There are some changes coming to North Branch Natives in 2024 that will help us to move forward in a more sustainable and impactful way.
One of these changes is in how we make Illinois native plant species available to you. For the past two years we have been plugging away in our small nursery to grow and deliver plants throughout the Chicago area. This is not necessarily a sustainable model —not in the time it takes or the amount of resources we use. Thus, we will not be growing and selling plants through our website as we have in the past couple years.
What we will be doing instead is exploring new more sustainable ways to help make native species available to you. Some ideas we are working on include a Native Plant Market and Co-op that would bring together growers to share resources and increase availability —all season long. We are also looking at new plant sourcing opportunities and novel methods for seeding and planting that would make native gardening available to more people.
So, while things may look a little different on our site and in the products that we offer, we are 100% dedicated to making it easier to implement native habitat gardens in home landscapes throughout the Chicago area.
Please stay tuned for updates as we plot and scheme and build new partnerships throughout the Chicago area to help make native gardening more accessible (and more fun :) than ever.
Thank you,
Liz, Jane and Nicki