE

• Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden, MEDIUM TO DRY SOILS / FULL SUN

• Classic Tallgrass Prairie Garden, MEDIUM TO DRY SOILS / NEAR FULL SUN EXPOSURE

• Semi-Shade Woodland Garden, FOR MEDIUM SOILS

( printable/downloadable .pdf of these layout suggestions can be found via this link: PRAIRIE MOON NURSERY )