Well... of course, as soon as I post this I find a list from the Arbor Day order (or at least, I think it was that year's order). No idea which is which (which of the ones that came in this bundle actually survived), but could the third photo be a young Sargeant Crabapple? That's on the list, as is Eastern Redbud, Washington Hawthorn, dogwood (I know it's not that), Goldenraintree and crapemyrtle (I remember wondering why on earth they were shipping crapemyrtles to New England!!) In theory (meaning assuming they sent what they said they were sending), it should be one of those -- and the crabapple seems like the only one it could be? I'd be floored if they were shipping free Bradford pears (which is what someone on Name that Plant thought it was as well) -- aren't they considered more or less invasive plants in a lot of areas these days? So I'm hoping for Sargeant crabapple since I wouldn't mind having one of those for the birds (means the little guy can stay right where he is now, in the bird/butterfly garden).

I have not seen any mention of Blackgums! Beautiful, large trees with truly blood colored foliage in the fall (They also provide little blue berries for the birds!). They grow fairly quickly and are pretty tolerant of drought conditions. Something we put in last year was a Princeton American Elm. Unbelievably fast grower and was bred to have resistance to Dutch Elm disease. There really is a reason they were so widely planted as street trees and would provide high shade for your front yard relatively quickly. They are also reputed to be very tolerant of city pollution. No mention of Red Cedar, either. Grows quickly, immune to virtually everything and has a nice grayish color which contrasts nicely with the dark greens of other trees. I have mixed them into our overstory oaks/maples etc. with podocarps, firs and deodars for a nice tapestry of color and texture. They give good cover for camellias from winter burn. Any kind of magnolia does well! We have planted virtually every kind we could find and they have distinguished themselves into overstory and understory nicely over the years. The Sweet bays smell particularly wonderful and are a good open, midsized tree without too much spread. They tend to get very thin in winter, however. The Little Gems have the advantage of blooming until frost without getting overly large. American Hollies are magnificent, but are difficult to get started for some reason. Once one is happy, however, they will take off. Mary Nells or Oakleafs might be a good compromise. River Birch, of course, is incredibly fast growing and would do well in your seasonally wet areas. They have beautiful yellow leaves in Fall, nice open shade in summer and gorgeous exfoliating bark. Finally, esh had a good suggestion in bald cypresses. We have one that is always commented upon by those who come over, especially in the Fall when the needles turn golden and carpets the ground around it. A truly beautiful tree and a fast grower. As he mentioned they do well in both dry sites and wet. The only difference to my eye is speed of growth and density of needles/boughs.

I know the Garden in the Woods in Natick specializes in Native New England plants. They are in some way connected with the Nasami Farm Nursery in Western Massachusetts, and if you call them in advance they can order all sorts of Native plants. I know the soil conservation offices in many counties have annual sales in Spring where they offer a few kinds of plants at deep discounts. Moose Hill has an annual native plant sale in the Spring. I think I know someone socially who works for a company that does organic edible landscaping or something weird like that. I think arborvitae actually are native to this area. (Although they seem boring to me to. If you came from Key West you may be a bit disappointed. In that tropical environment, you have a much broader range of options. This post was edited by edlincoln on Thu, Jul 4, 13 at 1:09

When you are looking for books keep in the back of your mind that often times books will make you think the plants/shrubs and trees are native when they are not. Often times they are listed for hardiness zones. For instance, one of the books I have is called "Trees and shrubs of Central Ontario". This book contains every tree and shrub that "will grow" in central Ontario, not trees and shrubs "native" to Central Ontario. If you do some homework and find out what is native to your region and local area it will help you immensely to figure out what is "native" rather than what grows well in your area. Have fun. My husband and I are restoring our woodlot backyard and enjoying looking for plants, shrubs, ferns, trees and mosses that are native to our specific city. Barb