Native Plant Care Signs
In the garden

Most plant labels stop at the name this one keeps going

A card in the ground tells you what the plant needs, what it feeds, and whether it would work where you garden. Scan the code and the rest of it comes home with you.

A printed care sign for Cardinal Flower, showing a photograph, growing conditions and a QR code
In your hand

The code opens the other half

The card holds what you need standing in front of the plant. The page holds what you want later — at home, deciding whether to plant it, and where.

The printed care sign for Cardinal Flower, with its QR code at the lower right
Printed — 6 × 4 in, weatherproof
The plant page on a phone, showing the card front
The page turned over: growing conditions, why grow it, wildlife value, companion plants and a planting guide
Scroll the back — it is the real page
What you get

Two halves of one answer

On the card

  • A photograph of the plant in the ground, not in a pot
  • Common and scientific name
  • Light, water, soil, mature size, bloom colour and months
  • Why it is worth growing, in two to four points
  • Where it is native, and which pollinators it draws

On the phone

  • Everything printed on the card
  • What it feeds — birds, butterflies, specialist bees
  • Plants that grow well beside it
  • How to plant it, step by step
  • Detail photographs: leaf, seed head, bark, habit
  • A list you can save as you walk the garden
A shared language

One symbol, one meaning

Every sign is written in the same small set of symbols, and a symbol carries the same meaning wherever it turns up — on the printed card staked in the garden and on the page in your hand. Learn it once and you can read any plant in the collection at a glance.

What does it need?

  • Full sun Six hours or more of direct sun
  • Sun to part shade Direct sun for part of the day
  • Part to full shade Little or no direct sun
  • Dry Gets by without watering once established
  • Medium Ordinary garden moisture
  • Moist to wet Wants ground that stays damp
  • Loam or any soil Not fussy about soil
  • Clay Handles heavy, slow-draining ground
  • Sand Handles light, fast-draining ground
  • Mature size How tall it gets, not how it arrives
  • Bloom Flower colour and the months it opens
  • Foliage Shown for ferns, which carry no flower

Why grow it?

  • Deer Resistant Great for gardens without fencing
  • Rabbit Resistant Won't be browsed by rabbits
  • Drought Tolerant Thrives with little water once established
  • Easy to Grow Low maintenance & beginner friendly
  • Fast Growing Establishes and fills in quickly
  • Rain Garden Thrives in wet areas & manages runoff
  • Ground Cover Fills in to form a living carpet
  • Rock Garden Thrives in rocky, well-drained spots
  • Shade Tolerant Grows well in partial to full shade
  • Erosion Control Deep roots stabilize slopes & banks
  • Nitrogen Fixing Enriches your soil naturally
  • Early Bloomer Blooms early, providing critical spring nectar
  • Late Bloomer Provides nectar when others have faded
  • Long Blooming Flowers for many weeks through the season
  • Fall Color Showy autumn foliage adds seasonal color
  • Winter Interest Beautiful structure in the cold months
  • Self-Seeding Returns each year from dropped seeds
  • Pollinator Magnet Attracts many types of pollinators
  • Caterpillar Host Feeds caterpillars of native moths & butterflies
  • Wildlife Food Berries & seeds feed birds and wildlife
  • Seed Heads for Birds Seed heads feed songbirds through winter
  • Fragrant Enjoy its lovely natural scent
  • Fragrant Foliage Aromatic leaves release scent when touched

What should I watch for?

  • Deep Roots Choose a spot carefully; hard to move later
  • Spreads by Root Spreads quickly; may need containment
  • Spreads by Seed Self-seeds freely; manage seedlings
  • Thorns Handle with care; has sharp thorns
  • Toxic to Humans Keep away from children
  • Needs Male & Female Plant both for berries
  • Late to Emerge Comes up late in spring; don't dig it up

Who does it feed?

  • bees Native bees and bumblebees work the flowers
  • butterflies Butterflies nectar at the blooms
  • hummingbirds Hummingbirds visit the flowers
  • birds Birds take the seed or fruit

Where does it belong?

  • New York Grows wild in New York State
  • Eastern USA Native to the eastern states, though not to New York
  • USA Native elsewhere in the United States
  • Naturalized Long established here, but originally from elsewhere
Browse

Start with a plant, or with a problem

Search the full collection by common or scientific name — or begin from the corner of the garden that is giving you trouble.

Browse all plants
Get in touch

The same system, a different plant list

Cards and pages are generated from one plant dataset, so a group with its own species list can produce its own set. If yours is thinking about something like this — or you have spotted something wrong on a plant page — send a message.

It helps to say roughly how many species you have in mind and when you would need them.

Message on Facebook

Developers: the project is on GitHub.