D&R Greenway Land Trust's Spring Native Plant Sale

WHAT: D&R Greenway Land Trust’s Spring Native Plant Sale.

WHEN: Friday, May 8th: 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Saturday, May 9th: 9:00 a.m. to noon.

WHERE: D&R Greenway Native Plant Nursery at the Johnson Education Center, One Preservation Place, Princeton, off Rosedale Road. 609-924-4646; www.drgreenway.org

WHY: Eco-conscious gardening using native species provides essential food for wildlife; contributes to a healthy, biodiverse ecosystem; and creates low maintenance plantings.

D&R Greenway Land Trust invites the public to its annual Spring Native Plant Sale, held outside the Johnson Education Center on Friday, May 8th and Saturday, May 9th. D&R Greenway’s Native Plant Nursery is a community resource for regionally native plants that contribute to a healthy, biodiverse ecosystem. D&R Greenway nursery staff is available to advise the best choice of plants for gardening projects.

The sale will take place from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Friday, and from 9:00 a.m. until noon on Saturday. The Nursery is located at One Preservation Place, south of Princeton, off Rosedale Road. No registration is required.

Native plants are adapted to central New Jersey’s climate, making them more drought-resistant than most exotic plants, and also provide essential food & habitat resources for wildlife. Of particular concern are native pollinators such as bees and butterflies, which especially depend on native plant species to survive. A famous example is the monarch butterfly, now in decline largely due to the loss of milkweed across the United States. Gardeners can help by planting milkweed and other native plants on their property!

D&R Greenway’s plants are grown from genetically local seeds gathered on their preserves and tended in the nursery by staff and skilled volunteers. Plants grown from locally sourced commercially-grown plugs and bare-root plants will also be available for purchase.

Plants are available in quart and gallon-sized pots from $5 to $12. A full catalog is available online at www.drgreenway.org/PlantCatalog.html. Please contact Emily Blackman, Nursery Manager, to check species availability at (609) 924-4646, or eblackman@drgreenway.org.

D&R Greenway’s Native Plant Nursery will offer summer plant sales every Friday, beginning June 5th through August 28th. These Friday Summer Sales will take place from 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., with the exception of July 3rd.

Background

Because central New Jersey’s native plants and wildlife evolved together, they are highly adapted to and dependent upon each other. Native plant nutrition is especially critical for wildlife at energy-intensive times of the year, such as spring and fall migration, and during courtship and breeding. In turn, native plants rely upon wildlife for pollination and seed dispersion. Whereas indigenous plants support diversity and disease-resistance, invasive species form monocultures that outcompete other plants. Replacing them with native species, which co-exist, creates a complex, vibrant ecosystem vital to both plants and animals.

D&R Greenway Land Trust has preserved over 18,500 acres of land in central New Jersey. Their mission is to preserve a network of natural lands and open space accessible to the public, and to inspire a conservation ethic through educational programming, including increasing awareness of the benefits of native species. The nursery provides plants for habitat restoration projects on D&R Greenway managed land, for use by home gardeners, and for native garden projects by schools and other conservation non-profits.