Native Plant Events

Winter is the perfect time to plan your garden! Join us to ask questions, share your successes and meet other 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.

Habitat Gardening in Maryland will help gardeners make informed decisions for their outdoor spaces by understanding how our environmental system functions. Debbie Swartz will describe a practice she refers to as holistic gardening: a way of gardening that emphasizes environmental stewardship to protect biodiversity and keep our waterways clean. This philosophy of gardening involves stopping erosion, planting native plants, gardening organically, and allowing nature to cycle and work its magic.

Learn all about winter sowing with Vinaya Frank including the how-to, different techniques, and strategies.

Your garden can be a refuge of biodiversity. It houses an astounding number of insects and their kin. Michael Raupp will explain how insects and their relatives help make the world go around by providing important ecosystem services, linking members of food webs, pollinating plants, recycling organic matter, and providing biological control. You will leave with a new appreciation for the important roles insects play in the ecology of your garden and learn how you can build biodiversity in your own backyard.  

All are welcome to join this free virtual panel discussion exploring the vital roles of native, solitary, and honeybees in pollination and biodiversity. Featuring experts Sam Droege (USGS), Dave Hunter (Crown Bees), and Dr. Lora Morandin (Pollinator Partnership), this event will discuss into the challenges pollinators face, the balance between managed and wild bees, and actionable ways to support all pollinators.

Gain insights from over 90 years of combined experience and learn how to advocate for pollinator habitats through planting native species, participating in community science, and adopting responsible management practices.

Our communities need more native gardens! However, proposing, planning, and carrying out garden projects can be complicated. Jimmy Rogers of Vibrant Gardening will discuss several community projects he's led in Laurel, MD, and share the opportunities and red flags he looks for when planning a new project. He will talk about creating a vision, gathering and engaging project stakeholders, planning the work, and ensuring that the garden continues to thrive in the future. There will be time for Q&A at the end.

Learn the basics of designing a home garden using native plants with Ana Lee of Perfectly Imperfect Gardens.

Public gardens hold tremendous power to influence landscaping norms and inspire change. By showcasing the beauty, functionality, and ecological value of native plants, these spaces help foster biodiversity, advocate for sustainable practices, and engage communities in environmental stewardship. 

This webinar will explore how public and demonstration gardens serve as powerful tools for native plant advocacy. Attendees will learn how gardens move beyond aesthetics to spark action—turning appreciation into engagement and inspiring participants to replicate these practices in their own communities.

We will hear insights from Nicole Machuca, Environmental Social Scientist at the Field Museum, on how public gardens influence behaviors, foster stewardship, and connect people to conservation efforts through research and community engagement. The Wild Ones Capital Region NY and the Wild Ones San Diego (CA) Chapters will share their experiences building native plant demonstration gardens and how these spaces drive community engagement, education, and advocacy. And We'll finish with a conversation exploring how public gardens create a lasting impact beyond planting day moderated by Kelly Kapuzzi, Demonstration Garden Char with the Wild Ones Hocking Hills (OH) Chapter.

Heather Evans of Design Your Wild will talk about how to use trees and shrubs to add structure to a native yard – creating privacy, dividing rooms, adding winter interest, blurring edges, and creating cooling shade. Trees and shrubs also generally support many times the number of native insects as wildflowers.

Wild Ones Greater Baltimore will have an educational table with volunteers to answer questions at this event.

Plant vendors will be offering a large variety of native flowers, trees, grasses, shrubs, vines, and ferns, all suitable for early season planting.

Celebrate Earth Day with us.

Awareness of the many benefits of adding native plants to our landscapes has been growing significantly in recent years and this has resulted in native plants getting some attention by Maryland lawmakers.  Join us as Kirsten Hoffman and Judy Fulton share the details of recent legislation that promotes native plants by creating the Maryland Native Plants Program and legislation that strengthened Maryland's invasive plant laws.  Both bills are currently being implemented, and they will provide updates on new resources that these laws have made available and discuss what work is still to be done.  

Kirsten Hoffman is one of the founding members of the Maryland Native Plant Coalition which has written and passed two important pieces of state legislation: 2023’s HB950/SB836 creating the Maryland Native Plants Program and 2024’s HB979/SB915 strengthening Maryland’s invasive plant laws. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Green Towson Alliance and heads up their legislative affairs workgroup supporting efforts to improve Baltimore County’s environmental sustainability.  Kirsten is the treasurer for the Maryland Native Plant Society and recently became a Maryland Master Naturalist.  She is part of a Master Naturalist team working on a habitat restoration project at Cylburn Arboretum.  For the past three years, she has been a Blue Water Baltimore tree steward for her neighborhood and has helped residents select and plant over one hundred native trees. Kirsten is a registered architect in the state of Maryland and performs flute and piccolo with Flutopia Baltimore.

Judy Fulton, founder of EcoPlant Consulting, believes healthy ecosystems are crucial for human survival. She transforms places overrun by invasives into native landscapes, shares her knowledge via workshops and field trips, and serves as an expert in invasive plant litigation. Judy is Vice President of the Maryland Native Plant Society, and a member of the Maryland Invasive Species Council and the Board of the Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council. She has earned a Harvard MBA and three Maryland’s Top 100 Women awards from the Daily Record.

During recent Maryland legislative sessions, she was pleased to help write and pass the 2023 Maryland Native Plants Program (HB950/SB836) and the 2024 Maryland Invasive Plant bill (HB979/SB915). Her consulting, her co-authoring Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, Field Guide, and her lead role in creating the Mid-Atlantic Invaders Tool, an online guide to more than 900 invasive species, have positioned Judy as a sought-after advisor in eco-restoration.

Registration required. 

Learn from professional growers, ecologists, and Master Gardeners. Shop for native and pollinator plants and receive guidance on selecting the perfect plants for your yard conditions. The sprouts (kids') area includes crafts, interactive displays, and programs. Giveaways of wildflower seeds, tree seedlings from the Forestry Board, and native plant plugs.

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

BRING:
1. Bare root plants and/or seeds to share.

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

2. 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! 

This event is hosted by the Maryland Area Gardening for the Environmentally Conscious Facebook Group. 

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

Join fellow native plant enthusiasts at the Wild Ones Greater Baltimore 3rd annual native plant share in Owings Mills! Look over 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.

Check out the Registration Link for more details.

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon!