Native Plant Events

This mostly sunny garden, with pockets of dappled shade, has been thoughtfully transitioning into a native-focused landscape over the past three years. Designed to support biodiversity, it is proudly certified by Bee City and Bay-Wise programs, reflecting a commitment to pollinator health and sustainable practices.

The garden is rich in edible plantings, featuring eight raised vegetable beds connected by arches that create both structure and beauty. A diverse mix of native species provides habitat and food for wildlife, including pawpaw trees, blueberry bushes, hazelnuts, persimmons, and serviceberries. Complementing these are select non-native fruiting plants—apple, peach, blackberry, and raspberry—blending productivity with ecological value.

Together, these elements create a vibrant, productive space that supports pollinators, wildlife, and people alike.

**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.

Inna Alesina has been removing invasives from the forested area around Stevenson University’s Owings Mills North Campus for the past 2-3 years. She has encouraged her students and fellow faculty to partake in native plant-related projects including invasive removal, art projects, garden installation, and her latest project: starting native plants from seed in an on-campus greenhouse.

Join us for a walk around the forested area to identify native plants and invasives, see some of her projects firsthand, and even remove some invasives if you’re feeling up to it! All of her projects are within a 5 minute- walk of each other.

9:00 am - Tour of greenhouse, tree nursery, pollinator garden, and walk through the woods
10:00 am – Invasive removal    
 

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.

You planted native. Your neighbor has opinions. Maybe your HOA does too. If you’ve ever felt like the hardest part of native plant gardening is the conversations, not the gardening, you’re not alone.

Wild Ones is thrilled to share this upcoming free webinar as part of the 2026 Less Lawn More Life Challenge. Join Lorraine Johnson for a practical conversation on navigating HOA rules, addressing neighbor concerns, and fostering community conversations about native plant gardening and ecological landscapes.

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!