Three Local Garden Centers Promote Native Keystone Plants in Partnership with Homegrown National Park
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2026
Sharon, CT: Homegrown National Park (HNP) today announced the launch of a partnership with three local garden centers to promote plantings with Tallamy’s Keystone Native Plants. Doug Tallamy is an entomologist, NY Times best-selling author, conservationist, professor, speaker, and co-founder of HNP. “Keystone plants provide essential ecosystem services to the environment, without which the area’s inhabitants would struggle for survival. Planting these species in your yard will support the butterflies, birds, and native animals that support all life, including ours," said Professor Tallamy.
The three garden centers participating are: Ward’s Garden Center and Nursery in Great Barrington MA; Paley’s Farm Market in Sharon CT (near the border of Amenia NY); and Salisbury Garden Center in Salisbury CT. Each will dedicate a space to the Homegrown National Park Native Plant Center, offering Tallamy-designated Keystone plants, including pussy willow, columbine, and black-eyed Susan, in addition to the other native species they carry.
Michelle Alfandari, who co-founded HNP with Doug Tallamy, adds, “A core objective of HNP is to make it easier for people to get started, and to make it easy to shop for productive native trees, shrubs and perennials does just that. The leaders of these garden centers are visionary catalysts for positive change. They are passionate about making a difference and spreading the facts about native plants to their customers. By using innovative cues that allow customers to see what the plant will look like in bloom and understand the wildlife that relies on the plant for survival, they are encouraging consumers to purchase plants that restore the environment as well as beautify their surroundings.”
HNP’s name reflects the reality that the amount of private property including our yards, woodland plots, and land in our communities is collectively much larger than all the national parks in the US combined. Alfandari continued, “If we all plant native plants,
and remove the invasive plants that are taking over much of our native habitat, we will restore habitat lost to development faster than any other means. What is most rewarding is experiencing the results of our plantings with new wildlife appearing almost immediately. Individually and together, we are creating a Homegrown National Park that will build back the biodiversity that all animals -humans included - rely on for food and for health.”
Within the garden center native plant area, customers will be prompted to add their property to the HNP Biodiversity Map, which documents the number of people and acreage being transformed with native plantings. The map has currently recorded almost 50,000 people committed to 170,000+ acres of native planting.
HNP will be announcing the launch dates for each nursery shortly.
About Homegrown National Park: Homegrown National Park catalyzes people to plant native and remove invasive plant species at home and in their communities — one of the most impactful actions anyone can take to restore and protect the natural habitats that support all life. Based on the research of renowned scientist Doug Tallamy, and with co-founder Michelle Alfandari, HNP is dedicated to regenerating biodiversity of native plants and animals to restore the ecosystem services required for our food, clean air, water and climate resilience. Our work empowers individuals, businesses, and communities to take meaningful, collective and science-backed action by planting native species, removing invasives, and tracking progress on our map—a hub that visualizes the collective impact connecting individual backyards, housing developments, and private and public lands rehabilitated with native plants- an area potentially larger than all national parks combined. HNP is building the largest cooperative conservation initiative ever attempted—by empowering individuals and communities to take small, tangible actions that add up to transformative change.
About Paley’s Farm: Paley’s Farm Market is celebrating 44 seasons as your go-to full-service garden center. We grow our own high-quality annuals, perennials, herbs, and vegetable starts, so you can plant with confidence, and we carry everything you need to create a beautiful, thriving garden. This season, we’re proud to partner with Homegrown National Park and feature a dedicated native plant section—making it easier than ever to shop plants that support pollinators and your local ecosystem. Come grow with us!
https://www.paleysmarket.com/
About Salisbury Garden Center: Salisbury Garden Center in Salisbury, CT offers a full array of ornamental garden plants, products, services, and expertise to our neighbors near and far. We work to provide high quality material, fair prices, and fun to our customers' growing endeavors, and have offered accredited organic land care since 2005.
www.salisburygc.com
About Wards: At Ward’s Nursery, we pride ourselves in offering a large selection of native and keystone plants along with a knowledgeable staff that can help guide you in your selection. Established in 1957, Ward’s has a full garden center open year-round where customers can source unique trees and shrubs, hard-to-find annuals, perennials, houseplants, and seasonal gardening accessories.
https://wardsnursery.com/
https://facebook.com/wardsnursery
https://instagram.com/wardsnurseryandgardencenter
Contact: Dee Salomon. 917.698.1809