Gardening Resources
No Mow May
The Bar Harbor Garden Club endorses practices that create a pollinator-friendly community on Mount Desert Island, by supporting initiatives like ‘No Mow May’ and plants that are neonicotinoid (pesticide) free. These efforts help to support and protect pollinator populations of native bees, honeybees, butterflies, beetles, and ants
Read more:
Sundial Lupine Project
The Sundial Lupine Project is an ongoing effort by the Bar Harbor Garden Club (BHGC) to re-establish the native sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis) in Maine. This native plant is no longer found wild in the state, although it has been re-introduced in a few small areas in southern Maine.
Learn more:
Becky Gallery, President, Garden Club Federation of Maine (GCFM) presentation:
Invasives Out, Natives In!
(December 2025)
Native plants play a vital role in sustaining Maine’s wildlife, but their growth is often threatened by invasive species. To address this challenge, Becky Gallery explains how this initiative introduces the four “Rs” for habitat recovery:
- Recognize invasive species through educational outreach and identification programs.
- Remove invasives using effective, timely control methods.
- Replace cleared areas with native plants to restore and enhance wildlife habitats.
- Repeat removal efforts as needed, ensuring ongoing management and success.
Select the button below to link to Becky Gallery’s presentation.
Plant Identification
Go Botany – Identify over 1,200 common native and naturalized New England plants.
Go Orchid – Identify over two hundred orchid species, native, and non-native.
USDA Plants Database – Provides information on lichens, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and vascular plants of the US and its territories.
How to Write a Scientific Name – Plant identification and Taxonomy
Selecting Plants for Pollinators – A regional guide for eastern broadleaf forest states.
2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map – The standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location.
Plant Finder
Books
Here are some wonderful books to enjoy:
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake
How fungi make our world, change our minds, and shape our futures.
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
What They Feel, How They Communicate.
The Light Eaters by Zoe Schlanger
How the unseen world of plant intelligence offers a new understanding of life on Earth.
The Language of Butterflies by Wendy Williams
The author explores the lives of butterflies and the role they play in our ecosystem and in our lives.
The Well-Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith
This book is all about the magical quality of gardening and how the power of interacting with nature can provide a vital place for cultivating the mind.
The Forest Unseen, A Year’s Watch in Nature by David George Haskell
The author spins a brilliant web of biology, ecology, and poetry and describes the ecosystems that have cycled for thousands of years.
The New England Garden’s Year by Reeser Manley and Marjorie Peronto
A Month-by-Month Guide for Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Northern New York.
The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch
A gardener’s bible!
Conservation Websites
The Beatrix Farrand Society is located at Garland Farm on Mount Desert Island in Maine.
Frenchman Bay Conservancy is a land trust in Hancock, Maine, USA. FBC serves eastern Hancock County, focusing on the Frenchman Bay and Union River watersheds.
The Garden Conservancy has done more than any other national institution to save and preserve America’s exceptional gardens for the education and enjoyment of the public.
Maine Coast Heritage Trust regional office is in Somesville. Their mission is to advance the conservation of lands and waters in Maine to ensure ecological wellbeing and foster thriving communities.
Gardening Resources
The American Horticultural Society – Promotes American horticulture through lifelong learning and discounts at over four hundred gardens throughout North America.
The National Gardening Association – A social media website for gardening enthusiasts.
A Way to Garden with Margaret Roach – Online newsletter full of gardening information including podcasts and transcripts.
Homegrown National Park – Guide to rebuilding ecosystems that support all life.
My Home Park – Help with designing native gardens, both predesigned and customized.
Butterflies of Maine – 120 species in Maine.
Hummingbird Farm – Clematis Nursery in Turner, Maine.
Bas Rouge Farm & Forge – Native plant nursery in Orono, Maine.
Plants and Seeds to Purchase
Johnny’s Select Seeds – An extensive selection of vegetable and flower seeds, including certified organic seeds. Gardening tools available.
Fedco Seeds – Maine company sells seeds, perennials, trees, and shrubs. Retail store also in Clinton, Maine.
Wild Seed Project – Nonprofit that aims to restore native plants to the landscape. Provides over ninety species of ethically sourced native seeds.
Prairie Moon Nursery – Mail order business for 100% native plants of the Midwest, Northeast, Great Lakes, and MidAtlantic. Ships high quality native plants and seeds.
Garden For Wildlife – National Wildlife Federation and shop native plants for wildlife.
My Home Park – Buy individual native plants for your state, pre-designed gardens, or custom gardens designs.
Ripley Farms – Mail order organic seedlings and perennials or in person. Located in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine.