Native Plant Events

Join Joey Santore, creator of Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, for a candid Wild Ones National Webinar examining how inherited garden aesthetics shape native plant landscapes. Drawing on field experience and real ecology, Joey challenges tidy design norms and explores why dense, irregular plant communities are often the most resilient and ecologically sound.

Thames Street Park in Fells Point Baltimore City serves as a nesting ground for Black-Crowned Night Herons. The hatchlings sometimes fall out of their nests (a natural part of learning how to fly!) but are unable to hop their way back up due to a lack of mid-sized/understory plants.

Volunteer to help install understory native plants to give the hatchlings a soft landing and "ladders" back into their nest trees.

Hosted by Fells Point Residents Association in partnership with Wild Ones Greater Baltimore, Waterfront Partnership and Baltimore Bird Club.

Join President Nan Wray and Board Member Katie Garvey to explore the Spring Ephemeral Garden at the Irvine Nature Center.

This will be a slow, casual walk through an area they have planted with many spring ephemerals, which are typically low growing as they provide nectar for newly emerging native bees!

Bring your close-up camera lens if you are a shutter bug, and stay on should you wish to explore more of this vast nature preserve. Admission is free.

Thames Street Park in Fells Point Baltimore City serves as a nesting ground for Black-Crowned Night Herons. The hatchlings sometimes fall out of their nests (a natural part of learning how to fly!) but are unable to hop their way back up due to a lack of mid-sized/understory plants.

Volunteer to help install understory native plants to give the hatchlings a soft landing and "ladders" back into their nest trees.

Hosted by Fells Point Residents Association in partnership with Wild Ones Greater Baltimore, Waterfront Partnership and Baltimore Bird Club.

This is the first of 3 tours of this property in 2026 giving us an opportunity to see the garden change throughout the seasons. Be on the lookout for additional tours on July 11th and October 3rd.

This woodland residential garden is in the busier area of Howard county, but the property is adjacent to a county recognized green space/wildlife corridor featuring many naturally occurring native spring ephemerals like Mayapples, Jack in the Pulpits and Spring Beauties. This garden, which has been certified as a Demonstration Garden under Howard County’s BayWise program and is also Bee City Certified by the County, features a 100+ years old specimen white oak, a professionally installed raingarden, a permeable parking pad, a native “lawn” with no turf grass anywhere on the property, a pond for the aquatic wildlife, and flagstone walkways snaking through the entire yard. It is also recognized by National Wildlife Federation as a Wildlife Habitat and serves as a Monarch Waystation with its diversity of native plants that sustain the bees, butterflies, moths, etc. Among the prized natives, there also are plenty of non-natives that the owners continue to eradicate.

**Members receive advanced access to register for events with limited space. If space is available, registration will open to the public 4-5 weeks prior to the event.

This event has sold out. Email [email protected] to be added to the waitlist. 

Join us on your lunchbreak to learn about NeighborSpace: its work, current programs and projects, and how to get involved.

NeighborSpace’s mission is to enhance the livability of Baltimore County’s urban communities by protecting, restoring, and stewarding land for small parks, gardens, trails, and natural areas. NeighborSpace conserves 100 acres at 21 sites. They work with community partners to actively maintain and program these sites.

This event will be followed by a site visit on May 30th at 1pm. Attendees to the Zoom Lunch and Learn will have the first opportunity to register for the in-person site visit. 

Join us on May 2 for Grow Wild’s Spring Fling at the Harford Equestrian Center in Bel Air! Visitors are invited to collect free wildflower seeds, tree seedlings, and native plant plugs, and to learn more about gardening from professional growers, ecologists, and Harford County Master Gardeners.

The event will also feature children’s crafts and activities in the Sprouts area, making it a fun and educational outing for the whole family.

This event is hosted by Harford Land Trust. 

Wild Ones Greater Baltimore will be in attendance with an information table.  Stop by and see us!

Join fellow native plant enthusiasts at the Wild Ones Greater Baltimore 4th annual native plant share in Owings Mills! Take home some native plants, talk about native gardening, and get to know others who share a passion for gardening with native plants.

All are welcome—even if you are new to native gardening and do not have anything to share yet! We are happy to help new gardeners get started.

Register for additional details and guidelines for sharing plants.

Spring upon us and we can feel the excitement in the air! Join us for the May Garden Chat. During this casual discussion you will have the opportunity to ask questions, share your successes and meet other local native plant garden enthusiasts.

We welcome gardeners at all stages of native gardening from beginner to expert as we share our knowledge and experiences with each other.

Everyone is welcome! You do not need to be a Wild Ones member to attend. 

Join us for a native plant/seed share at the Howard County Conservancy!

BRING: Bare root plants and/or seeds to share IF you have them, but bringing something is NOT REQUIRED! More seasoned gardeners are as happy to share their native plant bounty as newbies are to start filling in their garden spaces!

***Native plants only - no invasives or exotics! Native to MD is preferred, though native to adjacent states is allowed, as are nativars. 

Join us for a guided tour of Powhatan Park and Carroll Watkins Park, two of NeighborSpace’s 21 conservation sites, with Phyllis Joris. Learn about the transformation of these vacant lots into beautiful community parks and future plans for an additional pollinator garden.

NeighborSpace’s mission is to enhance the livability of Baltimore County’s urban communities by protecting, restoring, and stewarding land for small parks, gardens, trails, and natural areas. NeighborSpace conserves 100 acres at 21 sites. They work with community partners to actively maintain and program these sites.

Attendees to the NeighborSpace Lunch and Learn held on April 29th will have the first opportunity to register for the in-person site visit. Registration will open to the general public, if spaces are available in early May. 

Enjoy a behind-the-scenes guided walk at Kollar Nursery. 

Located in rural Harford County near the Pennsylvania border, this ecological oasis was started in 1985 by Stan and Sharon Kollar. The entrance to the Nursery is tucked away on a little country lane that weaves through forest and grassland near Pylesville, Maryland. It is clear when you enter the property that it is an oasis for both native plants and wildlife alike. The property has been a source of ecological renewal for many decades.

The Kollar family will guide us around the property and share their expertise. Of course, native plants will be available to purchase!

**Members receive advanced access to register for events with limited space. If space is available, registration will open to the public 4-5 weeks prior to the event.

This beautiful property has had a steady transformation from a conventional yard full of non-native plants to a stunning habitat that supports birds, bugs and butterflies. The removal of turf grass, English ivy and pachysandra from a portion of the front yard made way for a 'mini-meadow' of native grasses, sedges and flowering perennials. In the rear, native plants that provide cover, berries, and seeds for birds and host plants for Monarch butterflies have been slowly added to supplement existing non-natives.

**Members receive advanced access to register for events with limited space. If space is available, registration will open to the public 4-5 weeks prior to the event.

This garden was created to be a sanctuary for wildlife. It is intensively planted with mostly native plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife. Care with the design ensures a garden that is pleasing to look at and provides an opportunity to relax and enjoy watching the sounds and sights of nature. There are a variety of features to explore including a partly native, low-mow lawn, numerous fruit trees, a vegetable garden, a pond and waterfall, a raingarden, a bluestone patio, and many (about 190) species of native plants including trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, biennials, and annuals.

This is a guided tour offered at 2 times (9:30 to 11:00am or 11:00am to 12:30pm). Choose your time slot during registration.

**Members receive advanced access to register for events with limited space. If space is available, registration will open to the public 4-5 weeks prior to the event.

This is the second of 3 tours of this property in 2026 giving us an opportunity to see the garden change throughout the seasons. Be on the lookout for the final tour October 3rd.

This woodland residential garden is in the busier area of Howard county, but the property is adjacent to a county recognized green space/wildlife corridor featuring many naturally occurring native spring ephemerals like Mayapples, Jack in the Pulpits and Spring Beauties. This garden, which has been certified as a Demonstration Garden under Howard County’s BayWise program and is also Bee City Certified by the County, features a 100+ years old specimen white oak, a professionally installed raingarden, a permeable parking pad, a native “lawn” with no turf grass anywhere on the property, a pond for the aquatic wildlife, and flagstone walkways snaking through the entire yard. It is also recognized by National Wildlife Federation as a Wildlife Habitat and serves as a Monarch Waystation with its diversity of native plants that sustain the bees, butterflies, moths, etc. Among the prized natives, there also are plenty of non-natives that the owners continue to eradicate.

**Members receive advanced access to register for events with limited space. If space is available, registration will open to the public 4-5 weeks prior to the event.

This beautiful garden is spread across nearly an acre of land. There are multiple rain gardens and constant reassessment of water flow and retention. There is continuous planting of native shrubs, trees, and perennials as chunks of grass and non-native ground cover are replaced with native plantings every year. Multiple non-native trees have been removed and more will be removed over time. In the last 3 years, about 40 trees and 7000 shrubs and perennials have been planted. The goal is to have a native, fully self-sustaining ecosystem.

**Members receive advanced access to register for events with limited space. If space is available, registration will open to the public 4-5 weeks prior to the event.

Cristina has been native gardening on her property in Poplar Hill (Baltimore 21210) for more than 25 years. She bought the property in the ‘90s and, as with most properties, it was riddled with non-native invasive plants and featured an excess of turf grass. She started by restoring one small area at a time, gathering and planting native plants in each section of her yard.

Cristina has managed to eliminate all turf grass on her property. Different heights of plants create a multi-layered garden design. Each section is heavily planted AND visually neat and intentional. Woodchip pathways guide visitors to each area in the landscape. The garden also features a pond in the sunniest part of the yard with flagstones, a cascading water feature and native plants.

**Members receive advanced access to register for events with limited space. If space is available, registration will open to the public 4-5 weeks prior to the event.

After moving to this 2/3-acre lot in Bel Air 3 years ago, creating native gardens and an oasis for wildlife has been the priority.

The established wooded section of the property has all native trees and has mostly been cleared of invasive plants allowing the native seed bank to flourish. 

The front yard was almost all turf grass and is in full sun. After receiving 5 deliveries from Chip Drop (estimated 80 cubic yards), a large portion of the grass was smothered creating beds to fill with native bushes and perennials and pathways to enjoy the gardens. 

The property includes a koi pond that has been transformed into a habitat that toads and frogs use for breeding in the spring and hibernating in the winter.

Many of the plants, particularly the bushes, remain small but hundreds of plants have been added and there is plenty to enjoy! 

**Members receive advanced access to register for events with limited space. If space is available, registration will open to the public 4-5 weeks prior to the event.

This event has sold out. Email [email protected] to be added to the waitlist. 

Details coming soon! 

This is the final of 3 tours of this property in 2026 giving us an opportunity to see the garden change throughout the seasons. 

This woodland residential garden is in the busier area of Howard county, but the property is adjacent to a county recognized green space/wildlife corridor featuring many naturally occurring native spring ephemerals like Mayapples, Jack in the Pulpits and Spring Beauties. This garden, which has been certified as a Demonstration Garden under Howard County’s BayWise program and is also Bee City Certified by the County, features a 100+ years old specimen white oak, a professionally installed raingarden, a permeable parking pad, a native “lawn” with no turf grass anywhere on the property, a pond for the aquatic wildlife, and flagstone walkways snaking through the entire yard. It is also recognized by National Wildlife Federation as a Wildlife Habitat and serves as a Monarch Waystation with its diversity of native plants that sustain the bees, butterflies, moths, etc. Among the prized natives, there also are plenty of non-natives that the owners continue to eradicate.

**Members receive advanced access to register for events with limited space. If space is available, registration will open to the public 4-5 weeks prior to the event.

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon!