Promoting Native Perennial Plants for 28 years
All our plants propagated in Frenchtown, NJ

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When buying wildflowers, make sure they are propagated, not removed from the wild! If you have any doubt, ask! Some plant species have been driven to extinction in the wild due to the collection of wild plants!

Upcoming Event

Monday, September 9, 6:30 PM. Randi will be presenting "Where do Butterflies go in Winter? The critical role of proper Winter Garden care" at the Washington Township Public Library, 37 E. Springtown Rd, Long Valley, NJ 07853. Randi will also bring along a selection of native plants and seeds for sale. This event is free and open to the public. For more information and to register visit https://wtpl.libcal.com/event/11665717

Tuesday, September 10th at 7 PM. Randi will be presenting "Growing your Own Native Edibles" to the Hunterdon Chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey (NPSNJ) at the North Branch Library 65 Halstead Street, Clinton, NJ 08809. For more information about NPSNJ, visit npsnj.org. This event is free and open to the public.

Saturday, September 14th, 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM. Toadshade will back at The Jersey-Friendly Yards 2024 Fall Conference in Toms River, NJ (at Ocean County College, Gateway Building – Lot 4, College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754). We’ll have lots of native plants and seeds on hand for sale and there is a great lineup of speakers and workshops for the day. Preorders can be placed at https://www.toadshade.com for pick up (the deadline for preorders is the end of the business day on Thursday, September 12th). For more information or to register for the conference visit https://www.jerseyyards.org/events/2024-conference/

Sundays, September 15th, 22nd, and 29th, 9 AM - 1 PM. Toadshade will be back at the Hunterdon Land Trust Farmers Market (111 Mine Street, Flemington, NJ 08822). There are lots of terrific vendors there, and US! As always, we’ll have lots of native plants and seeds on hand for sale and Isaac will be there to discuss any questions you might have. Preorders can be placed at www.toadshade.com for pick up (the deadline for preorders is the end of the business day on Thursdays). While you are there, be sure to find out about all the great work that the Hunterdon Land Trust does www.hunterdonlandtrust.org. This event is free and open to the public.

Saturday, September 21st from 12 to 4 PM. Toadshade will be in Madison, NJ for the Eco-Garden Tour Native Plant Sale (12 Fairwood Rd, Madison, NJ 07940). We’ll have planty of native plants and seeds available for sale that day. Preorders can be placed at https://www.toadshade.com for pick up (the deadline for preorders is the end of the business day on Thursday, September 19th). For more information visit https://www.thenatureofreading.com/ecogardentour.

Saturday, September 28th, 8 am - 12:30 PM. Toadshade will back at the Hardy Plant Society – Mid-Atlantic region Fall Gardeners Market in Collegeville, PA (at the Family Home and Youth center, 1015 Bridge Road, Collegeville, PA 19426). We’ll have lots of native plants and seeds on hand for sale and there will be a bunch of other plant vendors there as well. Preorders can be placed at www.toadshade.com for pick up (the deadline for preorders is the end of the business day on Thursday, September 26th). For more information about this event, visit https://www.hardyplant.org/fall-gardeners-market. This event is free and open to the public.

Oaks: A National Treasure, and Our National Tree

Need a Toadshade Hat?

We originally had only intended these hats to make us more identifiable at events, but we were asked enough times if our hats were for sale that we finally caved, and for the first time we're offering Toadshade Wildflower Farm baseball caps. Since we've had ours for years, you can consider these hats very thoroughly field-tested; working outside as we do, we are not especially kind to hats here at Toadshade, but these hold up well, and don't easily fade. They make good gifts, and they keep the sun off your face (your dermatologist will thank you). They're soft and comfortable, a nice sage green color, and although they only come in one size, they're quite adjustable.

You would not believe how deer-resistant these things are.

Although it can be pushy in small spaces, Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) really puts on a show when it's in bloom, and the hummingbirds love it.

Don't see what you're looking for on our online catalogue? Check back soon! We frequently make changes over the course of the season as more species become available. And if in doubt, ask! We'd love to hear from you!

Toadshade is primarily a mail order nursery, and the farm itself is not open to the public. We have, however, partnered with our wonderful local hardware store (Frenchtown Home & Hardware), which is a ‘pick-up’ point for orders, allowing order pickup 7 days a week in beautiful downtown Frenchtown . Any pickup order costing more than $50 must be pre-paid, but pickup is always free! If you would like to pick up your order rather than having it sent by mail, please simply let us know (with 24 hour notice, M-F), and you will be able to pick up your order at the hardware store’s address (Frenchtown Home & Hardware, 11 Kingwood Ave, Frenchtown, NJ 08825) after receiving pickup details and confirmation from us by phone or email.

Has your group considered a Lecture, Seminar, and Workshop? Randi is an accomplished lecturer and popular public speaker. If you would like her to come share her knowledge with your local group, be they a garden club, a university class, master gardeners, etc. let us know.

Check out our Educational Resources

Listen to her discuss native plants, how she got into growing them, some of her favorite parts of being a naturalist, and ways to make an ecological difference in an episode of Backyard Ecology with host Shannon Trimboli

Listen to her speak about Native Plant Societies with Jeff Nelson from the Kentucky Native Plant Society, Ellen Honeycutt from the Georgia Native Plant Society and of course, host Shannon Trimboli in another episode of Backyard Ecology

Or tune in to the Native Plant Society of New Jersey’s new podcast, The WildStory: A Podcast of Poetry and Plants (Randi’s not featured in this one, but she does speak in the central blurb, discussing the Native Plant Society of New Jersey!).

Randi was also interviewed for the Washington Post this year, talking about how to best help your local wildlife in your garden outside of the growing season.

And, for those of you who have always wanted to attend one of Randi’s lectures but haven’t been able to make it, you can now view a recorded version of her presentation Native Groundcovers: Sustainable, Living Mulch” on YouTube, courtesy of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey.

Don't forget to subscribe to our series of educational blogs.

Let us know if you would like a copy of our printed catalogue or sign up for our blog.

Our plant descriptions let you know how difficult each species is to start and we have a helpful guide that describe the various techniques that you can use to start native perennial seeds.

There is always music amongst the trees in the garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.

Minnie Aumonier

All artwork on the Toadshade Wildflower Farm web site, including drawings and photographs is original © 1996-2024 Randi Eckel. To obtain permission to reproduce this artwork, contact Randi.