Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
As more gardeners and landscapers turn their attention to native plants, there’s growing interest in sourcing species that are truly local—those collected from within the same ecoregion. These regions share the same climate, geology, and soils, and the plants that have evolved there are uniquely adapted to thrive in those conditions. Beyond their beauty, native plants play a vital role in ecological restoration—helping to manage water, prevent erosion, and provide food and habitat for countless forms of wildlife.
To see how it all comes together, we traveled down to Pinelands Nursery & Supply in New Jersey—one of the oldest ecological restoration nurseries on the East Coast. For over 40 years, they’ve been collecting and growing between 200 and 300 species of native plants from wild populations, primarily serving the Mid-Atlantic region.
They also happen to be the nursery behind Meadow Lab’s wildflower sod, which we recently installed on our land at Flock.
I met up with Director of Sales, Fran Chismar, to get a behind-the-scenes look at how Pinelands operates, what they’re growing, and how their mission has evolved through the decades.
As more gardeners and landscapers turn their attention to native plants, there’s growing interest in sourcing species that are truly local—those collected from within the same ecoregion. These regions share the same climate, geology, and soils, and the plants that have evolved there are uniquely adapted to thrive in those conditions. Beyond their beauty, native plants play a vital role in ecological restoration—helping to manage water, prevent erosion, and provide food and habitat for countless forms of wildlife.
To see how it all comes together, we traveled down to Pinelands Nursery & Supply in New Jersey—one of the oldest ecological restoration nurseries on the East Coast. For over 40 years, they’ve been collecting and growing between 200 and 300 species of native plants from wild populations, primarily serving the Mid-Atlantic region.
They also happen to be the nursery behind Meadow Lab’s wildflower sod, which we recently installed on our land at Flock.
I met up with Director of Sales, Fran Chismar, to get a behind-the-scenes look at how Pinelands operates, what they’re growing, and how their mission has evolved through the decades.
