Chapters in Maryland

Bring your native plants and seeds to trade with other gardeners at our inaugural spring native plant swap at the “Front Yard” native gardens. 

This free event offers both experienced and new gardeners a chance to add native plants to their yards. In doing so, you will be creating habitat for our native birds, bees and butterflies.

If you're new to gardening with native plants, this event is the place to get started! Meet and chat with native-plant enthusiasts, view native plants in the Front Yard gardens, and take home free plants and seeds! 

If you're an experienced native gardener, please spread the joy by bringing your favorite plants and seeds to swap and share.  

Strange as it sounds, we're trying to prevent the spread of invasive weeds and jumping worms, so please follow these simple steps when bringing your plants to the event: 

Dig up your plants. 
Shake the dirt off the roots. 
Gently rinse the roots clean.  
Label each plant (include the botanical name if you can). 
Bring them to the Swap & Share in a bucket of water or wrapped in wet paper and tucked in a plastic bag.

For more information, contact Liz Curtz, Friends of St Clements Bay, at [email protected] or Marlene Smith, Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, @ [email protected]
Participating partners include St. Mary's County Master Gardeners, Butterfly Alley, the Leonardtown Butterfly Trail, Friends of St Clements Bay, Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, and the St. Mary's County Garden Club.

Spring upon us and we can feel the excitement in the air! Join us for the May Garden Chat. During this casual discussion you will have the opportunity to ask questions, share your successes and meet other local native plant garden enthusiasts.

We welcome gardeners at all stages of native gardening from beginner to expert as we share our knowledge and experiences with each other.

Everyone is welcome! You do not need to be a Wild Ones member to attend. 

Tours of two residential native gardens, located in Easton, Maryland, kick-off a series of native garden tours as part of the Ecological Landscaping Speaker Series & Native Garden Tours. The tours are free to attend, but advance registration is required.

The Tiernan-Clarke and Morris-Cozy gardens are a feast for the senses and offer endless inspriation for the home gardener. You may begin the tour at either home, where horticultural experts will be on-site to answer your native plant garden questions.

Both gardens have been featured in Shari Wilson’s Nuts for Natives Native Plants Blog. Click here Tiernan-Clarke garden feature, and click here for the Morris-Cozy garden feature.

This is the first garden tour in the series. More speakers and native garden tours will announced soon.

Ecological Landscaping Speaker Series & Native Garden Tours:

In 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026, Adkins Arboretum received funding from the Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT) to provide outreach and education to local Homeowner Associations (HOAs) and the general public, supporting environmentally friendly landscaping practices. 

This series was developed by building on the Naturally Better Landscaping project, in partnership with ShoreRivers, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, Pickering Creek, Phillips Wharf, and Wild Ones. It is offered free of charge thanks to funding from CBT and Queen Anne’s County, and open to the general public.

This Bay Wise certified yard includes examples of a sunny-dry, shady-wet, sunny-wet, woodland edge and food garden. This gorgeous, quarter-acre property is packed with biodiversity while incorporating an HOA friendly design.

Our host is a Master Gardener, Watershed Steward and a CBLP-2 certified landscape professional.

**Members receive advanced access to register for events with limited space. If space is available, registration will open to the public 4-5 weeks prior to the event.

Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay is deeply rooted in natives!

Join us for our bi-monthly Garden Chat to connect and learn from other native plant garden enthusiasts in our area. We welcome gardeners that are just beginning their journey to those with many years of experience as we all continue to learn about native plants and their ecosystems.

Many people are looking to add native plants to their gardens but don't know what to get or what is native for our area. This presentation will go over some of the most common native plants and where to plant them for success. Native Plants are essential because they are the foundation of the ecosystem. Native Plants are those that an ecosystem depends on in order to thrive. We can help fight the biodiversity crisis one yard at a time.

Join chapter members Robin Madel and Sue Williams for this informative presentation which includes information on the Coastal Plain ecoregion; critical area; right plant, right place and suggestions for various situations (sun/shade).

All Wild Ones members are welcome to attend and invite a guest!

Registration is required in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.