Minnesota is home to a variety of native plants that provide a low maintenance and beautiful landscape while eliminating the need for fertilizers and excessive water use in your garden. Check out these local resources for more information and ideas on planting your native garden:
- Blue Thumb: an educational resource for planting a native garden, rain garden, or for shoreline stabilization.
- Purchase Compost Bin or Rain Barrel: rain barrels offer a resourceful way to keep rainwater on your property that may be later used to water your gardens while reducing your water bill.
- Landscaping with Native Plants: published by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
- Master Gardeners in Washington County: provides resources for answering all types of gardening questions, including the best native plants for your garden.
- Minnesota Pollinator Resources: Information, gardening resources, and plant lists for attracting pollinators.
- Minnesota State Horticulture Society: provides information on garden clubs in the area with monthly speakers and plant sales.
- Six things you can do to help save our local lakes and wetlands: provided by the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District.
- Wild Ones: focuses on native plants with monthly speakers and field trips
Local Watersheds
Information on grants or cost-share programs for rain gardens available to Washington County residents can be found on the following watershed websites:
- South Washington County Watershed District
- Valley Branch Watershed District
- Ramsey Washington Metro District
Native Plant Vendors
*Please note: this list is for informational purposes only. The city does not endorse any native plant vendor over another.
- Natural Shore Technologies
- Outback Nurseries
- Dragonfly Gardens
- Landscape Alternatives
- Kinnickinnic Natives
- Prairie Restorations
- Minnesota Native Landscapes
Current Projects
All native planting restoration projects require existing plants (typically grass and invasive species) to be killed and removed. This allows for areas to be seeded and planted with a diverse mix of native plants. Maintenance may include mowing and burning to reinvigorate growth of the beneficial species, along with spot-spraying to remove noxious weeds. Native plantings often take a few years to “grow up” and “fill in."
From Ojibway Park to Bailey Road, more than 11 acres of grass has been converted to pollinator prairie along the trail corridor. This project is funded through the Butler Foundation in partnership with Great River Greening. Volunteers put the first plants into the ground in May 2017. More planting updates will be provided as they become available.
A project partnership between South Washington County Watershed District (SWWD), ISD 833 and the City of Woodbury to plant 67 trees and replace 15 acres of unused turf with native plants and trees. More information can be found on the