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The following lists will give you an idea of the types of plants that will be available during the month of May. We often sell out of popular items quickly (but do restock weekly throughout the entire season).

Not everything on the lists will be available all the time. Some things not listed at all, especially rare and unusual finds, are likely to magically appear! Visiting often and strolling around is your best way to see what's new and exciting. You can also always reach out to us to find out whether we have the particular things you are looking for.

We specialize in taking and filling special orders. If you need different varieties, different sizes or larger quantities of plants we will work with you to get you what you need. Just reach out to discuss.

The winter that never really was flew by and we are working overtime to get everything ready for opening day. This year we are working with 9 different high quality growers of amazing plants in order to have a constant supply of great plants to offer. We have some really incredible things in store this season and can't wait to see you all!

We are often asked why we don't open earlier in the season. And sometimes people are surprised to find that every native plant on their 2024 wish list isn't available right on Day 1. Gardening with native plants differs from the gardening many are accustomed to in several ways. This includes the gardening "season" following a different - later and longer timeframe. To orient you to this a bit, we thought sharing a wonderful article that ran last year in a publication called "Backyard Ecology" might be helpful. It is a long read, but we have included it here because we believe that better understanding this information is going to help you better plan and dig in on a new kind of more resilient gardening. So read through and consider what this means for stretching your planting throughout the entire season, and not feeling like you need to do it all during a few frantic weeks of early May!

Why Aren't Some Native Plants Available Earlier in the Season from Backyard Ecology, April 20, 2023

"As spring starts to roll around, the garden centers, greenhouses, and nurseries fill up with seeds, bulbs, and pots of brightly colored plants in full bloom. It’s a scenario that plays out every year in just about every town or city. At the same time, the weather is warming up and everyone is getting the gardening itch. It’s the traditional planting season and we all want to be able to work in our gardens while the weather is nice, the bugs aren’t too bad, and summer activities haven’t taken over our free time. So, we drive over to our favorite local garden center / greenhouse / nursery to buy our plants.

However, if you are looking for native plants there’s one major hitch to that plan. Many species may not be available early in the season. Other species may be available early in the season, but not later in the season. There’s probably not going to be one time of year when you can go and get everything that you want. And in a world where we can now get pretty much anything we want, whenever we want it, not being able to do that can be frustrating. Some native plant species, like pale purple coneflower, come out of dormancy and begin growing early in the season, while other species are much slower to get going in the spring. So, what’s the deal? Why are some native plants only available during certain seasons? Well, to answer that, we have to look at the plants and at the nurseries. We’ll start with the plants.

Not all native plants bloom at the same time. Some bloom REALLY early in the spring. Some bloom in the spring. Some bloom in the heat of summer. Some bloom as summer transitions into fall. And still others wait until fairly late in the fall to bloom. Those different bloom times mean that different species of plants can be in very different growth stages at any given instant in time. For instance, bloodroot is one of our early spring ephemerals and blooms before the trees have leafed out. It’ll come up, leaf out, bloom, and go to seed before something like common milkweed starts to poke its first sprouts up. Species that bloom in late fall, may take even a little longer to fully wake up and break dormancy.

When it comes to grasses, we actually categorize them as either cool season or warm season based on when they break dormancy and begin growing. Sometimes I think a similar classification of herbaceous perennials would be helpful in recognizing when different flowers tend to look the best and be available for sale. Common milkweed, swamp / rose milkweed, and butterfly milkweed are among the many native plants that prefer warmer, more stable temperatures in the spring before the new seedlings sprout.

Many local native plant nurseries are relatively small, especially compared to more traditional nurseries, greenhouses, and garden centers. Many of them also tend not to rely on greenhouses to force their plants to break dormancy early or to sprout seeds months ahead of when they would naturally germinate. Instead, plants are grown outside in natural conditions as much as possible. That means their plants are naturally in sync with the seasons and weather. (In other words, you don’t have to harden the plant off like you would a greenhouse grown plant early in the season.) However respecting those natural cycles and growing periods, means there are some species they aren’t able to offer early in the season for the reasons stated above.

Plants grown for the traditional horticulture trade are often propagated in large, climate controlled greenhouses where they aren’t subjected to winter’s cold or the yo-yo temperatures of early spring. Many of the plants that fill the garden centers, greenhouses, and nurseries early in the season are annuals that are native to other countries. As annuals, these plants have a long bloom season so they have the best chance of producing as many seeds as possible before they die. Any perennials that are available have often been grown from cuttings of more mature plants which means that they usually don’t take as long to reach a sellable size or to start flowering as a plant grown from seed. All of these plants are also typically grown in large, climate-controlled greenhouses. So while winter rages outside, the plants inside may be experiencing spring-like conditions to get them ready to sell early in the growing season. However, the downside is that these plants are also more sensitive to the natural swings in temperature (and late snow storms or freezes) that can occur in the early parts of spring. So, they need more babying and attention because their growth cycles aren’t necessarily in sync with the current season.

One of the benefits of spreading your planting season out is that you’ll have access to a wider variety of species and you’ll have more time to do other fun things in the spring. When it comes to native plant gardening, it’s ok to spread your planting season out. Plant the species that are available early in the season. Then come back to the garden later to plant those species that take a little longer to wake up and become available."

Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium is a super small, hyperlocal, roadside stand located in Swansea, MA directly on the border of Barrington, RI. We are focused using native plants as a tool for building resilient landscapes that nurture life and improve communities. Offering great native plants, prickly pear cactus, magic dirt, unusual pollinator friendly annuals, organic herb and vegetable plants, lots of solicited and unsolicited advice & random curiosities designed to get your yard really buzzing. You can read all about us on our website, including the story of where the name Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch came from. And be sure to follow along on Facebook and Instagram for garden tips, helpful resources, inspirations and to make more connections.