Gardening for the Bays

Gardening for the Bays!

A win-win…for you and the watershed! A lot of us here in the Inland Bays watershed relocated from some place else, places like Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, Washington, northern Virginia—the Piedmont, where the soils are loamy and deep and the climate is different.

Welcome to the Coastal Plain! Here, the soils are sandy, the winds carry salt spray, and wetlands abound. We’d like to help you learn how to Garden for the Bays with native plants that need less water and care because they are adapted to our climate and soils. Native plants also attract native birds, butterflies, and provide critical support to native wildlife.

Local Vendors:

Below is a running list of vendors, located in the Delmarva region, that offer native plant options. Please contact individual vendors for more information on the native species available.

Native Plant Sale

Backyard Gardening Resources:

• Plants for a Livable Delaware Series (University of Delaware Cooperative Extension): A series of brochures were developed to educate Delawareans about the problem of invasive plants in the landscape.
  Includes the popular: 
  – Plants for a Livable Delaware
  – Controlling Backyard Invaders
  – Livable Plants for the Home Landscape
  
  

  Monarchs on Hardy Ageratum. Photo by Lorene J. Athey.

• “Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants” by Dr. Douglas Tallamy: This book written by the University of Delaware’s own Dr. Douglas Tallamy shows how individuals can use their own tiny patches of Earth to help sustain native populations of plants and animals.
• Gardening for Wildlife (Delaware Nature Society): This page offers guidance on how to create a Certified Wildlife Habitat along with many other native gardening resources.
• Invasive Species – The “Baddest of the Bad”: The Center’s guide on invasive plants to avoid!
• Sustainable Landscapes (University of Delaware College of Agriculture & Natural Resources): A sustainable landscape is a stable and productive ecosystem that conserves the physical and biological processes occurring on that landscape.
• University of Delaware Cooperative Extension help line: Offers plant diagnostics, informative workshops, and more!

Other Flora Resources:

Residential landscaping with native plants can be stunning. Photo by Lorene J. Athey.

• Land Use Decision Making and Wetland Protection: A Guidebook for Public Participation: The Center’s guide to taking action on the local, state, and federal levels to protect southern Delaware’s wetlands.
• Native Plants Database (National Audubon Society): This tool allows you to enter an email address and street address to explore the best native plants to attract birds in your backyard.
• “Rain Gardens: Gardens with Benefits” brochure (Partnership for the Delaware Estuary): This quick, two-page resource offers information about the benefits of rain gardens and even how to make one!
• The Delaware Wetland Plant Field Guide (Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control): This guide offers tips and tricks for identifying species that can be found in Delaware’s many wetland ecosystems.
• North American Native Plants Database (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center): Explore the wealth of native plants in North America, ask questions, find answers, and test your knowledge!
• USDA Plant Database (U.S. Department of Agriculture): This national website offers a plethora of species-specific information on a variety of plants, as well as many other plant-related resources.
• Flora of Delaware (University of Delaware Water Resources Center): This database allows users to search for plants found in Delaware by using scientific or common names, habitats, and a variety of other characteristics.