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NATIVE
PLANTS
 | The Natural Garden has been growing native plants since 1979. These plants were propagated from seed collected within a 90 mile radius of St. Charles. Now our primary seed source is from well-established stock beds. Our secondary source is a group of reliable suppliers who have either gathered seed from their own plantings, or, with permission, from restorations or wild populations. We offer over 250 species of natives, including the Chicago area’s largest selection of sedges, ornamental grasses and prairie forbs (perennial flowers). |
Native Seed Stock
Our seed is hand harvested and cleaned, resulting in few, if any, weed seeds. We choose hand harvesting over mechanical methods not just to avoid weed seeds, but also because a native plant's seeds ripen at different times. By hand collecting, we harvest only the seed that is ready and ripe, assuring the best germination. Sometimes, the collection period of just one species can extend over several weeks. In contrast, mechanical devices used to collect seeds, like combines, harvest entire fields of prairie plants at one specific time. It may be more cost-effective and less time-consuming, but many of the seeds will not be ripe. |  |
Hand-harvesting insures that almost all the seed is properly ripened, and, therefore, more likely to be viable. Unlike seed from cultivars and agricultural crops, which is bred for uniformity and high, rapid rates of germination, wild seed represents a diverse genetic composition with variable rates of germination. Consequently, we cannot guarantee viability even though the seed is harvested and stored in a manner that encourages the best possible viability for each species.