The Belladonna Way
Our work is guided by experience and care for the landscapes we steward. Here we share the materials we trust, our gardening methodology, the organizations we support, and the resources that continue to inform and inspire our work.
Belladonna Recommends...
Belladonna Recommends...
-
Plants are living organisms, and their health can be researched and treated much like our own. From the seasonal growth cycles of perennials (they may look dead in winter!) to common diseases and pest problems, the more you know, the better they grow. One of our favorite resources to share with clients is the University of Minnesota’s Diagnose A Plant tool. Simply select your plant type, species, and symptoms to see what the issue might be.
-
A native plant is a species that occurs naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat and was not introduced by human activity. These plants have evolved in their environment over long periods of time—often thousands of years—forming relationships with local soils, climate, wildlife, and other plants. Because of this long coevolution, native plants play an important role in supporting healthy ecosystems by providing food and habitat for wildlife, serving as host plants for beneficial insects, filtering water, and helping stabilize soil. The meaning of “native” can vary depending on scale. A plant may be native to a broad region like the Southeast, or more specifically to a state such as North Carolina. Within these groups are keystone plants—native species that are especially vital to the health of their ecoregion. In our designs, we use ecoregions to guide plant selection and aim for landscapes that are at least 80% native plants. While we may include requested ornamental species, we never install invasive plants.
-
In North Carolina, the best times for planting are spring and fall. Summer heat makes it difficult for new plants to establish, while winter temperatures can slow root growth. Because of this, we usually schedule installations in the season following your consultation. If your consultation takes place in fall or winter, your garden will typically be installed in the spring. If your consultation takes place in spring or summer, installation will usually happen in the fall. Ready to get on our schedule? Contact us to book your consultation today.
-
In North Carolina, the subtropical climate allows for maintenance tasks throughout the year. Curious what those tasks are? Check out our Monthly Maintenance Lists!
-
We recommend natural, hardwood mulch. As it is ideal for moisture retention and weed suppression. We do not use any dyed mulch due to harmful chemicals used to create the products that are later found in our natural ecosystems.
-
Choosing which fertilizer to use for your garden may be overwhelming. However, a natural compost or garden soil amendment is a great option to feed your plants.
-
When you have bare space, or a ‘gap,’ in your garden, it’s an invitation for unwanted plants to establish residence. We recommend minding the gap and filling those bare spaces with green mulch. This can be low-growing ground cover like native strawberry, hardy native grasses, or simply more desired plants!
-
Invasive plants are typically easier to identify than to remove. Fear not! We specialize in the correct removal of each common type of invasive to our region all year round, contact us for an in-person consultation tailored to invasive removal today.
Get Your Hands Dirty
〰️
Get Your Hands Dirty 〰️
Wondering if your plant is in the right place? Don’t know how to identify native plants? NC State offers a free database chock full of cultural information on all plants, which can be filtered to show only plants native to North Carolina. They list common pests and diseases, as well as ideal conditions for each plant. This is our plant research holy grail!
HGNP provides information and resources on successful native plants as natural habitats for wildlife. Founded by Doug Tallamy, HGNP “raises awareness and urgently inspires everyone to address the biodiversity crisis by adding native plants and removing invasive ones where we live, work, learn, pray, and play.”
Based in Matthews, NC, HAWK is "a group of gardeners and wildlife enthusiasts who adopted Squirrel Lake Park in Matthews and turned it into a demonstration site for how individual home owners could provide the five elements of a habitat and create a haven for wildlife.” They hold regular meetings and are a great way to connect with like-minded growers in our area!
Resources
Resources
Check out the garden designers we admire, organizations we adore, and influential voices shaping the way we think about what it means to be environmentally conscious.
Designers
-
“Rebecca McMackin is an ecologically obsessed horticulturist and garden designer. She lives in the woods of Connecticut, writing, lecturing, and designing the occasional garden. She is a public servant, dedicated to bringing beauty and biodiversity to all corners of our cities.” Visit her website to see some of her designs!
-
“Benjamin Vogt is owner of Prairie Up, offering garden design, online classes, workshops, webinars, and guidebooks. He is the author of A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future, as well as Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design. His forthcoming book, Unlawn America: A Grassroots Guide to Rewilding Your Yard, will be released by Timber Press in 2027. Benjamin’s work has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, Dwell, Fine Gardening, Horticulture, Midwest Living, the New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He is based in Nebraska and works nationally.” Visit his website to learn more!
-
“Preston Montague is a landscape architect and artist who developed a passion for the natural world while growing up in the rural foothills of Virginia. Currently, he practices in Durham, North Carolina working on projects that encourage stronger relationships between people and the natural world for the purpose of improving public and environmental health.” Visit his website to learn more!
Organizations
-
Benjamin Vogt’s brainchild is chock full of lawn conversion information, design ideas, and the why behind the mission to plant native and kill your lawn.
-
SELC is a non profit, non partisan organization that takes on any challenge for cleaner air, water, and land for the benefit of wildlife and humans. “Transforming our region away from fossil fuel to clean energy, righting environmental injustice, stopping pollution, and protecting nature—When we solve these issues here, we lead the way for others.” Don’t hesitate to visit and support this amazing organization.
-
Robin Wall Kimmerer’s most recent project that aims to connect us with the land we live on. ”’Drill, Baby, Drill’, that mantra of destruction and extraction, is an intentional slap in the face to people who value land, life, health, and justice over corporate profits. Well, let’s raise a garden-gloved middle finger in return. I invite you, my friends, my neighbors, my readers, my fellow citizens into a new movement called Plant Baby Plant.”
Influential Voices
-
is “a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation… As a writer and a scientist, her interests in restoration include not only restoration of ecological communities, but restoration of our relationships to land.” Her works include Braiding Sweetgrass and the Serviceberry. Visit her website to learn more!
-
A bit misanthropic, and every bit educational, Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t is a worthwhile exploration. “My aim is to give people a context in which to place the living, non-human world that they see around them. Things that were formerly bland become these organisms with their own evolutionary lineages, life histories, and roles in an ecosystem.”
-
“Dr. Doug Tallamy is an entomologist, conservationist, and professor at the University of Delaware, whose work has transformed our understanding of the relationship between native plants and wildlife.” Learn more on his website!
BECOME A PLANT PATRIOT
Interested in one of our services? Fill out the form below, and we’ll be in touch!
“Angela and the Belladonna group are awesome!! They were very knowledgeable and helpful in deciding how to best landscape my yard using native plants our area. . They are very responsive to emails and questions. I look forward to watching all of plants grow!!and I love that it’s an all women run business”
-WH, Charlotte, NC