Happy National Public Lands Day
In celebration of National Public Lands Day, we encourage you to get out and explore your closest designated National Park, Historic Site, Recreational Area, Monument, Military Park, Seashore, Scenic Trail, or Reserve, and take in the natural beauty that has been preserved within our local seven-state region.
Below, we’re listing some selections for a whopping 21 of our local National Public Lands. Not only might these selections be found growing within these zones, but they make excellent options for future planting projects within the surrounding areas of these public lands if paying homage to the local flora and fauna is a post-installation ecological concern.
Click here for an interactive map of our local National Public Lands, helpful for planning your next daytrip and checking out the purple mountains’ majesties and amber waves of grain for yourself.
It's important to note that many of the plants listed below have an incredibly broad and extended range throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, making them virtually adaptable to sites in each of the seven states listed below. They are all recommended native plant selections as per State Extensions, Universities, and the folks over at Homegrown National Park. The incorporation of native plants in our natural lands and cultivated landscapes, as many of us well know, is a critical resolution to a healthy ecosystem and the support of biodiversity from the soil to the sky.
CONNECTICUT
Coltsville NHP (CT)
Weir Farm NHP (CT)
Plant selections: Aster novae-angliae (syn. Symphyotrichum novae-angliaea) | New England aster
Aster divaricatus (syn. Eurybia divaricata)
Lobelia cardinalis | Cardinal flower
Aquilegia canadensis | Eastern Columbine
Asclepias incarnata | rose milkweed
DELAWARE
First State NHP (DE)
New Castle Courthouse & The Green (DE)
The Green (DE)
Plant selections: Cercis canadensis | Eastern redbud
Asclepias tuberosa | butterfly weed
Monarda fistulosa | wild bergamot
Geranium maculatum | spotted cranesbill
MARYLAND
Catoctin Mountain Park (MD)
Hampton NHS (MD)
Harpers Ferry NHP (MD/VA/WV)
Potomac Heritage NST (MD)
Plant selections: Polystichum acrostichoides | Christmas fern
Athryium filix-femina
Asarum canadense | wild ginger
Baptisia australis | false wild indigo
Penstemon digitalis | foxglove beardtongue
NEW JERSEY
Morristown NHP (NJ)
New Jersey Pinelands N RES (NJ)
Paterson Great Falls NHP (NJ)
Plant selections: Vaccinium angustifolium | lowbush blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosum | highbush blueberry
Gaultheria procumbens | wintergreen
Rudbeckia hirta | black-eyed Susan
Coreopsis lanceolata | lance leaf coreopsis
Scirpus cyperinus | woolgrass
Ceanothus americanus | New Jersey tea
NEW YORK
Fire Island NS (NY)
National Parks of New York Harbor: Sandy Hook Unit/Staten Island Unit/Jamaica Bay Unit (NY)
Sagamore Hill NHS (NY)
Plant selections: Vernonia novaboracensis | New York ironweed
Ilex verticillata | winterberry holly
Panicum virgatum | switchgrass
Schizachyrium scoparium | little bluestem
Tiarella cordifolia | foamflower
Heuchera americana | coral bells
Phlox subulata | moss phlox
PENNSYLVANIA
Delaware Water Gap NRA (PA/NJ)
Gettysburg NMP (PA)
Hopewell Furnace NHS (PA)
Lower Delaware NWSR (PA/NJ)
Valley Forge NHP (PA)
Plant selections: Lindera benzoin | spicebush
Hydrangea quercifolia | oakleaf hydrangea
Chrysogonum virginianum | green-and-gold
Dicentra eximia | wild bleeding heart
Solidago speciosa | showy goldenrod
Veronicastrum virginicum | Culver’s root
Sorghastrum nutans | indiangrass
VIRGINIA
Prince William Forest Park (VA)
Cornus florida | flowering dogwood
Mertensia virginica | Virginia bluebells
Actaea racemosa | black cohosh
Calycanthus floridus | sweetshrub
Liatris spicata | blazing star
Rosa virginiana | Virginia rose
Plant Lists - The Native Plant Society of New Jersey (npsnj.org)
audubon_-_best_native_plants_for_nys_4has_letterhead_-_pdf.pdf
Pennsylvania Native Plants for the Perennial Garden (psu.edu)
30 Native Virginia Flowers, Plants, and Wildflowers - Petal Republic