Hi friend,

I get asked a lot about how to figure out what species are native to your area.

So I wanted to share resources for folks in the USA and Canada.

I've updated this list to include more resources, as well as some Canada-specific resources for Canadian gardeners.

🌻 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 The National Wildlife Federation has an excellent tool called the Native Plant Finder. It shows you what native species support the most wildlife in your zip code - these are called “keystone” species.

🌻 🇺🇸 The NWF has another tool that tells you the best commercially available native host plant species based on your ecoregion.

🌻 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 BONAP’s North American Plant Atlas has a prolific database of range maps for species in the US and Canada listed by botanical name

🌻 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s website has a search tool where you can input your state or province, growing conditions, and other descriptors like bloom time, height, lifespan, etc., and search their database for plant species that meet your criteria.

🌻 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 Most states and provinces have a Native Plant Society that should have resources specific to your area. You can find your local Native Plant Society​ here​

🌻 🇺🇸 Wild Ones is another organization that advocates for native plants and has chapters in most US states. Find your local chapter here​

🌻 🌎 iNaturalist can help you identify plants that you’re unsure of what they are. You can also browse what’s been seen in your area, check a species’ status as native or introduced, etc.

🌻 🇺🇸 The Audubon Society has a database of bird-friendly native plants based on zip code.

🌻 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 The Xerces Society has a resource of pollinator-friendly native plant lists for different regions across the US and Canada

🌻 🇨🇦 The Canadian Wildlife Federation has an online native plant encyclopedia tool

🌻 🇨🇦 The David Suzuki Foundation has lots of resources for planting native in Canada

🌻 🌎 If you’re plant shopping and not sure where a species is from, do a quick google of “(species name) native range.” Always use the botanical name because common names can apply to multiple species. I don’t recommend buying plants that aren’t labeled with the botanical name unless you’re 100% sure you know what it is.

It can be most useful to cross-reference a couple of these resources to get the most accurate information.

Hopefully you find this helpful!

If you need more help with starting, managing, and/or improving your eco-garden, check out my offer - The Natural Gardener Workbook Bundle!​

Tory is an ecologist and landscape consultant. He helps North American gardeners transition from using outdated and harmful but status-quo techniques to using their yards to improve the health of our planet. Along with being a gardener for over 10 years, Tory has a Master of Science degree in Sustainable Design and is certified in Regenerative Soil Science.​

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