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Native Plant Program

We are helping Hampden and Hampshire counties to improve the resilience, health and beauty of our communities through native plants.

Hampden-Hampshire Conservation District is partnering with landowners and towns in the region to convert lawns and other managed landscapes into native plant gardens and meadows. 
 
An exciting feature of our grant program is that landowners can request a free one-hour native plants consultation (value $250) and receive a free starter set of native plants or seed (value $150) to turn your yard into a more resilient, carbon-sequestering, pollinator supporting, beautiful space! (This feature is currently on hold as we await news on the grant that funds this program. In the meantime, you can still request a consultation and we will let you know as soon as we can about whether or not we will be able to continue offering this part of the program.)
 
Watch our Native Plants Workshop Series on our YouTube Channel!

We are delighted to partner with several nonprofit organizations and municipal groups to develop Native Plants Demonstration Gardens at the following locations:

Why Native Plants?

Native plants provide the best habitat and food for pollinators. These plants and animals have formed interdependent relationships over millennia. In addition to providing pollen and nectar, many native plants act as nurseries because they are hosts to the early life stages of pollinators, while many cultivars offered by the nursery industry are sterile – offering no food to our pollinator friends.

Due to the use of pesticides, habitat reduction by over-development and replacement of native plants with industry cultivars, and atmospheric pollution, pollinator numbers have declined by 75-80% in many areas! This decline at the foundation of our food web puts all life on the planet in peril — including humans. The GOOD NEWS is that by adding native plants back into the landscape, we can begin to reverse the situation.

But native plants do even more than shelter and feed pollinators. They also help make the very soil under your feet more resilient! Native plant roots penetrate the soil deeply, sequester carbon, create channels in soil for air, water, and biology to infiltrate, and result in a robust ecosystems that supports beneficial plants, insects, and microbes. The deep root network also helps the soil to be more resilient to severe weather events, as it literally holds the soil together. The soil acts like a sponge, retaining much more water during flood events.

By converting lawn to native plants, you will:

  • Invite more birds, bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and other beneficial insects to your yard
  • Support the bird population by creating more butterfly habitat (more butterflies = more caterpillars = more baby bird food and improved bird survival)
  • Improve the health of your soil
  • Make the land more resilient to weather events
  • Conserve one of our most precious resources – water!
  • Get to know the beauty of native plants and their special relationships with native pollinators
“What if each American landowner made it a goal to convert half of his or her lawn to productive native plant communities? Even moderate success could collectively restore some semblance of ecosystem function to more than twenty million acres of what is now ecological wasteland.”
~ Douglas W. Tallamy, Nature’s Best Hope

Please complete the Interest Form to request a free consultation with one of our native plant experts.

Native Plants Resources

Native Plant Lists
Problems in the Garden
Habitat Information
A Better Lawn
Recommended Books
  • Books to Get You Started (with plant lists)
    Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy
    Noah’s Garden by Sara Stein
    Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can be a Source of Environmental Change  by Larry Weaner
    Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes  by Thomas Rainier and Claudia West 
  • Local native plant guides
    From Native Plant Trust:
    The Northeast Native Plant Primer by Uli Lorimer
    Native Plants for New England Gardens by Dan Jaffe
    From Wild Seed Project:
    Native Trees for Northeast Landscapes Guide
    Native Ground Covers for Northeast Landscapes Guide
    Native Shrubs for Northeast Landscapes Guide
    Planting for Climate Resilience in Northeast Landscapes Guide
  • How-to books
    The Pollinator Victory Garden by Kim Eierman
    Lawns Into Meadows by Owen Wormser
    Climate-Wise Landscaping: Practical Actions for a Sustainable Future by Sue Reed
    Nature’s Action Guide: How to Support Biodiversity and Your Local by Ecosystem by Sarah Jayne
    Pollinators of Native Plants by Heather Holm
  • Inspiring books on the research and principles of using native plants and trees
    Doug Tallamy writes about groundbreaking research on the crucial connections between native plants/trees, insects and birds in two books:
    Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy
    Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy
    The Serviceberry: abundance and reciprocity in the natural world by Robin Wall Kimmerer
    Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard.  Autobiographical, as well as covering her fascinating research on mycorrhizal/tree relationships.
Newsletters
Local Organizations
National Organizations

National organizations with excellent resources for native plant gardening

  • National Wildlife Federation offers the NWF plant finder that recommends native plants by zip code and offers a citizen science personalized pollinator tracker
  • Homegrown National Park is entomologist and native plant expert, Doug Tallamy’s, educational website for creating pollinator pathways with private gardens
  • Xerces Society an international nonprofit organization that works for the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats through research including endangered pollinators
  • Wild Ones promotes native landscapes through education, advocacy, and collaborative action
  • Audubon Society provides information about ways to supporting bird species through native plants habitat
  • The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center 
  • Healthy Yards offers information you need to create a beautiful healthy yard
Plant & Bird ID Apps
Mail Order Plants & Seeds
Additional Helps

Garden Practices that Support Biodiversity  

  • Identify and remove invasive plants
  • Avoid herbicide, pesticide and chemical fertilizer use
  • Plant a minimum of 70% biomass of native plants, trees and shrubs
  • Plant in vertical layers (plants of different heights) and plant densely
  • Choose plants to suit your site conditions
  • Plan for a variety of native flowers in bloom from spring through fall
  • Prioritize keystone plants and plants that support endangered insects
  • Shrink your lawn to what you use for recreation and walking paths
  • Allow flowering plants in the lawn you keep
  • Mow every 2-3 weeks; allow grass to get 4” tall
  • Provide a clean water source – can be a shallow dish with pebbles
  • Minimize soil disruption (digging, tilling) to protect soil health
  • Skip fall cleanup to protect overwintering insects. Leave plant stems and fallen leaves (Nature provides safer shelter than bee hotels!)
  • Minimize night light: use low wattage warm spectrum bulbs (color leans towards warm yellow, not cool blue); keep lights off or change to motion sensors
  • Encourage your neighbors to plant natives!

What to Look for at Nurseries, in Catalogues, and From Landscapers

  • Native plant species, not hybrids or cultivars (with few exceptions)
  • Plants grown pesticide free
  • Ideally, plants grown from seed
  • Beware of marketing hype: “Plants for Pollinators” that don’t specify that plants or seeds are species native to our region
  • Tell your nursery (and landscaper) what you want
  • Safest to shop at native plant nurseries, but we can educate others
  • Spreadsheet of nurseries with native plants (updated March 2025) Note: Second tab shows all-native nurseries

Tips for saving money on native plants

  • For each group of same species plants, use mostly plugs, mixed with one or two larger plants.
  • Places to purchase plugs:
    • Native Plant Trust has a few varieties. Download their plant list here.
    • Order mixed species plug trays from Prairie Moon Nursery. Many varieties.
    • Order wholesale plug trays from North Creek Nursery. These are single species trays for large scale planting or to share with friends. (Stick with their native plant list!)
  • Prep and plant part of your chosen area to start – and expand in future seasons
  • Take a field trip to Wing and a Prayer Nursery in Cummington. Beautiful habitat, helpful and knowledgeable owner, great prices, many sizes of plants including many plug varieties, many native species not found elsewhere. Call ahead to check hours and availability. https://aliceskitchenathoneyhill.com/amys-nursery/
  • Sign up for local pollinator group newsletters or garden google groups to find out about native seed growing, plant swaps. As your plants grow they will produce seedlings and need division – you can share!