Grow and Know - Book Thoughts - Maryland Native Plant Guide Piedmont Region

by Stacey Churchill, June 30, 2026

I will admit to a bit of a panic when I saw we were nearing the end of the month and I wasn't sure which book I would write about this month! I decided to go with a super useful and beautiful plant guide.

The Maryland Native Plant Guide Piedmont Region was produced by a partnership between the University of Maryland Extension, the Maryland Native Plant Society, the Department of National Resources and the Maryland Department of Agriculture. That is a whole lot of coordination that went into a really great guide book - the 1st edition, published in 2025. It may not be produced for our state, but it is still an incredible resource.

This book is a great tool for someone just starting out in the world of native plants as it provides an easy-to-read summary of the importance of native plants to our ecosystem, native plant myths, bloom charts, gardening calendars, discussions on cultivars and hybrids and so much more. I really wish I would have had this guide 20 years ago! Oh the mistakes I wouldn't have made.....

There are immensely practical sections on using native plants as solutions for mulching, creating privacy, stabilizing slopes, difficult growing situations (floods, droughts, salt) and capturing run-off. Each section provides the specific plant names for the situation - truly practical and usable information.

For someone who is always planting more gardens and wants ideas - this guide is great for you too. There are almost 100 pages of full color photos of more than 300 plants with informative captions. If you are considering adding something specific to your garden you can find the plant in the index and get the full picture (literally) of what to expect. As you can tell from the tags in the photo of the book above - I managed to find several that I would love to add to my garden - you can also tell that I may have spilled coffee on the book.

I am grateful to the friends who suggested this book as I never would have picked it up on my own. But as I learned, sometimes it doesn't hurt to broaden your perspective. My short and sweet book thought of the month - I would definitely recommend this book!