Native plants for the DMV should be embraced by home gardeners! Mid-Atlantic native plants and flowers have grown in this area for thousands of years, including through droughts, storms, blizzards and our very definite heat waves. These plants’ DNA is made to thrive in your yard with minimal care.
Why Plant Native Plants for the DMV
There are three big reasons to plant native:
- Planting native plants for the DMV lets you be a lazy gardener. The plants rarely require water besides rain once they are established.
- Native plants are gorgeous – and fit into our landscape. Your yard will be incredible.
- Native plants give bugs, birds, and butterflies the food and homes they need.
Native Flowering Plants for the Mid Atlantic
Here are some native flowering plants for spring, summer and fall:
Spring – Golden Alexander, creeping phlox, alum root, celandine poppy, red columbine, and false blue indigo.
Summer – Bee balm, black eyed Susan (Maryland’s state flower), blazing star, cardinal flower, coneflower, coreopsis, milk weed, Joe Pye, hummingbird mint and blue-eyed grass (which actually flowers.)
Late Summer-Fall – Aster, false sunflower, blue mistflower, goldenrod, stokes aster and ironweed.
Shrubs and Trees for the Mid-Atlantic
Shrubs that are native to the mid Atlantic include mountain laurel, arrow wood vibernum, azalea, spicebush, rhododendron, spicebush, witch hazel and oak leaf hydrangea.
If you are thinking of a native tree, you might choose a magnolia, a redbud or an American crabapple. Don’t forget the tulip poplar, the Southern magnolia or the cucumber magnolia!
