About the Guides
The Piedmont guide is the first in a series of three native plant guides covering the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Level II ecoregions in Maryland: Mountain, Piedmont and Coastal Plain. We are confident that once you learn about the region’s charismatic native plants, along with their inextricable links to local wildlife, you will see outdoor spaces in a different light and be ready to add natives to your landscaping. We hope the Piedmont and future guides (coming soon!) will inform, inspire, and move you to go native!
Why native plants?
Developed landscapes need to be more than beautiful. They have to serve multiple functions, from supporting pollinators and local wildlife to protecting one of the region’s most treasured natural resources: the Chesapeake Bay. Because 95% of the land in MD drains into the Bay1, we all have the opportunity to contribute to the health of our region. Maryland has an amazingly diverse flora with 2,918 established species, of which 71.8% (2,095) are native2. Of these, over 675 are commercially available, so design possibilities abound.
One of the most simple and cost effective ways to help our waterways is to plant an abundance and diversity of native plants. We can incorporate native plants into our landscapes through thoughtful, bold designs that go beyond the limited palette typically used in residential and commercial projects. What does “native” mean? In the series of guides, we use the definition from the 2023 Maryland Native Plant Program (MNPP) House Bill 950/Senate Bill 836. A native plant “occurs naturally in the state and surrounding region, ecosystem, and habitat, without direct or indirect human actions.” This consists of the species that were present before colonial settlement or are listed as native to the State in the Maryland Plant Atlas, a database managed by the Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) in collaboration with the UMD's Norton-Brown Herbarium, and the Maryland Biodiversity Project. The plants in this guide are:
1. native to the given Maryland ecoregion (Mountain, Piedmont or Coastal Plain)
2. on the Commercial Maryland Native Plant List, maintained by the MNPP Advisory Committee made up of UMD Extension, DNR, Maryland Native Plant Society, Dept. of Agriculture, and industry partners
3. deemed appropriate for residential and commercial landscapes
Go native and plant with a purpose!
The 184-page Maryland Native Plant Guide Piedmont Region includes:
- educational articles to support gardening success
- photos and descriptions of 300+ featured plants
- plant lists for specific site conditions
- aquatic plants suitable for ponds
- advice on managing invasive species
- planting approaches in the face of climate change
- an index of plants native to the Maryland Piedmont
- planting strategies from nature writer Nancy Lawson
- tips for dealing with deer (includes deer-resistant plants)
