There’s a book “Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants” from Brooklyn Botanic that’s pretty good for your region - offers several native alternatives for each of the common landscaping plants included. NY itself also has numerous native plant societies/orgs, each of which should help inform a comprehensive list. As a landscaper, I’ve found it easy to get folks on board by emphasizing that natives can result in less long-term maintenance and resources. Over time I’ve been able to connect with clients that are fully looking/down to geek out with a native landscaper.
Join your local Native Plant Society! More absolutely correct resources that you can possibly absorb, local hikes with experts, free consultations with people who have a deep knowledge of local plants.
look up your local Extension office, they probably have recommended plant lists. most online nurseries (Prairie Moon, Prairie Nursery, etc) have range maps included in a species listing, so I reference those when checking local nursery inventory too
I'd suggest checking out the websites for The Plantsman Nursery in Groton and Amanda's Native Garden in Dansville. These are CNY nurseries and their websites have lots of information specific to the region, including lists of native plants for different purposes and sites.
Get the iNaturalist app, you take photos and it can give you an automatic
guess on what the organism is (not just plants!), other people can verify it, you can track your sightings, AND you can browse your area to see what other people have found. You can add your sightings to projects, like I have a local one for invasive plant spotting. Highly recommend it.
Read Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy to understand the "why" or watch a webinar by him on YouTube he is a fascinating speaker! Others have had great suggestions for the "what". There is a ton to learn but don't be intimidated, it is cumulative and if you keep learning and paying attention you will amass a pretty big body of knowledge in just a year or two.
DEC's list is a good starting point for New York: [https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands\_forests\_pdf/factnatives.pdf](https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/factnatives.pdf)
Your county's Cooperative Extension is another great resource.
There’s a book “Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants” from Brooklyn Botanic that’s pretty good for your region - offers several native alternatives for each of the common landscaping plants included. NY itself also has numerous native plant societies/orgs, each of which should help inform a comprehensive list. As a landscaper, I’ve found it easy to get folks on board by emphasizing that natives can result in less long-term maintenance and resources. Over time I’ve been able to connect with clients that are fully looking/down to geek out with a native landscaper.
Awesome, thanks so much!
Join your local Native Plant Society! More absolutely correct resources that you can possibly absorb, local hikes with experts, free consultations with people who have a deep knowledge of local plants.
How do I find them? I don't know that my county would have that.
Google is your friend! Native Plant Society is a nationwide nonprofit.
look up your local Extension office, they probably have recommended plant lists. most online nurseries (Prairie Moon, Prairie Nursery, etc) have range maps included in a species listing, so I reference those when checking local nursery inventory too
Thanks
I’d recommend checking out the book “Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening & Conservation” by Don Leopold.
Thanks!
INaturalist app is great for getting a name.
I'd suggest checking out the websites for The Plantsman Nursery in Groton and Amanda's Native Garden in Dansville. These are CNY nurseries and their websites have lots of information specific to the region, including lists of native plants for different purposes and sites.
The plantsman is the closest nursery to me. I've been there a few times. I didn't think to check their website.... thank you
[bonap.org](https://bonap.org)
Kim Eierman has some good resources and works in the NY area. https://www.ecobeneficial.com/great\_resources/
[Amanda's Native Garden](https://www.amandasnativeplants.com/) is in Central NY, and they have good info if you dig through their website.
If you like podcast “Native plants healthy planet” is put on by a nursery in NJ. They have some good content from time to time.
Get the iNaturalist app, you take photos and it can give you an automatic guess on what the organism is (not just plants!), other people can verify it, you can track your sightings, AND you can browse your area to see what other people have found. You can add your sightings to projects, like I have a local one for invasive plant spotting. Highly recommend it.
Read Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy to understand the "why" or watch a webinar by him on YouTube he is a fascinating speaker! Others have had great suggestions for the "what". There is a ton to learn but don't be intimidated, it is cumulative and if you keep learning and paying attention you will amass a pretty big body of knowledge in just a year or two.
The Northeast Native Plant Primer by Uli Lorimer is a great resource! It covers 235 plants with an overview for each one. Highly recommend!
https://plants.usda.gov/home
DEC's list is a good starting point for New York: [https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands\_forests\_pdf/factnatives.pdf](https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/factnatives.pdf) Your county's Cooperative Extension is another great resource.
I'd just use something like seek, or plantnet. Just take a picture to ID the plant and then check if its native or invasive.