Describe the patch
Choose your region, sunlight, soil moisture, and the height that works for your space.
Mid-Atlantic edition · Field-tested structure, public-source data
A little patch can do a lot.
Practical native plant combinations for front yards, shady edges, mailbox beds, and the small spaces that generic plant lists forget.
- 12
- starter plants
- 4
- measured plans
- 7
- regions covered
Wild bergamotMonarda fistulosa
Sun · dry–medium
July–September
small space
big habitat
big habitat
Built from public plant records and regional extension guidance
USDA PLANTSEPA ECOREGIONSUNIVERSITY EXTENSIONStart with constraints
Right plant. Right place.
Right-sized plan.
Native status is only the beginning. A plant also has to fit your light, moisture, footprint, sightlines, and appetite for maintenance.
See a short list
Get a focused set of native plants—each with size, bloom time, habit, and wildlife value.
Plant with a plan
Use a measured layout and seasonal care notes instead of guessing at spacing in the nursery aisle.
Ready-to-plant layouts
Plans for real-life patches.
Small footprints, repeated plant groups, and a defined edge—the simple ingredients that make an ecological garden look cared for.
Plan 01 · best first project
Sunny Postage Stamp
A tidy 4 × 8 ft pollinator bed with three-season color, a clear front edge, and no plant taller than four feet.
4 × 8 ft6+ hours sun
Open plan ↗Plan 02 · under a small tree
Soft Landing
A calm, layered planting for the dry-to-medium shade beneath a young deciduous tree.
6 × 10 ftDappled / part shade
Open plan ↗Plan 03 · curb-facing
Mailbox Pollinator Ring
A heat-tolerant circular bed that keeps sightlines open and looks intentional from the street.
6 ft diameter6+ hours sun
Open plan ↗Meet the plants
Useful, beautiful,
and sized to fit.
FlowerButterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
A compact milkweed for sunny, well-drained beds where vivid summer color matters.
Open field card
SedgePennsylvania Sedge
Carex pensylvanica
A fine-textured sedge that creates a calm, lawn-like ground layer under deciduous trees.
Open field card
GrassLittle Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
A compact warm-season grass with blue summer foliage and copper-red fall color.
Open field cardPocket Habitat plant finder
Start with your conditions,
not a shopping list.
Five choices turn a long catalog into a short, explainable set of Mid-Atlantic natives.
Build my shortlist