Blue Stem Natives

06/20/2026

We hope your Juneteenth was meaningful, and we hope that your father’s day weekend is relaxing, and maybe full of plants. There are many great reasons to shop at Blue Stem this weekend, including:

A free bee balm, pint or quart (with plant purchase).

A chance to spin the wheel to win discounts, free seed packets, free plants, and free guidebooks. No purchase necessary (if you aren’t making a purchase and land on a discount, you’ll receive a coupon for a discount for your next visit)

Vegetable seeds and plants are 40% off this weekend only!

All meadow rue are 20% off. They are GORGEOUS, we just have too many.

This weekend we literally have the most plants we’ve ever had at one time. We are so full that if you look back over the fence at the nursery you’ll see trays of plants we grew that are peppered with yellow landscape flags. Those yellow flags are our internal communication system meaning “these species are ready, they are in the online inventory, and they can move up to the retail floor”. We just don’t have space to bring them onto that retail floor!

We hope to see you this weekend!

Hours:
Tuesdays-Fridays 10am-6pm
Saturdays and Sundays 10am-5pm
Closed Mondays

376 Washington Street, Norwell, MA

06/17/2026

Freebie time again! Grab 1 free pint-sized pot of bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) with your purchase this week and weekend.

These little plants are very ready to get out of their pots and in the ground so are slightly "leggy". You can leave them as is for great blooms soon or chop them back halfway for better foliage this summer and blooms next year.

Either way this is a terrific plant:
sun needs: full sun, part sun
water needs: dry, average
height: 4'
bloom time: July, August, September
bloom color: light purple

Note: purchase of other plant/plants necessary to participate in this freebie, thanks so much for your support.

06/16/2026

Scenes from Blue Stem today 🐝

Yarrow, Achillea millefolium
Black eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta, hiding
Wild ginger, Asarum canadense
Self heal, Prunella vulgaris ssp. lanceolata
Birdsfoot violet, Viola pedata
Swamp azalea, Rhododendron viscosum
Ten petal sunflower, Helianthus decapetalus
Inkberry, Ilex glabra

06/15/2026

Have you yet to visit the “Framing Nature: Gardens and Imagination” art exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston? We just went this weekend, and it’s up through June 28. It is such a lovely variety of artists through time celebrating nature.

Description: “A plot of land, a relaxing retreat, a formal landscape, a place of constant labor: gardens can carry a range of associations, especially in the world of art. “Framing Nature: Gardens and Imagination” brings together art from across the MFA’s global collection to explore striking similarities and differences across time and place.

Visitors can see both beloved favorites and previously unseen masterpieces, all centering the garden as a fertile place for human creativity and imaginative possibility. Works ranging from wall-sized tapestries and intricately detailed Chinese scrolls give the illusion of garden spaces. Modern and contemporary prints, drawings, photographs, and paintings bring visitors on an immersive journey through a variety of cultivated and natural worlds. Visitors can look at how we relate to the outdoors, shape garden spaces through cultivation, care, and labor, and express this universal human impulse through art.”

06/14/2026

Hello! If you are new here or just curious what we are about, checkout the slideshow. This weekend stop in an take advantage of a few deals:

1) vegetable plants and seeds are all 25% off

We also overbought these and are passing a discount along to move 'em on out, this weekend only. Applies to in-person shopping and online orders (with in person pick-up, sorry no shipping):
2) All sizes of bee balm, Monarda fistulosa are 10% off (the smallest size is the price of a coffee!)
3) All meadow rues are 20% off



bluestemnatives.com

06/11/2026

We are sure you’ve noticed…it’s a tad bit spicy out here. We are doing everything we can to stay less melty and keep our plants happy and healthy, how about you?
If you are also concerned about your lovely garden wilting in the heat, be sure to pick up a rain barrel (or two!) and be prepared for the hot summer months. Just one afternoon storm can easily fill a 55 gallon rain barrel, and you can stand them by any roof you have. Gazebo? Check. Shed? Check. Adorable Pinterest-worthy greenhouse built from reclaimed old windows? Check, check, check!
You can order a rain barrel on our website or buy one in person. bluestemnatives.com/product-page/rain-barrel

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BTCw2EZBT/?mibextid=wwXIfr

"Severe" drought area has more than doubled in size since last week, now covering over 37% of the state. "Moderate" drought area has increased nearly 17%.

06/11/2026

Delivery day at Blue Stem Natives! Stop in before we even get all these goodies in stock. Liatris, milkweeds, strawberries and more. (This is about 1/4 of what was delivered)

376 Washington Street, Norwell MA

06/11/2026

We have so many of these yellow avens (Geum aleppicum) in one quart pots and they are absolutley stunning. But everyone passes them by!
Stop in and check them out, grab one...or twenty. They are just about to start blooming.

Yellow avens is highly attractive to butterflies, particularly swallowtails, as well as important host plants for the caterpillars of the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly. Additionally, this plant provides food and habitat for a variety of bird species.

Part sun to full sun
Moist to wet soils (although they are in decidedly average soil moisture at Blue Stem and they look outstanding)

06/10/2026

Want to grow your own partridge peas? We’ve got you covered! We are now carrying pre-stratified seeds.

Most native seeds need winter to unlock their ability to germinate. We’ve done the work to make these seeds ready to sow NOW! They should germinate within a week.

All the details…These seeds were hot-water scarified to crack open the seed coat, then mixed with damp vermiculite and legume inoculant (beneficial soil bacteria that help native legumes thrive) and tucked into our fridge for a simulated winter. Each batch is germination-tested before packaging.

Sow these soon - they’re primed and ready to grow! Sprinkle the seed and vermiculite mix directly on prepared soil, cover lightly to the depth of the seed’s thickness, and keep consistently moist through germination.

https://www.bluestemnatives.com/product-page/seeds-chamaecrista-fasciculata-partridge-pea

We’ll have more species available soon. Please note we aren’t shipping seeds until autumn.