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Learn the why, when and how of planting for biodiversity and resilience, from the principles of ecological gardening to step by step how to guides.
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An interview with member Beverly Lytwyn
We love getting to hear from our members, and we thought you might like to hear from each other, too! Here's Beverly Lytwyn, a longtime Wild Seed Project supporter …
How to Overwinter Seedlings
Watching your first batch of winter-sown seeds emerge as tiny seedlings in the spring is a true joy of gardening with native plants …
An Interview with Member Doug Swartz
We love getting to hear from our members, and we thought you might like to hear from each other, too! Here’s Doug Swartz, an enthusiastic gardener, birder and Wild Seed Project supporter…
Collecting Seed at Home
Try your hand at native seed dispersal—take notice of the fecundity around you, pick up some seeds from the ground, and plant them somewhere. Here are seed collection and propagation tips…
Autumn and Winter Seed Sowing in Six Easy Steps
Fall and winter are the best times to sow native seeds. In Maine, the yearly cycle for seed ripening and germination is different from common garden and vegetable seeds…
Wild-Type Plants vs Nativars: Which is better for pollinators?
Since wild-type plants are grown from wild seed, they have a representative mix of the genes present in wild populations of the parent plants. Nativars on the other hand, are typically cloned plants, so each one is genetically identical …
Provenance and Propagation
I wish I could tell you that all I had to do was head down to my local garden center to purchase these natives, but the truth is …
The Disconnect Between Garden Aesthetics and Local Ecology
The difference between a weed and a plant, in other words, boils down to human preference. And our personal preferences aren’t always good ecological choices …
Why Native Plants Matter
As we face the unprecedented, urgent, and entwined challenges of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, native plants grown from seed …
Native Plant Pollinator Garden Template - Shade
View or download a PDF of our Shady Native Perennial Pollinator Garden Bed Template, created in collaboration with Portland Pollinator Partnership.
Native Plant Pollinator Garden Template - Full Sun
View or download a PDF of our Sunny Native Perennial Pollinator Garden Bed Template, created in collaboration with Portland Pollinator Partnership.
Portland Pollinator Vision Plan
In the winter of 2015, Wild Seed Project engaged the Conway School of Landscape Design to conduct a research project focused on a city-wide pollinator corridor for Portland …
Supporting Ash Protection Collaboration Across Wabanakik
Ash Protection Collaboration Across Wabanakik (APCAW) is a group of Indigenous and non-indigenous researchers, Tribal members, and forest caretakers working together …
Leave the Leaves!
Autumn is when many of us typically think of putting our gardens to bed by removing leaves and cutting back perennials. However, to truly support living creatures year round, it’s much better to leave fallen leaves …
Beach Plum (Prunus maritima)
Beach plums thrive in dry and sandy or gravelly soil. In the wild they grow in the extremely well drained sandy soils of the coast, often right in the sand dunes …
Flax-leaved stiff aster (Ionactis linariifolia)
Stiff aster has many common names, including “bristly aster,” for its spruce-like leaves that feel rough to the touch; “flax-leaved aster” for the leaves’ resemblance to flax; and “ankle aster” …
Red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is a beautiful and unique native plant. Delicate red and yellow flowers resemble tiny ballerinas …
Staying Healthy with Native Plants: Elderberry Shrub
By now, many of us have heard about the wonderful health benefits of elderberries – they are high in antioxidants, vitamins C and B6, and support overall immune health. It has also been shown …