It sounds like you're off to a great start! Here’s a list of native plants to New England that, in my experience, are fairly easy to grow from seed and can be planted in the winter or late fall.
>From seed (winter/fall sowing): - Sneezeweed (*Helenium autumnale*) - Stiff or tall aster (*Ionactis linariifolius* or *Symphyotrichum lanceolatum*) - Foxglove beardtongue (*Penstemon digitalis*) - Wild bergamot (*Monarda fistulosa*) and other *Monarda* species - Culver's Root - Blazing Star - Mountain Mint Most of these take two years of watering and weeding to really get established, so don't give up hope if it's disappointing the first Spring! If you want to start with some individual potted plants instead, here are ones that I’ve found are still easy to grow from seed but can also be purchased and established more quickly. Over time you can divide and spread them, especially for groundcovers. Potted plant options: - Trumpet honeysuckle (*Lonicera sempervirens*) -> My personal favorite, attracts bees, humming birds, and butterflies/moths, is a host plant for caterpillars, provides berries for birds in the fall, and blooms from Spring all through Summer. Not to be confused with invasive japanese honeysuckle! - Virginia rose (*Rosa virginiana*) - Flowering raspberry (*Rubus odoratus*) - Barren strawberry (*Geum fragarioides*) - Pussy toes (*Antennaria* spp.) These are just species I’ve personally had success with, so they should give you a good mix of flowers, structure, and groundcover while supporting local pollinators and wildlife. If you want to learn more about local action being taken to help pollinators the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust has fantastic resources and has done amazing work here: https://lincolnconservation.org/pollinators/resources/ Best, Corey On Sat, Aug 9, 2025 at 1:40 PM Terry Kay Epperson < [email protected]> wrote: > Dear Lincoln, > > Several of you recommended native seeds from Prairie Moon together with > Native Plant Trust in Framingham. We are finally at the point that we can > start planning the restructuring of our yard! Electrical project is 99% > complete; we wait only for Comcast to move their cable so that Eversource > can take the old pole and service line down. For our neighbors - thank you > so much for your patience over the last year. My goal is to start seeding > in the fall - native only - and to try my hand at winter stratification as > well. The number of native seeds available from Prairie Moon is > staggering...I almost want to buy everything. For those of you who have > purchased native seeds from them, I would love your recommendations in > terms of what you loved and what didn't work out. My native volunteers are > mostly yellow, purple, and white, so other colors are welcome! I'm looking > for plants that will attract pollinators. I currently have Rudbeckia hirta > (black-eyed Susan), almost every goldenrod imaginable, several different > types of aster, spotted and american wintergreen, clasping venus looking > glass, Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco), rabbit tobacco, lanceleaf > coreopsis, daisy fleabane, several sedges, mosses, cinquefoil, white and > blue violets (may or may not be native), etc. We also have lady fern and > sensitive fern. We have shady, part shade, and sunny spots. Thank you in > advance for your recommendations! > > Warmly, > Terry Kay > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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