Before you squish that ant you find crawling on your native plant, consider this: ants play a vital role in supporting native plants. How? Read on! Myrmecophytes The word for a plant that has a symbiotic relationship with ants is a “myrmecophyte.” This is just a conglomeration of the Greek words for “ant” and “plant.” That relationship can take a number of different forms. In ecological terms, they are often mutualisms, where both the ant and the plant benefit from the interaction.

Updated February 18, 2026 Most of the plants we sow here at Red Trillium Gardens are winter-sown – meaning that they are sown outdoors in plug trays in the winter, giving the seeds the cold, moist conditions that many require in order to germinate. We also sow some species indoors for availability early in the season. Usually these are seeds that require little or no stratification. This year we will be sowing some annuals indoors so that they are available much earlier in the season.

I’m settling in to seed collection and cleaning season here at the nursery, an activity which has left my fingers stained blue and my eyes straining (those summersweet seeds are tiny, yo). Things feel a bit calmer than the height of the season, but it’s never too quiet around here… Help us grow taller! Help us serve you better! If you interacted with Red Trillium Gardens in 2025 – even if you didn’t make a purchase – we’d love feedback on your experience.

To the tune of Mr. Mister’s “Take These Broken Wings”: Take! These native plants and put them in your yard Let them grow so free (Good thing you didn’t have to hear me sing that). Anyway! Here at the nursery, we have hundreds of native perennials just waiting to be put in the ground. And tomorrow (Sunday), Oct 5, 2025, 10am-4pm, is our biggest sale of, maybe, ever? What will we have?

Fall Native Plant Sale Save the date! We’ll be doing our end of season native plant sale Sun, Oct 5th, 2025, from 10am-4pm in Lunenburg, MA. Anyone who attends will receive a $5 off coupon valid in 2026! What can you expect? Since this is a public event, please email me for the address, so I know you’re a real person and not an internet rando. This is a rain or shine event.