Here are wonderful examples of habitat corridor plantings that have been created by local citizens in collaboration with Hummingbird Hill Native Plant Nursery. We hope this will help provide ideas and inspiration for your own native plant journey! Thank you to those who have shared photos and stories of their habitat plantings with us and for giving us permission to share their projects with others.
Do you have a habitat corridor planting on your property? Feel free to send us an email about your project! We always love hearing about native plant projects, seeing photos, and sharing ideas with others for inspiration.
HUMMINGBIRD HILL NATIVE PLANT NURSERY HABITATS - CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
Here's a peek at some of the habitat corridor plantings at our nursery site! The land where the nursery is located was previously used as a hayfield, and non-native Tall Fescue grew as the dominant grass species, crowding out native plant life. We are working to transition the land to a healthier ecosystem by creating habitat corridors with local genotype plants and encouraging native volunteers. These habitat corridor plantings have been mainly planted with plugs after mechanically digging out the non-native grasses. Where we once saw only limited wildlife, we are now happy to have an abundance of pollinators, caterpillars, and birds of many types (from nesting Indigo Buntings to Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and Blue Grosbeaks). We look forward to continuing to expand our habitat corridors in the future! During your nursery visit, we encourage you to walk around and explore the species that are growing and blooming, keeping an eye out of for pollinators and other wildlife. We are always happy when visitors ask questions, tell us about birds and caterpillars they find in the plantings, or take photos of the pollinators they see!
Some species seen in these photos include Field Thistle, Black-eyed Susan, Yarrow, White Vervain, Early Goldenrod, Hairy Thoroughwort, Little Bluestem, Upland Ironweed, Maryland Wild Senna, Indian Grass, Purple Lovegrass, and Hyssop-leaved Thoroughwort.
WILD SPACE PLANTING - CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
This urban site was planted by local native plant organization, Wild Space, through the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program. "By identifying, conserving, and reintroducing locally native plants, we can help build sustainable plant communities that support many living creatures - birds, pollinators, and more," Wild Space founder, Nicole Zehr, writes. Instead of lawn, this area now hosts a large variety of locally native plants, creating an oasis for wildlife in the city. Little maintenance is required, and in order to support the pollinators using this habitat, the property is kept free of herbicides and pesticides, including mosquito sprays.
Some of the plants included at this site are Mistflower, Hollow Joe Pye Weed, Black-eyed Susan, New York Ironweed, Lyre-leaf Sage, Wild Strawberry, and Golden Ragwort. Species that prefer damp soil were strategically added where moisture collects, and plants that require well-drained soil were placed in more elevated areas. Wild Space collaborates with Hummingbird Hill Native Plant Nursery, assisting homeowners with design, installation, and maintenance of habitat plantings. More information about Wild Space can be found online at findingwildspace.com. Photos courtesy of Wild Space.
HABITAT CORRIDOR PLUG TRAY PLANTING - ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VA
Unused strips of grass between the sidewalk and the street are great places to transform into areas of native plants! Instead of opting for lawn, this homeowner in Albemarle County decided to make the most of this space by creating a habitat corridor planting. Now this section of the property offers an assortment of locally native plants for wildlife, providing host plants, nectar plants, seed sources, etc. The design of the planting includes a stone pathway through the middle to provide access to the street and signage about the native planting. There are a variety of native species that were included in this project. Some of the ones pictured here include Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis), Small's Ragwort (Packera anonyma), Yarrow (Achillea borealis), and Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana). This planting was created with plugs from our Habitat Corridor Plug Trays. Habitat planting and photos courtesy of S.T.
REVEGETATING AFTER HOME CONSTRUCTION - GREENE COUNTY, VA
This site was originally bare after the construction of a new home near a hilltop at 1,200 ft elevation. With the sloping land around the homesite stripped of plant life from construction, erosion was a real concern. The challenging conditions of dry, rocky, and acidic soils were the perfect place for native plants to thrive. Planting local genotype native plants from Hummingbird Hill Native Plant Nursery and encouraging native plant volunteers has helped the area revegetate and has stopped erosion. The nutrient poor soil in this location is now home to 100+ species that are native to this specific habitat, and the area is teeming with birds, pollinators and other wildlife! "I like wildlife of all kinds and I wanted to promote a healthy habitat," says homeowner Steve Phillips. "What I realized I needed was to make habitat as natural as possible, and that meant appropriate to the local ecology. I didn't want to buy a plant just because it was 'native to Virginia.' I needed something native to our local ecology at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains." This project was featured in one of our nursery newsletters: Restoring Habitat
Some of the species growing in this habitat corridor are Small's Ragwort, Wand Bush Clover, Godfrey's Thoroughwort, Broomsedge, Little Bluestem, Creeping Bush Clover, Slender Mountain Mint, Wild Strawberry, Indian Grass, Dittany, Hoary Mountain Mint, Yellow Wild Indigo, Gray Beardtongue, Maryland Golden Aster, Slender Goldenrod, Grey Goldenrod, Arrow-leaved Violet, Low St. Andrew's Cross, and Dwarf Cinquefoil.
TURNING A DITCH INTO HABITAT - HENRICO COUNTY, VA
Many urban homeowners know all too well about the roadside ditch, that strip between the lawn and street where water collects. It's not easy to mow, it's not attractive, and it's just another spot completely void of wildlife. At his home in Henrico County, Virginia, Chris Migliaccio came up with an ingenious way to remedy these factors and stop the mowing: he turned his ditch into a habitat corridor. Now, the ditch is filled with native plants and wildlife, and the feedback from people in his neighborhood has been positive. “Lots of people tell us how beautiful the garden beds and ditch looks,” Chris says. “Children are always looking at the insects that swarm the flowers.” His corridor was even recognized in 2024 with Keep Henrico Beautiful’s Three Chopt District Land Lovers' Award. Learn more about this project in a nursery newsletter that features this site: Turning a Ditch into Habitat
Before planting, Chris Migliaccio tarped the area for 6-8 weeks to help kill the existing grass. Some of the native plants he later added include Yarrow, Silvery Bluestem, Broomsedge, Frank's Sedge, Mistflower, Philadelphia Fleabane, Hoary Mountain Mint, Short-toothed Mountain Mint, Slender Mountain Mint, Lyre-leaf Sage, Early Goldenrod, Bushy Aster, Frost Aster, Purpletop, New York Ironweed, and Common Blue Violet. Photos courtesy of Chris Migliaccio.
REWILDING A LAWN - DYKE, VA
After purchasing a new property, homeowners in Dyke, Virginia discovered they had many native plants naturally occurring on their site, in areas of lawn that were being regularly cut by the previous owner. These natives were hidden low to the ground, but they were still there, hanging on. With plant identification help from Hummingbird Hill Native Plant Nursery, large swaths of native grasses, including Little Bluestem and Broomsedge, were found, and flowering species, like Parlin's Pussytoes, Quaker Ladies, Grey Goldenrod, Frost Aster, Slender Goldenrod, and Maryland Golden Aster, were discovered scattered throughout. The new homeowners decided to discontinue mowing large sections where the natives occurred, converting these spaces to habitat corridors and allowing the pre-existing natives to thrive and spread. In an effort to make the area healthier and increase diversity, the next step was to gradually and strategically add more local genotype plants to the site. This was done carefully with an emphasis on adding plugs of plants that weren't present but that were native to the specific site conditions on the property. These added species are an important part of the type of ecosystem on this property but may have trouble coming in on their own if not planted. Some of the species added include Hyssop-leaved Thoroughwort, Carolina Rose, and Small's Ragwort. Now the site is used by a large number of critters from butterflies, skippers, and bees to sparrows, juncos, and more!
A HABITAT CORRIDOR IN THE CITY - CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
This city lot in central Charlottesville was previously landscaped with non-natives, including invasive privet hedges and Bradford pears. Homeowners Becky Tippett and Michael Towne have removed these invasives, replacing them with natives that are suitable to their site. "We knew we wanted our choices to feel in sync with the local environment and, most importantly, that we wanted something that was low maintenance and chemical-free once it was established," Becky Tippett and Michael Towne said when asked about their project. "Since these changes, there has been an extraordinary increase in wildlife. Not only have we seen an increase in pollinators--bees, wasps, and butterflies--we've also noticed a significant increase in other wildlife like birds." This property is featured in one of our nursery newsletters and includes an interview with the owners on the process of transitioning their yard: A Habitat Corridor in the City.
This habitat includes both planted and naturally-occurring natives. Some of the species pictured are Maryland Golden Aster, Wild Basil, Calico Aster, Yarrow, Broomsedge, Silvery Bluestem, Grey Goldenrod, Copperleaf, Yellow Crownbeard, and Horseweed. Photos courtesy of Becky Tippett and Michael Towne.
WET MEADOW RESTORATION - FREE UNION, VA
In what once was a grassy expanse of soggy lawn with poor drainage, there is now a native wet meadow humming with life. This habitat corridor planting borders a small stream on the property and is often used by wildlife. Early in the year, species like Golden Ragwort and Common Blue Violets bloom, while later in the season a burst of color appears with New York Ironweed, Common Boneset, Cardinal Flower, and Great Blue Lobelia. Native vines, like Virgin's Bower and Virginia Creeper, meander through the plant stems. This section of the property that was previously challenging to mow regularly is now a lively riparian habitat. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds zoom among the flowers, stopping at Orange Jewelweed and Cardinal Flower, and the New York Ironweed gets covered in butterflies during its bloom time. The homeowner transitioned this area to a habitat gradually as time allowed. The planting was done by removing non-native lawn grass mechanically in sections, gradually planting natives, and slowly expanding the area little by little over time. Native volunteer plants were encouraged and weeded around.
