Conservation Landscape: Phase 1 Plant List

We received the initial mockup of our landscape design and I’m so excited to share the list of Virginia native plants that we picked to grow and thrive in our front yard. We have exactly 279 plants going in during phase I, which is the area along the foundation and side of our front yard. We’ve had a ton of plants and plant plugs coming our way this week and the majority of them are coming from nurseries that specialize in plants indigenous to our area and use only the native straight species (as opposed to cultivators) of plants. From what I’m learning, cultivators are a vegetative clone of one another and have lost their genetic diversity. The straight species of native plants have gone through the natural reproductive process and considered to be healthy and more attractive to pollinators. I can’t wait to see everything grow!

Perennials

Brunette Black Cohosh or Snakeroot

upright slim spikes of small pinkish flowers like elongated bottlebrushes rise from clumps of dark purplish leaves

Ice Ballet Milkweed

a compact, white-flowered Perennial tolerant of average well-drained soils. an important food source for the larval stage of Monarch butterflies.

Blue Wood Aster

an upright perennial that form a nice groundcover in spring. In early to mid-fall small daisy-like asters cover the plant. Plants are tough and adaptable prospering in sun or shade and in difficult disturbed sites.

Lynnhaven Carpet

easy-to-grow ground cover, with pale lavender daisies on 1' tall stalks.. A butterfly favorite.

Wild Strawberry

perennial, used as a ground cover. Tiny white flowers with yellow centers appear in spring through early fall, followed by edible red fruit. Attracts Birds.

Gloriosa Daisy

a perennial coneflower with yellow-orange and slightly curved petals.

David Phlox

Easy to grow, huge, stunning white flowers, with a sweet fragrance

Mainacht (May Night)
Meadow Sage

an herbaceous perennial in the mint family. quickly fills in space in ideal conditions

Heartleaf Foamflower

perennial with bright green glossy leaves and white flowers. makes a good ground cover for shade and moisture.

Virginia Spiderwort

large but dainty Perennial with bright-green, narrow leaves and blue or purplish, three-petaled flowers.

Christmas Fern

While not as showy as some others, this fern makes up for it with its neat habit, easy culture, and its lustrous, nearly evergreen leaves. A wonderful companion for spring blooming bulbs..

‘heuchera Americana’ Coral Bell

a small mounding evergreen wildflower with attractive foliage.

Shrubs

Jim Dandy Winterberry

a slow-growing, dwarf, male cultivar with an upright, rounded habit. A good pollinator for Female winterberries.

Red Sprite Winterberry

Extremely hardy. Deciduous shrub. A profusion of bright red berries brighten the winter landscape and provide food for birds.

Hummingbird Summersweet

fragrant white flowers in mid-summer. Yellow fall color. Attracts butterflies.

Nana Yaupon Holly

A slow growing, compact,low-maintenance shrub perfect for small spaces..

Sunshine Blue American Blueberry

a North American species of blueberry which has become a food crop of significant economic importance. has blue-green foliage and showy pink to white flowers which provide visual appeal followed by an abundant supply of fruit .

Ornamental Grasses

Cape Breeze Switch Grass

The short, dense, habit makes it valuable for smaller areas and containers. blooms earlier in the season and stays green later into fall

Shenandoh Switch Grass

native prairie switchgrass grown for its burgundy colored foliage and pinkish flower spikes.

Plant Details

Photography by MUN Botanical Garden, Gerrie Veenstra, Pleasant Run Nursery, D. Ramsey, Shady Acres Nursery, Hillary Sowa, Proven Winners Inc., Robert Flogaus-Faust, Ryan Hodnett, Walter Siegmund, Steven Stang, LiDonni Nursery, Maidy Martinez, North Creek Nurseries, Hoffman Nursery, David Stang, Linda Engstrom, J. Cillas, M. Manuel, Derek Ramsey, Anneli Salo, F. Reynolds, Chalbe