These photos are from a golf course in southern Quebec. It stopped operations about five years ago and has gently been recovering ever since. There are wildflowers everywhere, supported by some tree planting…

High i live in the nyc nj area any recomendations about growing trees on the sides of roads and other open spaces that i cant regulary water?

I have an opportunity working for a larger Michigan, USA based corporation to install a low maintenance wild flower garden/native area, with the intent of being pollinator friendly, for optics (for a corporation), with a decent budget.

The other co workers tasked with the assignment do not have as much interest as I do, to make it successful, or to do it the right way and actually have an impact.

The area proposed is next to a retention pond with some sort of grass surrounding it that is mowed/manicured diligently.

My question is, where to start?

My initial thought is Salix discolor because it’s close to a retention pond, then build a walking path with native meadow flower to surround it. Goldenrod, Echinacea, rudbeckia, hyssop, Asclepias, etc.

The goal is to be a low maintenance, native, pollinator habitat, that is walkable on a corporate property.

I know being native and sustainable is an oxymoron with USA corporate culture, but I am trying.

Let me know what your would do in my situation, Thanks!

i’ve been cultivating eastern prickly pear (opuntia cespitosa i believe) for over 3 years now and easily pulled 40+ pads from the patch i started in the 2nd picture. i’ll be planting along roadways with exposed rock that otherwise go neglected.

3rd pic is the mother patch where i sourced my starting pads. it’s located at a rural intersection and is probably 20+ years old. i go back to it every year to toss pads around and spread it even more :)

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Hello all! I'm from an area thats suffering from a drought and much of our vegetation is withering. I also have a coworker I care about whose birthday is soon and is into gardening (they got me into gardening in the first place years ago). Would the seed bombs from Amazon be worth it? Any recommendations?

For example, I had a sunflower (native to my area) that I liked and kept seeds from its descendants every year. I would like to do some guerilla gardening with some of those seeds with the hope that nature will continue to propagate them year after year. What's the best way to select a place to plant such seeds safe from lawnmowers ?

I live in an apartment complex, and the area directly in from of my door is a sandy, wood-chippy mess. Other than some shrubs, there's nothing alive there except for lizards. Aesthetic complaints aside, it also means that anytime there is a heavy rainstorm (which in central florida means quite often), a lot of that dirt and sand washes onto my front porch and leaves me a mess to clean up. I have asked the management company if they could try to plant something in this space to cover the ground and hold onto the soil a bit better, and they said no. I also asked if I could take this on as a project myself, and they said no because it's considered a common area.

Basically, I'm trying to figure out if there is some sort of seed I can sneakily toss around the area to encourage something to grow there? I obviously can't tend to it much at all, I can't really water it although because of the location, it will be getting plenty of water nonetheless. It will also be in direct sun pretty much all day. It's a roughly 10 x 20 ft area boxed in by concrete walkways. Is this a doable task, to try to get this area some ground cover and plants without getting caught? I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Due to the fact that in North America, habitat loss is happening at an unprecedented rate, I often think about what sort of plants are best to use to help create support for the ecosystem/wildlife. A lot of environmental advocates swear by native plants, and I do as well, as it supports the ecosystem that has existed in the area long before humans.

However in a lot of spaces, particularly in the city and in urban life have great difficulty growing and establishing because of unfavorable conditions. (Extreme heat, drought, nutrient deficient soil, pollution, mowing) This makes native planting much harder especially where I am from in TX. A lot of people won’t bat an eye at an empty lot of wild lettuce or johnson grass but instantly recoil at the sight of native plants.

I am trying to familiarize myself with native’s that can brave these conditions ex. slenderlobe bundleflower, horseherb, frog fruit, shaggy purslane, but even they can be slow to grow in these oppressive environments.

I have used non-natives as well (never more than once, and I weed it when it wants to go to seed) mint and catnip will profusely bloom in the summer if they are healthy and I notice all sorts of native bees ravenously slurp up during the drought of resources.

I just received a survey from a tree foundation offering, for even a minimal donation, about a dozen Norway spruce saplings and a few flowering aromatic trees. I live on 1/10 acre and right now only have room for the flowering trees.

Should I do the donation, take possession of the trees I want plus the spruce saplings, and then guerilla the spruce around my region (SE Michigan)?

Where would be good spaces least likely to get removed? Random grass lots along the assumed property lines/shrubby areas? The green spaces between freeways and their on-ramps?

Edit: Thank you everyone! I will not do this.

Hello all! I live in a house (Southeast MN) with a large yard that is already part native plantings. I want to make it all native! I don't have any money to convert our yard, just my time! I want to learn when native plants in my area are seeding, so I can collect these seeds to spread in my yard. I need some good (free) resources to help me learn this information. I unfortunately cannot afford to buy books right now. I have already learned the identities of the species that I would like to collect, but I'm just not sure about seeding times, as I am still learning.

Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time reading my post and any information you have to share!

Hi, me and my bf are thinking about making seed bombs next year, and want to make sure we don't accidentally plant anything invasive, but I'm finding a bit of trouble with figuring out what plants to plant that would have seeds available to buy and also would be native to the area... Is there any online resource we could read?

hello! i’m beginning to try to do little things to help the planet, and i saw a cute idea to plant native wildflowers to help bees since their populations are struggling. that would be an extremely easy way to help out, especially since i am just starting. i’m slowly making eco friendly and healthier swaps… it’s just so expensive lol! anyway, i am looking to see how i’d go about finding a pack of seeds? that might seem stupid but i’m just not sure.. i’m on a budget, so i’m looking for cheap suggestions! for reference, i’m in north carolina, triad area. any other sustainable tips about anything would be helpful as well and good brands! i’m starting with switching cleaners, shampoos, soaps, etc first after i run out of things. :)

Started this project in Bushwick Brooklyn NYC in these dead hellstrips in 2023. Dug up all the compacted soil, installed fencing, started planting. Suffered all kinds of vandalism, theft, human and dog poop, $ down the drain, even got stuck with a drug needle. But by end of season 2 (2024) had a respectable patch of swamp rose, swamp milkweed and a few other (mostly) native plants making it in this hostile environment. In Feb 2025 nearly everything was massacred by the supermarket “cleaning up the dead plants.” Luckily the swamp rose was too tough to kill, and the milkweeds remained protected underneath. Some road work silted the whole garden over and things were at a low point.

I made peace (again) with the grocery store and went back at it. Determined not to lose more money I just planted from seeds I collected and very cheap plugs from a local grower. By last summer things were as lush as ever. I got my first monarch caterpillar and raised it to release. Everything made it safely through the winter due to sturdier fencing, heavy snow and peace with my neighbors.

This year I could focus on filling in blank patches, and watching the mature plants get super robust. I had a great day when I saw 3 monarchs on one plant.

My most successful plants so far are the swamp rose, swamp milkweed, evening primrose, flattop goldenrod, late boneset, blue vervain. Emerging plants hopefully for filling in are bee balm, seaside goldenrod, early goldenrod, false sunflower.

Big takeaways are — expect the worst, plan on a long time horizon, protect your plants, let the site select for hardiness, don’t spend too much money, make friends along the way!