Photographs © Lisa Looke, Heather McCargo
Wild Seed Project works to increase the use of native plants in all landscape settings in order to conserve biodiversity, encourage plant adaptation in the face of climate change, safeguard wildlife habitat, and create pollination and migration corridors for insects and birds. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, we sell seeds of locally grown native plants, publish an annual magazine, and educate the public so that a wide range of citizens can participate in increasing native plant populations.

Native Plant Blog

  • Return of the Meadow

    Return of the Meadow

    Meadows are beautiful dynamic habitats with rich populations of plants and animals, and unfortunately, they have been reduced substantially in the last 50 years. Contributing to their decline is the …Read more »
  • Flowers, Pollinators and the Sex Lives of Plants

    Flowers, Pollinators and the Sex Lives of Plants

    The warm, sunny days of midsummer are a great time to observe the many kinds of pollinators that visit flowers. In Maine, the pollinators include the ruby-throated hummingbird and a …Read more »

Native Plant Profiles

  • Bush-honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera)

    Bush-honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera)

    Small to medium-sized shrub with shimmering shiny green and copper foliage, and delicate, small yellow flowers that are produced all summer and are an important sources of nectar for bumblebees. A plant of edge habitats and anthropogenic sites (roadsides, clear-cuts, …Read the Profile »

Recommended Reading

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‘Playing the Hand of God’: Scientists’ Experiment Aims to Help Trees Survive Climate Change

July 8, 2020 • Ashley Stimpson • The Guardian
With a rapidly warming climate, plants are challenged to keep migrating farther and farther across our human-dominated landscapes to find more hospitable conditions. Read about The Nature Conservancy’s experimental work in “assisted migration” to tackle this urgent problem for tree species.

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Planting Native Shade Trees 

June 15, 2020 • Julia Frederick • Ecological Landscape Alliance
Shade trees are more important than ever as we face rapid development and suburban sprawl, deforestation and desertification. These gentle giants help combat rising temperatures, habitat loss and declining air and water quality.

See All Recommended Reading »

Featured Video

Why Native Plants Matter

Beauty, biodiversity, and resilience

Native plants are beautiful, important for our local ecosystems, and do not need the high nutrient and water inputs of commonly cultivated plants. In this presentation, Executive Director Heather McCargo covers the many reasons we all should care about our region’s native flora and the importance of bringing these native plants back into our gardens and developed landscapes. She also discusses current native plant trends and issues in the nursery trade (including cloning and the loss of genetic diversity), and explains how we all can support our native flora by planting seed-grown native plants.

Wild Seed Project

P.O. Box 4301
Portland, Maine 04101
info@wildseedproject.net

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Wild Seed Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Copyright 2020. All rights reserved.
Photo permission required from Wild Seed Project