Ulrich Lorimer is the director of the Native Plant Trust in Framingham, MA, a conservation organization that manages Garden in the Woods. He has been a longtime advocate for cultivating native plants in both public and private gardens to help offset habitat loss. In this episode, he talks about some outstanding native species that have an outsized impact when planted in a garden setting. He also digs into the nitty-gritty of designing with regionally adapted plants, gardening in a changing climate, and integrating native plants into our backyard ecosystems.  

Learn more: Northeastern Invasive Plants to Avoid and Native Alternatives to Use Instead

Uli’s Favorite High-Impact Northeastern Native Species 

Narrowleaf mountain mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Zones 4-8) 

Turk’s cap lily (Lilium superbum, Zones 5-8) 

Cucumber magnolia (Magnolia acuminata, Zones 3-8) 

White oak (Quercus alba, Zones 3-8)  

Photo Labels  

Narrowleaf mountain mint, flower (credit: Uli Lorimer) 

Narrowleaf mountain mint, winter seed heads (credit: Uli Lorimer) 

Turk’s cap lily, flower (credit: Uli Lorimer) 

Turk’s cap lily, habit (credit: Uli Lorimer) 

Cucumber magnolia (credit: Courtesy of William Friedman via Wikimedia) 

White oak (credit: Uli Lorimer) 

Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts (credit: Uli Lorimer) 

Garden in the Woods in summer (credit: Uli Lorimer) 

Seed plots at Nasami Farm Nursery (credit: Uli Lorimer) 

‘Iron Butterfly’ ironweed (credit: Michelle Gervais) 

New York ironweed (credit: Michelle Gervais)