May 1, 2026

Doug Tallamy has spent decades making the case that the most powerful conservation tool in America isn’t a national park, it’s your backyard. The University of Delaware entomologist, New York Times best-selling author, and co-founder of Homegrown National Park has built a movement around a simple idea: if enough people plant native species and remove invasive ones, the collective impact will exceed anything a government program could achieve. This spring, that idea takes root at three Litchfield County-area garden centers. Ward’s Nursery in Great Barrington, Paley’s Farm Market in Sharon, and Salisbury Garden Center in Salisbury have each partnered with Homegrown National Park to dedicate space to Tallamy’s designated Keystone Native Plants, the species that provide the most essential support to local ecosystems.

Shoppers will find pussy willow, Columbine, and black-eyed Susan, among other natives selected for their outsized benefit to pollinators, birds, and wildlife. The timing is right. Homegrown National Park has already mapped nearly 50,000 people committed to planting across more than 170,000 acres nationwide. Customers at participating nurseries will be invited to add their own properties to that map, becoming part of what may be the largest cooperative conservation effort ever attempted. “Keystone plants provide essential ecosystem services to the environment, without which the area’s inhabitants would struggle for survival,” Tallamy says. “Planting these species in your yard will support the butterflies, birds, and native animals that support all life–including ours.”