Native Plants We Recommend
The plants that protect the bay.
Long Island natives we recommend for South Shore gardens, waystations, and restorations — grouped by the job each one does. Every species is a New York or Long Island native, cross-referenced against the NY Flora Atlas and BONAP.
Stormwater & nitrogen uptake
Deep-rooted natives slow runoff, open the soil, and take up nitrogen before it reaches the bay. The core of what we do.
Switchgrass
LI NATIVERoots reach several feet down, holding soil and soaking up runoff; tolerates periodic flooding.
Coastal plain Joe-Pye weed
LI NATIVEA tall wet-meadow native for rain gardens and low, damp corners; heavy late-summer nectar.
Blue flag iris
LI NATIVEThrives at the wet edge of a rain garden or pond; fibrous roots bind saturated soil.
Cardinal flower
LI NATIVEVivid red spikes for wet ground and rain-garden edges; a hummingbird magnet.
Sweet pepperbush
LI NATIVESuckers into thickets on saturated ground; fragrant midsummer bloom, heavy bee traffic, and it flowers in shade.
New York ironweed
LI NATIVEDeep-rooted and tall, with late violet bloom; anchors damp ground and feeds pollinators.
Monarch host plants
Milkweed is the only plant monarch caterpillars can eat. Every waystation needs it — and only native Asclepias will do.
Butterfly milkweed
LI NATIVELong-lived, deep taproot, brilliant orange; the showpiece milkweed for dry, sunny beds.
Common milkweed
LI NATIVEThe workhorse host plant; spreads to form colonies where there’s room for it.
Swamp milkweed
LI NATIVEThe milkweed for wet ground — host duty and stormwater work in one plant.
Pollinator nectar
Nectar across the whole season keeps bees, butterflies, and migrating monarchs fueled — especially the late bloomers.
Slender mountain mint
LI NATIVEAmong the most pollinator-visited natives there is; fine-textured and well-behaved.
New England aster
LI NATIVELate-season fuel when little else blooms — critical for the fall monarch migration.
Scarlet beebalm
NY NATIVEScarlet whorls that hummingbirds and bumblebees work all summer; prefers steady moisture.
Gray goldenrod
LI NATIVEA compact, non-aggressive goldenrod for poor dry soils; keystone late-season nectar.
Blue vervain
LI NATIVESlender violet candelabras over damp meadow soil; long bloom and heavy bee traffic.
New England Blazing Star
NY NATIVEPurple spikes butterflies swarm; native to New York, widely used in restoration plantings.
Coastal & salt tolerance
Plants built for salt spray, wind, and sand — the natives that hold a shoreline edge where little else survives.
Seaside goldenrod
LI NATIVEThe signature dune native; shrugs off salt spray and feeds monarchs on their way south.
Beach plum
LI NATIVEA sand-loving shrub for salt and drought; spring bloom, edible late-summer fruit.
Northern bayberry
LI NATIVESemi-evergreen, salt- and wind-hardy; berries carry birds through winter.
Bearberry
LI NATIVEA low evergreen mat for sandy, exposed ground; holds slopes where turf won’t grow.
Erosion control & grassland
Bunch grasses and their deep fibrous roots knit soil together, hold slopes, and rebuild the native grassland this island once had.
Bird’s-foot violet
LI NATIVEA sandplain violet for lean, dry soil; low groundcover that holds bare sandy ground.
Little bluestem
LI NATIVEFine, upright bunchgrass with copper fall color; textbook dry-slope stabilizer.
Big bluestem
LI NATIVEThe tallgrass of Long Island’s historic Hempstead Plains; roots run deep and hold hard.
Switchgrass
LI NATIVEDoubles as a stormwater and erosion plant — upright, deep-rooted, endlessly adaptable.
Not sure what fits your site?
Tell us the conditions — sun, moisture, salt, slope — and we’ll recommend the natives that will do the most for it.
Tell us about your site