“Native plants are the foundation of healthy ecosystems in Maryland,” says Kelly Lawhorn, co-Executive Director. “They have evolved alongside local wildlife, soils, climate and natural processes for thousands of years, creating complex relationships that support biodiversity and ecosystem health.”
The nursery started small in 2005. A few volunteers wanted to save and grow native plants before they disappeared. Now they grow around 25,000 plants a year of nearly 150 species.
A plant can be called “native” across a huge stretch of the country and still be a stranger in your own backyard. Local ecotype is different. Those plants come from wild populations in one particular region. They grew up with the same critters and conditions you’ve got outside your window. According to Kelly, that’s where they do the best. Home field advantage, basically.
The nursery grows all kinds of woodland wildflowers, grasses, shrubs and trees. Kelly has favorites, and they’re the tricky ones — spring ephemerals like mayapple and Virginia bluebells. These show up early, before trees leaf out and steal the light; then they’re gone. They are hard to grow on purpose, but are well worth it anyway. Butterflies and moths lay eggs on specific plants, and the caterpillars can’t survive without them.
Painted Lady butterflies need pussytoes, those fuzzy little Antennaria plants. Monarchs need milkweed. Mayapple gives Eastern Box Turtles a place to hide. Native oaks host hundreds of insect species, which turn into a buffet for birds raising their young.
“By planting native species, we help restore habitat, support native pollinators and wildlife, improve water quality, and strengthen the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem,” Kelly explains.
Because Chesapeake Natives is a nonprofit, Kelly relies on the help of many. “Volunteers are truly the backbone of Chesapeake Natives,” she shares. “Simply put, our nursery would not exist without them.” In addition to volunteering, Chesapeake Natives offers a few ways to help, like attending events and buying plants straight from the nursery.
Whether you want a yard that hums with bees and butterflies, or maybe you just want to add a couple of natives into the beds you already have, you’re planting species whose roots run deep in our local landscape.
Not sure where to start? Kelly recommends these native plants:
- Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and other milkweeds are essential host plants for Monarch butterflies.
- Wild Senna (Senna hebecarpa) is a host plant for the Cloudless Sulphur butterfly.
- Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) supports the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly.
- Native Oaks (Quercus spp.) serve as hosts for hundreds of species of caterpillars and insects that, in turn, provide critical food for birds and other wildlife.
- Goldenrods (Solidago spp.) support a remarkable diversity of native bees, beetles, moths and other beneficial insects.
Hungry for more? Learn more about local ecotypes for gardens. Read more about Red Wiggler Community Farm, a non-profit care farm.
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