North Penn High School

Native Plants & Ecosystems

Why are native species important?  How do native plants support the food web and the local ecosystem?  What plants, pollinators, invertebrates, and birds are native to our region?  What can we do to support native species and the ecosystem services that they provide?
 

Resources (not fully categorized yet)

• Homegrown National Park
  • Homegrown National Park on YouTube
    • What's the Rush? The Solution to the Biodiversity Crisis (48:55)
  • Keystone Plant Guides:
    • Region 8.3 Keystone Plants


• BONAP - The Biota of North America Program
  • Map color key for BONAP maps


• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (wildflower.org) - Native Plants of North America


• National Wildlife Federation - Native Plant Habitats
  • Native Plant Finder (NWF)
  • Keystone Native Plants (NWF) - Eastern Temperate Forests – Ecoregion 8


• Invasive.org (invasive species info from UGA & USDA)


• Wild Ones - nonprofit natural landscaping education & advocacy
  • Wild Ones Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter
  • Wild Ones - sample native garden plan, Philadelphia region


• bplant.org - plant & ecoregion data


• EPA Ecoregions - US Environmental Protection Agency


• USDA - PLANTS Database


• What are "Soft Landings"? - Heather Holm


• Landscaping with Native Plants - PA DCNR


• Native Gardening - US Forest Service


• Penn State:
  • Pennsylvania Native Plants for the Perennial Garden
  • Eco-Friendly Gardening
  • Landscaping for Wildlife
  • Landscaping for Pollinators


• Native plants for 19446 - Audubon Soc.


• Native Plant Hub - searchable database


• Pollinator Conservation Resources: Mid-Atlantic Region - Xerces.org
  • Native Plants for Pollinators & Beneficial Insects (Mid-Atlantic) - Xerces.org
  • The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation - YouTube channel


• Philadelphia-area native plants - Chestnut Hill Conservancy


• Native Plant Resources - from Reddit's r/NativePlantGardening sub


• Native Plant Information from the Grow It Build It blog (Note: for sources of native plants, see the links below below rather than the Growit Buildit links)
  • Grow-It-Build-It guide to winter-sowing seeds


• Wild Seed Project


• Local & Regional organizations
  • Mt. Cuba Center (Hockessin, DE)
  • Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve (New Hope, PA)
  • Green Allies & Althouse Arboretum (Pottstown, PA)
  • Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens (Devon PA)
  • Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy (Schwenksville, PA)
  • Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust (Huntingdon Valley, PA)
  • PA Native Plant Society


• Sources for Native Seeds & Plants
  
  
  • Individual Suppliers:
    • Ernst Seeds  (online / mail) - PA (has PA ecotype seeds)
    • Prairie Moon Nursery  (online / mail) - MN but has lots of species for our region
    • Roundstone Native Seed (online / mail) - KY; Eastern US emphasis
    • Allendan Seed Co.  (online / mail) - IA; Midwest US emphasis but some species are native for our region
    • Toadshade Wildflower Farm (online / mail) - Frenchtown, NJ
    • The Pollen Nation (online/mail) - Bridgeton, NJ
    • Blue Stem Natives (online / mail) - Norwell, MA; New England emphasis (decent overlap w/ species native here)
    • Good Host Plants Native Plant Nursery - Mt. Airy, Philadelphia
    • Redbud Native Plant Nursery - Media, PA
    • Edge of the Woods Native Plant Nursery - Orefield, PA
    • Jenkins Arboretum Garden Shop & Nursery - Devon, PA
    • Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve Native Plant Nursery - New Hope, PA
    • New Moon Nursery - Woodstown, NJ (WHOLESALE ONLY - e.g., for ENACT plant sale)
  
  
  • Lists / directories of suppliers:
    • Mt. Cuba Center's directory of native plant sources
    • PA Native Plants (gardenia.net) - plant & supplier directory
    • Where to buy native plants (directory) - PA DCNR
    • Native Plant Sources (directory) - Valley Forge Audubon Society


• Library books & resources in the NPHS Library:
  • STEP 1: Open the NPHS Library catalog, then:
    • STEP 2: Click this link to a list of resources