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Plant & Steward Native Seeds

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​Transform your under-utilized green space into a native planting oasis! Beautify the neighborhood and become an environmental steward by maintaining a beneficial oasis and donating collected seeds to your local Little Free Seed Library , all while spending less time, effort, and money on your landscaping.











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Pictured is the Little Free Seed Library at Bryn Mawr & Ashland.

Dig In
  • How-to Guide: Detailed instructions for designing and preparing your site, then planting and tending to your garden.
  • iNaturalist Project Page: Join a community of gardeners and naturalists to explore, share, and identify observations.

Benefits of a Native Garden
  • Requires less maintenance: Since native plants are well-adapted to local conditions and wildlife, they more readily thrive (once established) without human interventions such as fertilizer, pesticides, and watering. This saves you time, effort, and money! Native plants are generally easy to grow and resilient to adverse conditions, so you can enjoy them year after year with minimal fuss.
  • Reduces flooding and erosion from storm water: Most of the native plants in this starter kit grow deep roots, which means they can soak up and store lots of water from the soil, like a sponge. This helps to reduce flooding from storms — and takes pressure off Chicago’s sewer system! It also prevents soil erosion, since the root systems better hold fertile topsoil in place.
  • Beautifies your neighborhood: Native plants come in a diverse mix of shapes, colors, configurations, and vibes. They provide a variety of blooms from spring to fall, not to mention interesting textures and colors during the winter — they’re much more interesting than turf grass! Some have lovely aromas, too, that entice your other senses.
  • Improves biodiversity and environmental health: Local wildlife require suitable habitats in which to feed, shelter, and mate, and many are specially adapted to the conditions afforded by native plants. In urban settings, native gardens are essential destinations for all sorts of critters — especially pollinators like birds, bees, and butterflies. Native plants also help to improve soil quality, regulate local climate, and reduce the prevalence of toxic chemicals in the environment.
  • Promotes sustainable stewardship of nature: Though we sometimes forget it, humans are intrinsically connected to and dependent upon our natural environment. Cultivating and maintaining a native garden fosters a deeper connection to the land, enriches your sense of place, and provides an instructive example in achieving success through balance and diversity.

What to Expect
  • Variety: Select seeds for particular sun exposure levels, medium to dry soils, and various desirable traits such as hardiness and pollinator-friendliness. Seed germination can be unpredictable, and even after sprouting, certain species may do better or worse than others depending on the specific conditions of the planting site. In short, each native garden’s plant variety will be unique — and that’s okay! If by chance, your garden comes out unusually unbalanced, you should feel empowered to supplement the original plantings with new ones. Consult the field guide for ideas.
  • Development: Patience is key! Native plants typically prioritize root growth before blooms, so they may take a couple of seasons to become established and show their full potential.
    • Season 1: Wildflower seedlings will emerge in springtime as the soil warms, but they’ll grow low to the ground and few will bloom. Remember that most of the action is taking place underground! Weeds may out-grow the native plants, so you’ll have to keep them under control — check out the how-to guide for details.
    • Season 2: Wildflowers will grow faster, larger, and denser this season; many will bloom, and some prolifically. Grasses may still be a bit under-developed. Weeds should be much less of a problem.
    • Season 3: If all goes well, you will see a dense and diverse mixture of wildflowers blooming from spring through fall, drawing a variety of pollinators to your garden. Grasses will fill in gaps and clump together, providing cover for more wildlife.
  • Maintenance: Once established, native gardens are very low-maintenance, but they do require some care and attention in their first couple of seasons to get going. Early on, the most important thing is to ensure that the plants get enough water by giving them a soak once or twice a week (unless nature obliges with a decent rain). Controlling/removing weeds during the first two seasons is also crucial, as it will reduce competition for resources and allow the native plants to thrive. Longer-term, some amount of trimming may be required, but that’ll depend on your aesthetic tastes and how well the plants take to your site. For more details, check out the how-to guide!
  • Collect & Save & Share: In fall and early winter, collect, process, store, store for keeps and also share seeds with the community. Harvest the seed heads, break off the seeds from the plant matter, store in paper, and in a cool, dry place. Donate to your local Little Free Seed Library! Here is more detailed steps and information from the Chicago Botanic Garden & the Field Museum.  

Where to Buy Supplies
  • Native Plant Nurseries List from IL Native Plant Society
  • Gethsemane Garden Center (site, map): Family-owned and -operated gardening store located in Andersonville, stocked with a huge variety of plants, seeds, soil supplies, gardening tools, and more. Probably has what you need, but is a bit expensive.
  • Prairie Friends https://www.prairiefriends.com/ (in Edgewater & friend of EEC!)

Terminology
  • Native: An animal, plant, or other organism living in its “natural” range — that is, the ecosystem in which it evolved and for which it is specially adapted to survive. Examples: piping plovers nesting on the shores of Lake Michigan; purple coneflowers growing in Midwestern prairies.
  • Non-native: An animal, plant, or other organism living in an area where it was not naturally found, typically introduced by humans — intentionally or otherwise. Sometimes called "exotic" species. Examples: peach trees, which originated in China; house sparrows, which originated in the Middle East.
  • Invasive: A non-native species that spreads aggressively through an ecosystem, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic harm. Examples: Asian carp, currently pushing up the Mississippi River basin towards Lake Michigan; garlic mustard, which was introduced from Europe in the 1800s and disrupts the understory of American forest ecosystems.

Additional Resources
  • EEC’s Native Plants Webpage
  • The Chicago Botanic Garden’s “Plant Information” site, including its “Smart Gardener” newsletter
  • The Morton Arboretum’s “Tree and Plant Care” site, including its searchable and filterable database of trees and plants
  • The Field Museum: Planting Your Native Garden
  • Wild Ones nonprofit, promoting sustainable landscaping practices and the preservation, restoration, and establishment of native plant communities
  • Collecting Native Seed from the US Forest Service

Sources
  • Native Gardens 101: Benefits, expectations, terminology, and other info relevant to your native garden.
  • Field Guide: Pics and information about the native plants in your starter kit.
  • How-to Guide: Detailed instructions for designing and preparing your site, then planting and tending to your garden.
  • Garden Labels: Printable identifier labels for your native garden.
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Donate
The Edgewater Environmental Coalition (EEC) is an all volunteer 501c3 organization, FEIN 87-1224378. Donations to EEC are tax deductible under IRS rules.*
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Use the button above to donate via a secure PayPal link.

​                       Thank You!



Donations are welcome. Here are a few of our activities & projects:
  • Town Hall Meetings with Presentations on Current Topics 
  • Grants for beautification;
  • Energy efficiency assistance; ​
  • Spring Clean & Green events;
  • Tree audits & trimming events;
  •  Waste/Recycling Initiatives 
  • Social Media Outreach
  • ​Renewable Energy projects
  • Earth Day & Arbor Day Events 
  • Collaboration with local block clubs, schools & religious groups  
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EEC is a proud affiliate of the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC)
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