Native Plants

Potted native plants on a picnic table at a plant giveaway event.Sustainable Highland Park had been giving away butterfly weed seedlings at the Spring Street Fair for several years when we were awarded the Park Partners grant in 2023 and 2024 to expand the program. With increased funding, we are now able to offer more native plant varieties several times a year to residents.

In 2026, our participation in the winter seed sowing pilot program with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex yielded hundreds of our homegrown native plant seedlings. They include Virginia mountain mint, hairy beardtongue, blue-stemmed goldenrod, and shrubby St. John’s wort.

Visit us at the Spring Street Fair, Clean and Green weekends, National Night Out, and Arts in the Park to get free native plants. For more information, check our events page and Facebook page.

Plants offered have included:

  • Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
  • Red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
  • Blue flag iris (Iris versicolor)
  • Virginia mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
  • Goldenrod (Solidago)
  • Blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
  • Bee balm (Monarda fistulosa)
  • Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
  • Blue wild indigo (Baptisia australis)
  • Little blue stem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
  • Tickseed (Coreopsis)
  • Ferns

Why natives?

Native plants supply food for caterpillars, pollinators, and other animals essential to keeping our ecosystem healthy and balanced. For more information, articles, links to websites, and videos with information about planting and maintaining native plant and pollinator gardens are regularly posted on the Resources page.

We also publicize talks and webinars on these topics, which are sponsored by other Highland Park committees and groups, other NJ towns, and Middlesex County organizations, such as the Master Gardeners. These are posted on our events page.