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When the world feels like it is spinning out of control, we can start from within our own spaces to cultivate change, lead with compassion, and create the kind of world we want to see—one action, and one act of kindness at a time.
Here are some “action” ideas for 2025:
Did you guess that would be the first tip?! Ok you know by now we aren't JUST trying to sell plants, native plants are sustainable and support our wildlife. It's one of the best environmental actions we can take from our own home.
Check out Grow Native Massachusetts
One of our favorite organizations, lots of events and education: "Every garden matters ~ Every landscape counts. Our human footprint is everywhere, and conservation no longer works by focusing on only a small percentage of total land area. Consider this— over 90% of the lands in Massachusetts are privately owned, and much of that is in parcels smaller than one acre. More than 90% of our population lives in the cities and suburbs that extend over half of the state's land area. What we all do matters, quite simply— everywhere."
support wildlife and improve your soil at the same time all while doing less work!
Feed baby birds and stop using pesticides. Insects are not our enemies.
Did you know, about 96 percent of terrestrial birds raise their nestlings on insects, caterpillars being particularly important. If we are planting native plants, which are the natural food of our native wildlife and then we spray it with pesticides we are making problems worse.
Join us for our first "Vegetable Gardening 101" in the Blue Stem greenhouse, Sunday, March 30, 2pm-3:30pm with Todd of Grateful Gardens fame. He's a wealth of knowledge! "Learn the Basics for beginning home vegetable gardeners. Everything we can squeeze into an hour plus a thirty minute Q&A: Soil, Planting, Watering, Plant Selection, Tools, Books, Resources, Etc."
Switch to hand powered or electric lawn equipment
"Leaf blowers aren’t just noisy — they’re also huge climate polluters. Gas-powered lawn equipment like leaf blowers and lawn mowers pollute a lot more than you might think. They pump out millions of tons of carbon dioxide each year, the primary driver of climate change."
"Peat moss is not a sustainable option for gardening on any level. No matter how good of a product it may be for anyone, the mining of peat moss is an incredibly destructive industry that is harming not only sensitive habitat but some of our largest carbon stores on the planet."
Have we told you that we are 100% peat free in all our growing? We use (and sell) Organic Mechanics soil from seed to sale, all peat-free.
"Cultivate compassion for creatures great and small"
Ok, if you are here we can assume you love wildlife?! The Humane Gardener is one of our favorites. Blog, books...and presentations if you can find one!
Stop using synthetic fertilizer, and maybe skip the fertilizer all together!
Native plants, in the right location, do not need fertilizer. It's one of the reasons they are sustainable. Vegetable gardening can be a different story but there's no reason to use synthetic fertilizers in your home garden. "During rain storms, water running off lawns picks up excess fertilizer on the ground and carries it down storm drains, which often lead directly to streams, rivers, lakes, and bays. Fertilizer that finds its way into our waterways fuels the too rapid and harmful growth of algae and other aquatic plant life. Sometimes the growth is so explosive it creates an algal “bloom” with millions of organisms discoloring the water. This excessive growth causes an unhealthy increase in the amount of organic matter within a water body..." Instead BUILD HEALTHY SOIL! If you must have fertilizer for your vegetable garden we like Neptune's Harvest and Buffaloam.
Put a sign out so your neighbors know what you are doing
There are many places you can buy yard signs. Blue Stem carries them when we are open for the season, but there are many places to grab a sign: National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat signs, Monarch Joint Venture habitat signs, Monarch Watch waystation sign, and Wild Ones Certified native habitats signs.
Find your local Refill Shop! We love Four Corner Supply in Marshfield. "We believe in reducing, reusing, and refilling to create a more sustainable future. Your Go-To Destination For Eco-Friendly And Ethical Home Goods. Local Delivery. Thoroughly Tested."
Join the south shore chapter of Wild Ones
Wild Ones is a native plant garden group located on Boston’s South Shore. "Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes promotes environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities. Wild Ones is a not-for-profit environmental education and advocacy organization.”
Native plants are a food and nectar source, prevent water run-off, lower our carbon footprint, and are generally easy to care for."
Need something great to read? These are some of our favorite books about native plants, wildlife, design, and more. We carry most of these titles, but libraries do too!
Doug Tallamy is an entomologist, ecologist and conservationist, and professor of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology. "Tallamy advocates for home gardens and landscaping that bridge the gaps between parks and preserves in providing habitat for native species. He has spoken on the connections between plants and insects and how those relations are important to birds.He has called for smaller lawns." Any of his presentations are inspirational and full of knowledge.
Take a class at Garden in the Woods
One of our favorite places, check out Garden in the Woods for classes in person or online. "Today, as native plants face the greatest wave of threats since the last mass extinction, we are still a national leader in native plant conservation, horticulture, and education."
Go bird watching at Mass Audubon...
and then come home and plant native plants!
Lawn is helpful for when we need space for soccer and such but most of us could do with less lawn. Our viewpoint on adding clover to your lawn: skip that and just decrease your lawn. Clover that we use for lawns is another non-native plant generally supporting the non-native honeybees. To decrease your lawn we like using cardboard to smother grass as it's not labor intensive. "Sheet mulching with cardboard is an inexpensive way to remove a lawn that does not require chemical application or sheets of plastic. A single layer of cardboard is laid out over the areas of lawn no longer needed. When it eventually breaks down, the cardboard will add carbon back into the soil." Some people are iffy on the glues in cardboard being broken down into the soil but it's leaps and bounds better than a mono-culture of grass or using plastic that will be thrown away.
Plant for the future!
Juniperus virginiana (Eastern red cedar) can live up to around 300 years!
Amelanchier canadensis (Serviceberry/Shadblow) might live 50 years
Shop local
There's a misconception that big box stores have cheaper plants. These plants are generally trucked in far, are rarely native, if they are "native" they are a cultivar. And often the plants seem cheaper because they are annuals. Instead visit a local grower! The first section of this list at Grow Native is a list of local MA growers all focused on native plants. We are a fabulous bunch all with something different to offer. When you shop at a locally owned business most of that money stays in your community.
Aim to keep water on your property
"As we develop our cities and towns, we replace forests and meadows with buildings and pavement. And now when it rains, the water (often called runoff or stormwater) runs off roofs and driveways into the street. Runoff picks up fertilizer, oil, pesticides, dirt, bacteria and other pollutants as it makes its way through storm drains and ditches - untreated - to our streams, rivers, lakes and the ocean. Polluted runoff is one of the greatest threats to clean water in the U.S."
Cheers!
