Magna Silva Gardens

Magna Silva Gardens Gardening business that advocates for native plants & promotes biodiversity in the High Country of NC

05/24/2026

Just a roadside meadow update from one of our gardens in Blowing Rock. A few years ago, the client suggested we added in some shrubs along the road to make it look “cared for,” and we suggested something a little different.

This area gets full sun throughout the day and is loaded with species native to North America. The Pycnanthemum species we have in this garden are star performers 💫

While Pycnanthemum muticum tends to be a hot shot because it’s more readily available, we really encourage you to branch out! 🌱

It’s been a wild week of planting, planting, planting before the rain 🌧️ And today we got in a planting day at Daniel Bo...
05/23/2026

It’s been a wild week of planting, planting, planting before the rain 🌧️ And today we got in a planting day at Daniel Boone Native Gardens in the rain!! 🌿🌿

Big thanks to all the volunteers that came out to plant and make this happen today. Thank you to Bob Oelberg for dedicating your time and creating a master plan for the garden. And big thanks to our fellow DBNG design committee members and the DBNG staff for showing this garden so much love ❤

Together we can transform this place into a community space that really shows people what a native garden can do!

We’re hiring!!! 🌿This has been a long time coming! Magna Silva Gardens is officially looking for a part-time landscape c...
05/12/2026

We’re hiring!!! 🌿

This has been a long time coming! Magna Silva Gardens is officially looking for a part-time landscape crew member to join our small, design-focused team in the High Country.

We create resilient, biodiverse landscapes inspired by the native plant communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, with a focus on thoughtful garden installation and ecological land stewardship.

This position is ideal for someone who:
• enjoys physical outdoor work and can lift 50lbs
• appreciates detail-oriented, quality work
• wants consistent part-time work
• works well on a small team

Position details:
• 20–30 hrs/week (typically 3 days/week)
• Starting pay: $20/hr
• Based in Blowing Rock, NC

Experience in landscaping, construction, nursery work, or related fields is a plus, but not required.

To apply, please send:
• a brief introduction
• your availability
• a resume with any relevant experience or work history

to [email protected]. Please feel free to email with more questions.

Thank you! 😊

When we’re not working (still working?) during all of this “free time” we have in the spring, we’re probably still doing...
05/11/2026

When we’re not working (still working?) during all of this “free time” we have in the spring, we’re probably still doing something plant-related.

This was a boots-off, wade-into-the-creek kind of day. We planted some royal ferns (Osmunda spectabilis) and cinnamon ferns (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) along this creek bank with .

This creek, like many others, was completely changed after Helene hit in late 2024. The US Army Corp of Engineers did some work along this creek last year, and our friends are just now getting their space back and starting to replant! 🌿🌿🌿

05/11/2026

Another one of our favorite native plants is Erigeron pulchellus or Robin’s plantain.

This native can grows in full sun up here in the mountains, but often prefers edge of the woodlands or shade in warmer climates. It can grow in dry to moist soils and has an evergreen rosette.

Not only do they add cheery spring blooms to your garden, but they’re also a vital early season nectar source for native insects! 🌼🌼🌼

500 new plants went in at the Middle Fork Greenway yesterday! 🌱🌱🌱Sisyrinchium angustifolium ~ blue-eyed grassSchizachyri...
04/28/2026

500 new plants went in at the Middle Fork Greenway yesterday! 🌱🌱🌱

Sisyrinchium angustifolium ~ blue-eyed grass
Schizachyrium scoparium ~ little bluestem
Erigeron pulchellus ~ Robin’s plantain
Eragrostis spectabilis ~ purple lovegrass

Shout out to the awesome Director of the Middle Fork Greenway over at Blue Ridge Conservancy, Wendy Patoprsty, for helping us get involved with this landscape!

And big thanks to the North Carolina Native Plant Society for providing funding to purchase these plants through the NCNPS B.W. Wells Stewardship Fund. For more information on how to apply for this grant, please visit the link in the comments🔗

04/22/2026

Hi! Hello! Happy Earth Day 🌎 🌼

And welcome to the first of our “Favorite Native Plant Series” hosted by yours truly here at Magna Silva Gardens.

We do not have one favorite native plant. We have many! So, as the season moves along, we’ll try to post more here about the plants that really get us out of bed in the morning.

For John, Packera aurea aka golden ragwort is a favorite in his toolbox. The deer don’t eat it and it’s a super important early spring bloomer for the pollinators. If you have ample space for it to spread, give it a try!

The ferns! The ferns! We’re out here admiring the ferns 🌿🌿Cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) and interrupted fern ...
04/20/2026

The ferns! The ferns! We’re out here admiring the ferns 🌿🌿

Cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) and interrupted fern (Claytomunda claytonia) are both unfurling their fronts right now.

Cinnamon fern’s fertile fronds and shooting up dead-center and will soon take on the orange-y brown hues of their namesake. Interrupted fern’s fertile middle pinnae show off the “interrupted” gap in the fronds. Pretty easy common names to learn if you stick to those two observations 😉

Both ferns are native to the eastern United States and well suited to the landscapes up here in the Blue Ridge as well find them all over the woods in our adventurous outings.

Carex woodii (Wood’s sedge) plugs going in here to replace this barely-there fescue lawn installed years ago. Yay spring...
04/17/2026

Carex woodii (Wood’s sedge) plugs going in here to replace this barely-there fescue lawn installed years ago. Yay spring planting! 🌱

If you have a small little space like this, and the conventional grass just ain’t growing…well we’d suggest going with something more well suited to the area.

Carex woodii got HIGH praise in Mt. Cuba Center’s lawn replacement trials. It’s similar to C. pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge), but forms a denser mat with blue foliage in the spring. And it’s native to the woodlands of the midwestern and eastern US 🙌

Address

Boone, NC
28605

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

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