GFLP Resource Directory

Information & Organizations Supporting Healthy Habitats

  • Join the largest conservation project to regenerate biodiversity ever attempted! Create habitat for wildlife in your own yard. Create Wildlife Habitat. Create a New HABITat. Start Planting Native. Official Doug Tallamy. Grassroots Call-To-Action.

  • Conserving Carolina's mission is to protect, restore, and inspire appreciation of the natural world. They have protected over 46,000 acres in an amazing part of western NC and upstate SC. They are actively restoring wildlife habitat, creating new trails and greenways, and engaging people with the outdoors.

    See Habitat at Home for great resources.

  • Mission: To inspire you to become a wildlife champion, especially for underdogs and endangered animals. America’s red wolf is our top concern.

    See Creating Wildlife Habitat -

    Wildlife habitat. What is it and why would you want critters in your backyard? And what kind of critters?

  • North Carolina Wildlife Federation supports wildlife habitat, garden, and restoration programs unique to the flora and fauna native to our state.

    Learn more about Habitat Conservation in NC , the Certified Wildlife Habitat program, The Butterfly Highway and more.

  • Plant with a purpose. Sustainably provide wildlife with food, water, cover, and places to raise their young.

    Garden for Wildlife

  • The Mimsie Lanier Center promotes the use of Georgia’s native plants in home gardens, public display gardens, and ecological restoration projects. These activities support plant diversity and the many animals that depend on native plants.

    This website is packed with tons of great information! Example: Check out The Connect to Protect Garden Guide.

  • Native Pollinators

    At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction.

  • WNC Chapter of Wild Ones - healing the Earth one yard at a time.

  • Pollinator Resources Center

    The pollinator protection pledge is based on four simple principles: Grow pollinator-friendly flowers, provide nest sites, avoid pesticides, and spread the word.

  • Pollinator Partnership’s mission is to promote the health of pollinators, critical to food and ecosystems, through conservation, education, and research.

  • Mountain True empowers citizens to be advocates for livable communities and the natural environment of Western North Carolina.

  • Changing your yard practices might be the easiest way to fight climate change and support your local ecosystem!

    Healthy Yards

  • Did you know you can help the Earth without leaving your yard?

    Growing native plants is the key!

    Native Backyards is here to help you garden with native plants that pollinators and birds love.

  • GNPS -

    Mission: To promote the stewardship and conservation of Georgia’s native plants and their habitats through education and with the involvement of individuals and organizations.

  • What is a Bee City?

    Thinking globally and acting locally, Bee City USA provides a framework for communities to work together to conserve native pollinators by increasing the abundance of native plants, providing nest sites, and reducing the use of pesticides.

    As of February 2022, Bullington Gardens has been chosen as the non-profit partner to help with this effort for the City of Hendersonville, NC. We will be working with the community members as well as representatives from the city’s Environmental Sustainability Board (ESB) and Tree Board; Blue Ridge Community College Bee Campus USA; NC Cooperative Extension in Henderson County and others.

  • Pollinator Friendly resources and tools via Asheville Greenworks

  • Backyard Ecology provides tips and information to help you explore the nature in your backyard and build a thriving ecosystem. From their info-packed podcast to their online community and garden coaching … Shannon and Anthony are empowering countless eco-savvy gardeners.

  • The Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail is a program inspired by Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter to help increase habitat for Monarch Butterflies. The program is based in Plains, Georgia and has expanded throughout the United States as well as internationally.

  • Upstate Forever's mission is to protect critical lands, waters, and the unique character of the Upstate region. We envision a future that is healthy, vibrant, and prosperous. To realize that vision, we know it is vitally important and essential to our core values that we engage the diverse community we serve.

  • Pollinator Resources

  • Trees Coalition

    “We EDUCATE about native trees in the Spartanburg area ... we ENGAGE and get folks active ... we ENHANCE Spartanburg.”

  • The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.

  • Tips, recommended tools and resources for native plant enthusiasts.

    Nuts for Natives.Nuts for Natives

  • Backyard Biodiversity -How many species of animals do you think live in your backyard? What about in your town, city, or state? There are hundreds and even thousands of species of plants and animals right in your backyard. These species biodiversity examples are just waiting to be discovered!

  • Make your garden a haven for insect diversity

  • Backyard Habitat article and resources

  • EcoForesters is a non-profit professional forestry organization dedicated to conserving and restoring our Appalachian forests through education and stewardship

  • HiveTracks - Our vision is to create a positive impact on bee health, beekeeper livelihoods, and biodiversity by connecting people, nature and data

  • Helping Polk County stay environmentally healthy and beautiful through initiatives and grant programs, such as the Kudzu Removal Projects

  • Dogwood Alliance advances environmental justice and climate action by mobilizing diverse voices to protect Southern forests and communities from industrial logging.

Information on Native Plants

  • The mission of NCNPS is to promote the enjoyment and conservation of North Carolina’s native plants and their habitats through education, protection, cultivation, and advocacy.

  • The South Carolina Native Plant Society is a non-profit organization committed to the preservation and protection of native plant communities in South Carolina.

  • Native Plant Database

    Restoring native plant habitat is vital to preserving biodiversity. By creating a native plant garden, each patch of habitat becomes part of a collective effort to nurture and sustain the living landscape for birds and other animals.

  • Plant Finder - Search by zip code to find plants that host the highest numbers of butterflies and moths to feed birds and other wildlife where you live.

  • Carolina Native Nursery offers many great educational resources via their website. Their “Perennials, Ferns, Grasses” page is just one example.

  • The North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox contains detailed descriptions and photographs of 4,631 plants that grow in and around North Carolina

  • Native Plant Database

    Mission: Inspiring the conservation of native plants.

  • Butterfly Highway

    Native Pollinator Plants

  • Explore NC Audubon for great information on native plants and more. Like this Native Plants Week Announcement.

  • Container Gardening with Native Plants

  • Putting Down Roots with Native Plants

  • Plant Nova Native

    While these folks are promoting practices in Virginia, they offer a wealth of great info., tips and resources

  • American Native Plants website provided a resource of many great articles on native plant growing and care.

  • Native plant list for Buncombe County and region

  • The Botanical Gardens at Asheville is located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, one of the most diverse temperate ecosystems in the world! Our native plant collection includes more than 500 species native to the Southern Appalachians.

  • Friends of Plant Conservation purpose:

    To promote public awareness and understanding of North Carolina’s Plant Conservation Program,

    To provide the public with opportunities to help protect the rare and native plant flora of the state,

    To provide support for those programs and activities that are compatible and consistent with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Plant Conservation Program.

    (d) to solicit, hold, and invest funds in support of plant conservation program activities in North Carolina.

Where to Buy Native Plants

  • Native Shrubs and Perennials in Beautiful Burnsville, NC. We are committed to providing the highest quality native plants while at the same time making a positive impact on the environment.

    Learn More

  • Native Plant Nurseries in NC

  • SCNPS

    Spring and Fall Plant Sales

  • Shop native plants by zip code at Garden for Wildlife.

  • Spring and Fall Plant Sales

  • Native Plant Database

  • Located along Clear Creek just six miles east of downtown Hendersonville, Milkweed Meadows is a 5th generation family farm. Its grassy "bottoms" once nourished cows that produced milk sold to Biltmore Dairy Farms in Asheville. Today, the meadows are yielding milk of a different kind — milkweed plants to help sustain monarch butterflies!

  • Our small propagation nursery is located in Big Ivy in northern Buncombe County, NC next to the Pisgah National Forest. We specialize in propagating native shrubs and perennials of the southern Appalachian woodlands

  • American Beauties Native Plants

    We help you choose plants that are better for the environment, better for pollinators and better for your family by delivering expertly selected native plants that will bring you peace of mind, help you reconnect with nature and bring success and life to your garden

  • Mountain Mist Nursery sells a wide selection of plants native to the Southeast. Call ahead if you would like to visit.

  • Saturnia Farm is located in Clyde, NC. Our mission is to provide holistically-grown, affordable specialty perennials, natives, and edible landscaping plants for the beautification and ecological benefit of Western North Carolina.

  • M R Gardens

    Our small, neighborhood nursery offers high quality, sustainably grown plants. We focus on native flowers, as well as complementary plants such as groundcovers and herbs. Oakley, NC.

  • The Pollen Nation is a mail-order nursery providing quality plant material for your gardening palate. We offer a wide selection of perennials and grasses native to the Eastern United States, all grown as deep landscape plugs.

  • Shipping Landscape ready plants from central Virginia

    Over 400 plants that are native to the United States with most native to the eastern states.

  • Gardens of the Blue Ridge

    We are now in our 126th, since 1892, year of this Family owned business operating as North Carolina’s oldest licensed Nursery. We supply quality wildflowers and native plants to our customers in the U. S. and around the world.

  • Direct Native Plants

    Shipping from the Midwest with a wide selection suitable for our region.

  • North Carolina Native Plants

    Offering a selection of rare and unusual NC native plants.

  • Izel Native Plants developed a unique model in horticulture by consolidating the inventories of several native plant nurseries in a user-friendly website. As our customers, you will have access to a greater selection of native plants in one convenient website than could be found through any individual nursery. This is one-stop-shopping at its best, from the convenience of your home or office, and with plants delivered to your door for free.

  • Whether gardening in a small space or restoring larger habitat, native plants are an empowering choice that supports life, biodiversity, sustainability, and soil and water conservation. Prairie Nursery is proud to be part of that choice.

  • Wood Thrush Natives

    Growers of Rare and Unusual Native Appalachian Plants

  • Prairie Moon Nursery

    The importance of restoring native plants to the landscape is an essential part of being a good steward. We’re here to help you join the movement. We’re committed to providing you with the best quality seed, plants, and customer service while maintaining our duty to Leopold’s land ethic.

  • Spring Native Plant Sale

  • Mellow Marsh Farm specializes in the propagation of plant species native to the Southeast. Our plants are grown from seed collected in the Carolinas and Virginia.

  • Mountain True - Fall Plant Sale

  • Mountain Moss

  • MidAtlantic Native Plant Farm - Specializing in native plants of the Mid Atlantic Region and eastern seaboard since 1985.

  • New Leaf Native

  • Flower Moon Nursery - We grow trees, shrubs, and perennials that are native to the Southeast or hard to find in the trade. We are a wholesale and limited retail nursery specializing in deciduous azaleas native to the Southeast US. Our customers are landscapers, garden centers, landscape architects, and botanical gardens.

  • Listing of native plant species and sellers in and around Buncombe County

  • Wildbud Natives grows perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees for conservation and ecological applications. Based in Marshall, NC.

  • Providing education, conservation planning services and native plants.

Information on Invasive Plants

Gardens/Preserves of the Region

  • Pearsons Falls is a unique botanical preserve in Polk County comprised of over 300 acres of rich cove forest, spring-fed streams and a moderate 1/4-mile trail to a 90 ft. waterfall.

  • Bullington Gardens’ Mission: To connect children and adults with the natural world through science-based horticultural education; to demonstrate the beauty and value of native and ornamental plants through themed public gardens; and to enhance life skills for children and adults with physical or mental challenges through horticultural therapy.

  • Nestled in the Southern Appalachian Mountains just south of Asheville, The North Carolina Arboretum offers acres of cultivated gardens and groomed trails featuring some of the most beautiful, botanically-diverse plants in the region.

  • The Botanical Gardens at Asheville is a 10-acre independent, non-profit botanical garden dedicatedto the study and promotion of the native plants and habitats of the Southern Appalachians.

    https://ashevillebotanicalgardens.org/

  • The Highlands Botanical Garden of the Highlands Biological Station is both a refuge and a showcase for a wide array of the rich botanical diversity of the Blue Ridge Escarpment and environs.

  • High above the lakes of Western North Carolina — with a stunning panoramic view of the mountains spanning the Blue Ridge Parkway — Southern Highlands Reserve showcases native plants and the rare ecology of high-elevation Southern Appalachian forests.

  • The Park at Flat Rock is 66 acres of open green spaces, wetlands, scenic trails, a breathtaking array of local flora and fauna, as well as a playground for the kids, all nestled in the Village of Flat Rock, North Carolina!

  • Hatcher Garden - Spartanburg Imagine a place where nature's charm meets the thrill of learning, and stunning scenery provides a sanctuary for wildlife. It exists, right here, beyond the bustle of Spartanburg.

    Hatcher Garden has delighted, educated, and inspired visitors for generations. Join us for an event, lend a hand, or just come stroll and unwind. Our gardens are here for you to enjoy from dawn to dusk, 365 days a year, free of charge.

  • Lake Lure Flowering Bridge

  • SC Botanical Garden - Clemson

Resources for Educators

Recommended Reading

Our Favorite Must-Have Books

  • Native Plants of the Southeast, Larry Mellichamp

  • The Southeastern Native Plant Primer, Larry Mellichamp and Paula Gross

  • Gardening with Native Plants of the South, Sally Wasowski with Andy Wasowski

  • Pollinators of Native Plants, Heather Holm

  • Great Natives for Tough Places, Brooklyn Botanical Garden All-Regions Guide

  • Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, Updated and Expanded, Dr. Doug Tallamy

  • Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard, Dr. Doug Tallamy

  • A New Garden Ethic, Benjamin Vogt

  • Gardening for Moths, Jim McCormac and Chelsea Gottfried

  • Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, Updated and Expanded, Dr. Doug Tallamy

  • Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard, Dr. Doug Tallamy

  • The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Tree, Dr. Doug Tallamy

  • The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden, Rick Darke & Doug Tallamy

  • Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv

  • Native Plants of the Southeast, Larry Mellichamp

  • The Southeastern Native Plant Primer, Larry Mellichamp and Paula Gross

  • Gardening with Native Plants of the South, Sally Wasowski with Andy Wasowski

  • The Forest Unseen, David George Haskell

  • The Song of Trees, David George Haskell

  • The Wild Garden, William Robinson with new chapters by Rick Darke

  • The American Woodland Garden, Rick Darke

  • Wildflower Perennials for Your Garden, Bebe Miles

  • Pollinators of Native Plants, Heather Holm

  • 100 Plants to Feed the Bees, The Xerces Society

  • Raising Butterflies in the Garden, Brenda Dziedzic

  • A New Garden Ethic, Benjamin Vogt

  • Great Natives for Tough Places, Brooklyn Botanical Garden All-Regions Guide

  • How to Create a Wildlife Garden, Christine & Michael Lavelle

  • Climate Change Gardening for the South, Barbara J. Sullivan

  • Bee Native Flower Pot Power, Flora Caputo

  • A Gradening Awakening, Mary Reynolds

  • We are the ARK, Mary Reynolds

  • Lawns into Meadows, Owen Wormser

  • Georgia Native Plant Society - Extensive Reading List

  • Saving the Wild South, Georgann Eubanks

  • The Natural Gardens of North Carolina, B.W. Wells

  • Half Earth, Edward O Wilson

  • Wildscape, Nancy Lawson

  • The Humane Gardener, Nancy Lawson

  • The Hidden Company That Trees Keep, James B. Marci

  • Of Time and Turtles, Sy Montgomery

  • The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl

  • Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses, James H. miller and Karl V. miller

  • The Milkweed Lands, Eric Lee-Mader

We welcome your suggestions for this Resources page.

The more we share the more we learn!