Even though September is Georgia Grows Native for Birds month, I try not to plant until October. Fall plant sales have me itching to add new plants to my rewilded yard now though. I am trying to redirect my energy, so I updated my spring native plant post to compile a short list of the fall plant sales and wonderful local nurseries selling native plants in and around Atlanta. Make sure to click highlighted links to go directly to the websites for more information.
If you typically shop at regular nurseries or big box stores and are new to native plant sales, the biggest difference is that native plants have not been intentionally “designed” to artificially bloom on command. They often do not look like much when you buy them, which is why so many advocates of native plants repeat the age-old adage "first year, plants sleep, second year, they creep and third year, they leap"!
Atlanta Area FALL 2021 Native Plant Sales
Chattahoochee Nature Center fall plant sale has an online option until Thursday, September 16 and an in-person sale for the general public on Friday, September 24 and Saturday, September 25 from 10:00am-5:00pm. They are located at 9135 Willeo Road in Roswell.
Georgia Audubon, Oconee Rivers Audubon and Beech Hollow Farms fall online sale will be open until this Sunday, September 19. Plants need to be ordered and paid for online and picked-up on designated days in Atlanta or Athens. Plants cannot be held later than this. You can also call 678-973-2437 to order by phone. Athens pick-up is at Beech Hollow Wildflower Farm 1575 Elberton Road, Lexington on Saturday, September 25 from 10am-2pm. Atlanta pick-up is at the Beech Hollow location in Scottdale, 389 N. Clarendon Ave, Scottdale (near Your Dekalb Farmers Market) on Sunday, September 26, from 9:00am-3:00pm As of today, September 15, they had a lare selection of perennials and a few bushes and trees, including Pink Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Blue Mist Flower (Conoclinium coelestinum), Mouse-eared Coreopsis (Coreopsis auriculata), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pupurea), Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium), Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium fisulosum), Hyssopleaf Thoroughwort (Eupatorium hyssopifolium), Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus), Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), Red Beebalm (Monarda didyma), Spotted Bee Balm (Monarda punctata), Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum), Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Blue Sage (Salvia azurea), Lyre Leaf Sage (Salvia lyrate), Wrinkle-Leaf Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa), Georgia Aster (Symphyotrichum georgianum), Calico Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum), Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum), River Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium),Longleaf Woodoats (Chasmanthium sessiliflorum) Little Bluestem Grass (Schizachyrium scoparium), American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) Cedarglade St. John’s Wort. (Hypericum frondosum), Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), Coral Honeysuckle (Loncinera sempervirens), Common Elderberry (Sambucus candadensis), Redbud (Cercis canadensis), Red Mulberry (Morus rubra), Black Cherry (Prunus seratona), White Oak (Quercus alba)
Trees Atlanta is having their pre-order online sale now through September 20 at 3:00pm. Pick-up for pre-orders will be on September 25 & 26 at Murphy Crossing. Delivery is available for an additional fee. If you have situations that require special attention, please contact the Tree Sale Lead to discuss (sales@treesatlanta.org). There are non-natives and cultivars mixed in with a large selection of native plants so you need to do your research before buying.
There are still dozens of overstory trees available. If you can only add one native tree to your landscape, native plant guru Doug Tallamy suggests adding an oak. As of today, September 15, there are a dozen oak varieties still available including including White Oak (Quercus Alba), Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor), Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea), Overcup Oak (Quercus lyrate), Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa), Swamp Chestnut Oak (Quercus michauxii), Chinkapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), Cherrybark Oak (Quercus pagoda), Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra), Post Oak (Quercus stellata), Black Oak (Quercus velutina), Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)
Trees Atlanta has some native plants that are not always common at native plant sales including Climbing Aster (Ampelaster carolinianus), Pipevine (Aristolochia tomentosa), Parsley Hawthorn tree (Crataegus marshallii), Strawberry Bush or Hearts-a-Bustin’ (Euonymus americanus), Franklinia Tree (Franklinia alatamaha), Sparkleberry (Vaccinium arboretum), and Yellowroot (Xanthorhiza simplicissima)
Trees Atlanta second chance in-person plant sale is Saturday, October 2 from 8:00am-2:00pm at The Carter Center. The address is 453 John Lewis Freedom Parkway NE, Atlanta. Trees Atlanta usually has informative signage and knowledgeable volunteers helping out if you have any question or want to make sure you are buying a native plant or the straight species of a native plant.
GSU Perimeter College native plant sale is on Friday September 24, Saturday September 25, Friday October 1, Saturday October 2, Friday October 8, and Saturday October 9 from 10:00am-2:00pm each day. There is no pre-registration like there was in the spring, so first come, first serve! Only cash and checks are accepted for payment. This sale is one of the few that is all native plants and they're well priced for the size. Many of the plants are grown on-site, including one of the largest variety of native grasses, sedges and ferns I've found locally. A tiny percentage of the bushes and trees may have been treated with neonicotinoids, so ask Christine about the plants you choose. Check out the Botanical Garden at GSU while you're at the sale. The address is 3251 Panthersville Road Decatur. Contact Christine cpatrum@gsu.edu for more information about the sale. At the sale she is always super helpful with plant selection information.
Woodland Garden fall plant sale is Saturday, September 25 & Sunday, September 26 There is an online sign-up for slots and as of today, September 15 the Saturday slots are all filled but there are still about 150 slots left for Sunday. Woodland Garden is at 932 Scott Blvd. Decatur. The sale is a mix of native and non-native plants. In the past they have been in separate areas. Native plants include Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida), Wild White Indigo (baptisia alba), Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) Hearts-a-bustin’ (Euonymus americana), Blazing Star (Liatris spicata), Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), Native Pachysandra (Pachysandra procumbens), Celadine Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum), Redbud (Cercis candensis), Native Azaleas, native Climbing Hyrangea (Decumaria barbara), Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), and Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides). There will also be a birdfeeder sale featuring bird feeders, suet cages, and feeder posts.
Wylde Center online and self-serve plant sales are going on now. Unfortunately, they sell more non-native than natives, so you will need to do your research to find the natives. There are surprises I find there that keep me going back. In the spring I found native narrow leaf mountain mint (pycnanthemum tenuifolium) and common boneset (eupatorium perfoliatum) and this past week at the in person sale there was a flat of native paw-paw saplings for sale. If there is a name in parenthesis after the plant name such as 'little gem', there is a good chance it's not native. They also have a nice variety of healthy vegetable seedlings, herbs, worm casting bags, seeds, and honey for sale. Online orders will be available for pick-up at Wylde Center’s Oakhurst Garden or delivered for an additional fee. The self-serve sale is ongoing during daylight hours in front of the Oakhurst Garden at 435 Oakview Rd. Decatur. Payments can be made via PayPal (payments@wyldecenter.org), or by dropping cash or a check in the front door. Instructions for payment are posted on the front porch. When the sale is open, the selection changes so check back in.
The Georgia Native Plant Society is no longer hosting native plant sales, so the closest thing to it is their North Metro Atlanta Chapter which is run by the GNPS. The plant sale is on October 9 from 10:00am-2:00pm. There will be plants donated to GNPS from nurseries and members. Vendor plants will be for sale from Cottage Garden Natives in Lithonia and Night Song Native Plant Nursery in Canton. There hasn’t been an Atlanta GNPS sale since fall 2019, so get there early if you go.
Monarch Across Georgia native plant sale is on Saturday, October 16 from 9:00am-1:00pm at the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve. The address is 3787 Klondike Rd, Lithonia. In the spring they had a native plant sale at the Grant Park Farmers Market where I found some native grasses, milkweeds, and pollinator-friendly plants.
NOTE: Fernbank Science Center fall plant sale is cancelled. Look for their sale in April 2022 because even though they sell non-natives, they typically have plenty of natives that are nice sized and healthy for the price.
Atlanta Area Native Plant Nurseries
Native plant nurseries are a way to get your native plant fix without the hustle and bustle of trying to get what you want at a one-time native plant sale. We also need to make sure to support the small independent nurseries selling native plants. We need even more!
Beech Hollow Wildflower Farm has an expanded retail outdoor area in Scottdale (near Your Dekalb Farmers Market). The hours are Thursday-Sunday from 10am until 4pm. The address is 393 North Clarendon Ave, Scottsdale. I’m thrilled to have a closer and more consistent native plant resource intown.
Garden*Hood Is a small, independent intown nursery in Grant Park offering both native and non-native plants. They are located at 353 Boulevard Street, SE, Atlanta and open Monday through Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 10am-4pm. The staff is knowledgeable and will help you pick out the native plants they do offer.
Nearly Native Nursery is a fun, independent nursery to visit south of Atlanta. They are open Wednesday-Saturday from 9am-6pm from October-December. They are closed Sunday-Tuesday. The address is 776 McBride Road, Fayetteville. Call 770-460-6284 for questions. As the name states, they have both native and non-native plants. They also do mail order.
Nightsong Native Plant Nursery is a small independent nursery north of Atlanta offering only native plants. They are open on Saturdays for visiting from 10:00am-3:00pm from September-November. Contact nightsongnatigves@gmail.com for an appointment Monday-Friday. The address is 1095 Epperson Road, Canton. The phone number is 770-401-8896. The owner is super helpful and knowledgeable - I always seem to leave with a carload of plants!
