- Select your Area: I would recommend starting out small, which I did not follow this advice last year and will be taking the advice in 2024 for my own yard.
- Choose your Plants: Aim to have native plants blooming in your garden from spring through fall, up until frost. Wild Ones is an excellent resource for information and guidance on native plant selection.? Additionally, consider native plant kits offered by various suppliers listed below to simplify your decision making.
- Explore Funding Options (Optional): $400 grant through the state Blue Thumb – Planting for Clean Water? (I am a coach for this program!) Or determine which watched you belong to as Watersheds also have native plant funding. Here is an easy look up to enter your address Find Your Watershed - MWMO. Typically, watersheds are up to $10K in grant money per household per year. Watershed grant website examples: Stewardship Grants - Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District (rwmwd.org) ?Grants | Rice Creek Watershed District
- Decide on Implementation: Determine whether you prefer to undertake the planting yourself or hire a professional service. My favorite places to buy plants: Mother Earth Gardens, Outback Nursey near Hastings, Prairie Restorations Native Plants, Prairie Moon Nursery: Storefront. Plant Events: Friends School Plant Sale, Spring Plant Sale | RC Master Gardeners (ramseymastergardeners.org), Anoka County Master Gardeners (anokamastergardeners.org). Free methods to obtain plants/seeds: Tree lotteries are becoming more popular, and they are based on each city, seed collection and education events, seed libraries. Some around the Twin Cities include Como Seed Library, White Bear Seed Library, and St. Louis Park Seed Library.? These allow you to obtain seeds for free with the ask that you donate some back to the library at a future date. The other option with hiring a place, Prairie Restorations, is one of the premier places in the Twin Cities to hire Prairie Restorations Native Plants.
Love this initiative ??! Emerson once implied that Earth laughs in flowers. Let’s make it chuckle by embracing our native flora. Each plant we nurture supports our ecosystem in a unique way. Let’s grow together! ?? #NativePlants #EcoFriendly