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- wholesale spreadsheet | Blue Stem Natives
Blue Stem Natives is an ecologically thoughtful native plant nursery serving southeastern Massachusetts and beyond. > wholesale spreadsheet > Wholesale Plant Inventory Spreadsheet updated on Mondays, May - October only (sorry, no pre-orders) Welcome! If you are a landscaper or landscape designer please jump back to this page to fill out our wholesale application. After approval, we will apply a 15% discount to your wholesale orders. Approved wholesale buyers can download, fill out, and email this form back to us at wholesale@bluestemnatives.com.
- Why Native Plants Matter in New England | Blue Stem Natives
Learn why New England native plants matter for pollinators, birds, and healthy ecosystems, and how they support local wildlife. Why Native Plants? Native plants are the backbone of healthy New England landscapes. They’ve evolved here over thousands of years, which means they support local wildlife, handle our unpredictable weather, and bring back the beauty and resilience our yards often miss. A Healthier, More Vibrant Landscape Traditional lawns and highly cultivated plants may look tidy, but they often lack the food, shelter, and seasonal interest our ecosystems rely on. Native plants do the opposite — they invite birds, bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects back into our outdoor spaces. Nature-Friendly by Design When you plant natives, you’re choosing species perfectly adapted to: New England’s freeze-thaw cycles Droughts and heavy rain Local soils Native pollinators and wildlife Instead of requiring constant watering, feeding, or babying, natives thrive on their own — and bring your landscape to life in the process. Beauty with Purpose Native plants add four-season interest: blossoms in spring, structure in summer, color in fall, and seedheads that feed birds through winter. They make your yard feel alive, dynamic, and connected to the land around you. A Simple Way to Make a Big Impact Adding even a few native species can: Reduce maintenance Improve soil health Support declining pollinator populations Restore habitat right in your backyard Gardening with natives isn’t just rewarding — it’s restorative, sustainable, and deeply impactful. You can visit our blog to read more about native plants!
- Berries for Birds | Blue Stem Natives
There are many ways that native plants can attract feathered friends to your landscape. We've compiled a list of native plants that provide food for birds in the form of fruit or berries; offering fruit in your landscape across the seasons contributes essential nutrition and energy for health, breeding, and migration. What to Plant: Berries for Birds There are many ways that native plants can attract feathered friends to your landscape. We've compiled a list of native plants that provide food for birds in the form of fruit or berries ; offering fruit in your landscape across the seasons contributes essential nutrition and energy for health, breeding, and migration. Bonus: Did you know that native birds will eat the native berries in your yards then (um) "deposit" seeds in the woods nearby, thus creating even more vegetation that supports your local ecosystem. (This is a GREAT thing if it's a native plant and NOT a good thing if it's a non-native plant.) Important side note: If you want to read more about how most baby birds are raised on insects you can read more about that here . Spoiler: Plant native. (photo of a Blackburnian warbler by Paul Hurtado) Further Reading online: "Landscaping for Birds" , Mass Audubon online: "How to Make Your Yard Bird-Friendly" , National Audubon Society online: " Landscaping For Birds, Bugs and Beyond ", Orleans, Cape Cod
- Rain Garden | Blue Stem Natives
New England native plants designed for rain gardens that manage stormwater while supporting pollinators. > Rain Garden > What to Plant: Native Plants for Rain Gardens Planting Rain Gardens is a widely misunderstood concept for many of us. The term brings to mind marshy areas and water loving plants, which most homeowners simply don’t have. We assume we don’t have the appropriate area or need for such a garden. In reality, a rain garden is a wonderful tool to be used in areas which might receive a higher amount of water but isn’t necessarily consistently wet. We probably all have downspouts, right? Spots in our yards where water runs down and pools for a longer period than others? These are the perfect places to plant species capable of filtering larger amounts of water, but can also survive in periods of drought. Further Reading video: "How To Build A Rain Garden" , NSRWA, WaterSmartSouthShore, and Wild Ones book: "Rain Gardens: Sustainable Landscaping for a Beautiful Yard and a Healthy World" , Lynn Steiner online: "How to Build a Rain Garden to Filter Run-Off" , This Old House online: "How to Build a Rain Garden in Your Yard", Family Handyman online: "Building a Rain Garden", Northampton, MA Gov site
- Edible | Blue Stem Natives
Edible New England native plants that offer food for people while supporting pollinators and local ecosystems. > Edible > What to Plant: Edible Native Plants When we think about edible plants, we most often envision plump, tasty berries, or obvious hanging fruit. If you focus solely on these attributes, you will be missing out on the wide variety of native plants that are edible, either entirely or in part. Many of our native plants have been used for centuries by Indigenous People for both food and medicinal purposes. While we list our favorites here, we always caution you to do your own thorough research, understand what parts of a plant are edible and under what circumstances, and always, ALWAYS exercise caution when collecting and eating any wild-collected plant. Further Reading E.L.A. newsletter article: "More Edible and Landscape-Worthy Plants of New England " - Georgia Hann and Russ Cohen book: "Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten" - Russ Cohen online: "Edible and Landscape-worthy Native Plants of New England" - Russ Cohen and Ellen Sousa online: "Native Greens" - Wild Seed Project online: "The Tastiest Plants in New England" - Dan Wilder (Jaffe)
- presentation raffle | Blue Stem Natives
Blue Stem Natives is an ecologically thoughtful native plant nursery serving southeastern Massachusetts and beyond. > presentation raffle > Enter to subscribe to our newsletter and enter the raffle for a $25 Blue Stem gift certificate! First name Last name Email I want to subscribe to the newsletter. Submit Thanks for submitting! Newsletter sign-up! wholesale terms
- Soil, Pots & Pricing | Blue Stem Natives
Information on soil mixes, pots, and pricing for New England native plants, seeds, and garden supplies. > About > Soil, pots, and pricing > Soil, Pots, and Pricing Soil We grow the majority of the plants that we carry*. The organic soil we use, from germination to full grown plants, is from Organic Mechanics. This organic soil is delivered in "super sacks" which are 60 cubic foot bags. The soil is a mix of: coconut coir, pine bark, rice hulls, compost, earthworm castings, and OMRI fertilizer. WE ARE COMPLETELY PEAT FREE in our own growing. Read more about the problem with peat here . Our soil stays up off the ground so as to avoid any critters on the property. *We bring in plants from other reputable growers as well, some use peat and some don't. All are Neonicotinoid-free. You can also purchase bags of Organic Mecanics soil from us. We carry a compost blend and a container blend . Both are organic and peat-free. Pots The vast majority of our pots and trays are made from recycled plastic. We happily take back any of our own pots to wash and reuse. We also love to reuse our plastic plant tags. Pots and tags can be left in front of our checkout shed in the tagged location. We CANNOT take pots from other growers, those will sadly be thrown in the trash if you leave them, see notes below. Please return those to where you purchased them. Pricing What goes into our pricing? We've done a comprehensive analysis of the market and have thus priced our plants competitively . We take into account that our plants are grown in organic peat-free soil in recycled pots, and grown from seed. We are not certified organic but we use all natural growing practices. Please note that actual pot and plant sizes and shapes will vary. Shrubs in the same sized pot as a perennial will cost more as they generally take longer to reach maturity. When we are deciding if a plant is ready to go out into the world one of the first qualifiers we look for is a solid root structure. Growth above "ground" level will be variable species to species and time of year. Plant sizes, prices, and availability subject to change. Perennial Pricing 1 or 1.25 Quart pot * roughly $10.95 generally first year plants 2 Quart pot * roughly $16.95 generally second y ear plants or older 2.5 Quart pot * roughly $16.95 generally second y ear plants or older 1 Gallon pot * roughly $23 generally second y ear plants or older Environmental Impact of Plastic Pots The typical garden center/nursery contributes to the problem of the overwhelming number of single-use plastic garden pots in the United States. Approximately 4 billion plastic pots are produced and used every year in the U.S. horticultural industry, using 1.66 billion pounds of plastic. And only a tiny fraction of this is recycled. Since black plastic pots are dyed with carbon inks they are not recyclable, black plastic is also not scanable by sorting machines. This means they are a single-use plastic, taking around 450 years to decompose. If you are wishful-thinking-recycling and putting these pots in your household recycling, they are being thrown out by someone else down the line. You can read more about this problem in the links below. Additional Reading Plastic Pots and the Green Industry, Production, Use, Disposal and Environmental Impacts by Marie Soulliere-Chieppo The Truth About Recycling Plastic Pots , from Here by Design. sourcing pots
- Contact | Blue Stem Natives
Blue Stem Natives is an ecologically thoughtful native plant nursery serving southeastern Massachusetts and beyond. Meet The Team Contact Us > Contact > Location Village Gardens: 376 Washington St. Norwell, MA 02061 ( Rear lot) E-mail info@BlueStemNatives.com wholesale@BlueStemNatives.com Phone (781) 738-4869 (call or text) How Can We Help? F.A.Q. Can’t find an answer in the F.A.Q. button above? Email us or submit the form: Email Subject Your message Please allow a few days for a reply Send Thanks for submitting!
- Groundcovers | Blue Stem Natives
Low-growing New England native groundcovers ideal for weed suppression, erosion control, and habitat support. > Groundcovers > What to Plant: Native Plants as Groundcover/Living Mulch The term “groundcover” spans a wide variety of plants, some of which may surprise you. When most people think of groundcovers, they envision plants that are short and spread quickly. Add to that list taller plants that shade the ground as well. Plants that have squat profiles and spread out over the ground work to prevent sunlight from reaching the seeds in the ground, thereby reducing unwanted plant growth. The real benefit to installing groundcovers instead of relying on mulch is that you are keeping patches of soil open which allows a habitat for our native ground-nesting pollinators. Further Reading online: "Native Ground Covers for Beauty and Biodiversity at the Ground Level" - Wild Seed Project PDF: "Why Mulch When You Can Plant" - Dan Wilder
- non-profit new terms | Blue Stem Natives
Blue Stem Natives is an ecologically thoughtful native plant nursery serving southeastern Massachusetts and beyond. > non-profit new terms > Acknowledgement of New Terms Non-Profits Thank you for your continued interest and for being flexible as we improve and grow our wholesale offerings and organization. Thank you! Note: add something about 3 ways to shop. and then if shopping through "requesting a quote...:" I understand, if not purchasing online or in person, business orders require a non-refundable 20% deposit/”RE-STOCKING FEE”. Once an order has been placed Not applicable to non-profits/towns and not applicable to future orders. Business pay ahead Figure out 20% of online order doesn’t get returned? Email Company OR Nonprofit Name Changes to Wholesale/Bulk Purchasing: If purchasing through a quote request, now needs to be submitted through our SPREADSHEET and UP TO 3 WEEKS ahead of pickup. DISCOUNTS will now be based on QUANTITY OF EACH PURCHASE (rather than expectation of yearly purchases). 0%, 15%, to 25% Orders must be picked up within 3 weeks of placement. I understand business orders require a non-refundable 20% restocking fee. Not applicable to non-profits/towns. I understand business orders require a non-refundable 20% restocking fee. Not applicable to non-profits/towns. Submit Thank you for being a customer, we appreicate it
- test | Blue Stem Natives
> test > Garden Planning Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
- about | Blue lue Stem Natives
Blue Stem Natives is an ecologically thoughtful native plant nursery serving southeastern Massachusetts and beyond. > Events Calendar > Events/Calendar Blue Stem on the Road info
- Plants | Blue Stem Natives
> Buy > Plants > Native Plants We are open for in-person shopping or online shopping (with in-person pick-up). Please remember...we aren't "Old Navy"! We have LIVING inventory that comes in and out of stock when plants are ready...ALL SEASON LONG. "Out of stock"? Sign up for restocking notification on each species' page (size specific, your best bet is to request notification for every size you are interested in). It's automated! Use the filters to narrow down plants that might work for you. Click "Sort by", below, to view alphabetically. See this week's inventory in spreadsheet format here (updated every Monday). Plant numbers change rapidly. Only species in stock are on the list. Soil, Pots, and Pricing Ideas of What to Plant type All annuals + biennials perennials ferns grasses + sedges shrubs trees vines pre-planned kits sun needs sun part sun shade water needs dry soil average soil moist soil wet soil height low <12" medium 12"-24" tall >24" bloom color white red pink blue yellow orange purple green brown seasonal interest spring summer autumn blooms/interest great fall leaf color winter interest evergreen special notes deer resistant* edible salt resistant species of concern tolerates roadside locations groundcovers good in containers shoreline wildlife berries for birds for hummingbirds supports at-risk insects Custom Filter purple erosion control for small mammals spring Sort by Cystopteris bulbifera (bulblet fern) Uvularia sessilfolia (wild oats) Quercus palustris (pin/swamp oak) Oenothera biennis (Common evening primrose) Hypericum ascyron (great St. John's wort) Cyperus strigosus (Straw-colored Flatsedge) Azalea atlanticum (coastal azalea) Rhododendron periclymenoides (Pink azalea) Amelanchier laevis (smooth serviceberry) Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch) Andropogon virginicus (broomsedge bluestem) Anemone cylindrica (thimbleweed) Chamaecrista nictitans (wild sensitive pea) Deschampsia flexuosa (wavy hair grass) Elymus canadensis (Canada wild rye) Eurybia spectabilis (showy aster) Gentianopsis crinita (fringed gentian) Lilium philadelphicum (wood lily) Maianthemum canadense (canada mayflower) Oligoneuron rigida (stiff goldenrod) Physocarpus opulifolius (ninebark) Salix lucida (shining willow) Scrophularia lanceolata (lance-leaved figwort) Scrophularia marilandica (late figwort) Symphyotrichum pilosum (frost aster) Trichostema dichotomum (forked bluecurls) Hordeum jubatum (squirrel tail grass) Epigaea repens (mayflower/trailing arbutus) Hypericum mutilum (dwarf St. John’s wort) Chamaecyparis thyoides (Atlantic white cedar) Prunus virginiana (chokecherry) Baccharis halimifolia (groundsel bush)
- Blog | Blue Stem Natives
> About > Blog > Blog We love to share our knowledge and understanding of how native plants work in the world, and muse about our journey towards establishing an ecologically mindful nursery. You can search by a topic within the subjects below, or browse through and read it all! All Posts native plants soil invasive plants insects ecoregion natives for newbies drought seeds design wildlife seasons Search bluestemnatives Jul 15 5 min A Guide to Caring for a New Garden During Summer Weather 690 0 comments 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 bluestemnatives Jun 22 2 min Huzzah! The Monarchs have arrived! 801 0 comments 0 4 likes. Post not marked as liked 4 bluestemnatives Jun 13 2 min WehadaBayberry…itsaboy 553 0 comments 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 bluestemnatives Jun 2 3 min PLANTING FOR POLLINATORS 894 0 comments 0 4 likes. Post not marked as liked 4 bluestemnatives Mar 30 4 min Garlic mustard...space invaders! 1,303 0 comments 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 bluestemnatives Jan 25 8 min Burning Bush: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 7,796 0 comments 0 7 likes. Post not marked as liked 7 bluestemnatives Jan 1 5 min 10 Beginner-Friendly Native Plants to Beautify Your GARDEN WHILE buildING habitat 1,668 0 comments 0 Post not marked as liked Kristen Sep 1, 2023 2 min And when the rain beats upon the windowpane, i'll think of summer days again... 534 0 comments 0 Post not marked as liked Kristen Apr 14, 2023 3 min April showers bring... 378 0 comments 0 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Kristen Mar 2, 2023 2 min Winter doldrums, garden dreams 559 0 comments 0 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Kristen Feb 1, 2023 3 min Winter Interest in the Garden: Why it matters and who does it serve? 394 0 comments 0 4 likes. Post not marked as liked 4 bluestemnatives Aug 9, 2022 1 min Adding Function and beauty to your outdoor space with a trellis 334 0 comments 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 bluestemnatives Nov 1, 2021 4 min ToP TEN FALL GARDEN CHORES 613 0 comments 0 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 bluestemnatives Jun 27, 2021 4 min The drought is coming 603 0 comments 0 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Kristen Mar 10, 2021 4 min What's the deal with cultivars? 921 0 comments 0 17 likes. Post not marked as liked 17 bluestemnatives Mar 8, 2021 1 min Getting to know us 190 0 comments 0 5 likes. Post not marked as liked 5 Kristen Feb 27, 2021 4 min Natives for newbies 346 0 comments 0 9 likes. Post not marked as liked 9 Kristen Jan 30, 2021 5 min Why choose native plants? 685 0 comments 0 11 likes. Post not marked as liked 11
- Book Online | Blue Stem Natives
Workshops All Services Workshops Consultation Services "MAKE + TAKE": Native container garden Native Plant Container Garden Loading days... 36 US dollars $36 Book Now Presentation: Seed Saving saving native seed Loading days... 20 US dollars $20 Book Now Winter Seed Sowing in Milkjugs fall 2023 give your garden a jump start Loading days... 30 US dollars $30 Book Now Native Plants for Newbies, June 27, 2024 Join us for a free online presentation! Loading days... Book Now Ecological Consultation 1 hr 400 US dollars $400 Book Now
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