Welcome to Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay Chapter!
We promote environmentally friendly, sound landscaping to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration, and establishment of native plant communities across Southern Maryland.
Wild Ones chapters are a space where like-minded people gather to support each other in learning about landscaping with native plants and to share with others in their communities and networks about why it’s important to reintroduce native plants into public and private gardens and how to go about doing it. Chapters are where change happens. We are excited to offer local residents the opportunity to expand their impact in the natural landscaping movement and help promote native plants!
SAVE THE DATES for our Upcoming Chapter Events
Please join us for one or more of our upcoming events. Most events are free and open to the public, but please note that some require registration. Please be sure to invite friends and family! Visit our Events page, our chapter Google calendar, or our Facebook Events page for registration and/or RSVP information.
Recent Posts/News
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- Pollinator Week June 22-28, 2026
National Pollinator Week 2026 is observed during the week of June 22-28. “Pollinator Week is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health that was initiated and is managed by Pollinator Partnership. It is a time to raise awareness for pollinators and spread the word about what we can do to protect them. The great… Read more: Pollinator Week June 22-28, 2026 - Jewels of the Night – A Sign of Summer
Welcome summer! The summer solstice 2026 – Sunday, June 21, 2026, at 4:24 a.m. EDT – marks the longest day of the year and the astronomical beginning of summer, occurring when the Earth’s tilt reaches its maximum inclination toward the Sun. Summer brings so many joys in a natural habitat, including the flickering and flashing… Read more: Jewels of the Night – A Sign of Summer - We’ve Moved!
Plant propagation by Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay has moved to Mystical Gardens at NikHaven, the home of Marlene and Bill Smith, our chapter President and Vice-President. After seed stratification and sowing at Providence Greenhouses this past winter, followed by transplanting in May at the UMD Extension Dairy Farm location in Gambrills, it was time to… Read more: We’ve Moved! - Believe It or Not, Seed Collecting Has Started in Our Native Gardens!
Seed collection time, like bloom time, differs from native plant to native plant. While I anxiously await each species to bloom as the seasons progress from spring to summer to fall, seed collection follows a similar progression and has been underway since late April here in my southern Maryland gardens. Collections began with Packera aurea… Read more: Believe It or Not, Seed Collecting Has Started in Our Native Gardens!
A Few of My Favorite Native Things
Native bees buzzing and fireflies lighting
Monarches eclosing and new species sightings
Hummingbirds hover on fast-moving wings
These are a few of my favorite things
Red oaks and white oaks in decades old glory
Dogwoods and redbuds in the understory
Paw paw, persimmon, sassafras seedlings
These are a few of my favorite things
Beechdrops on beech roots and milkweed fluff flowing
Seed heads turn brown as the plants finish growing
Winter approaches and then then comes the spring
When I’ll enjoy more of my native things
When the frost bites
When the wind stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my native gard’ning
And then I don't feel so bad
by Marlene Smith, President Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay