Green Ribbon Native Plants®

A fuzzy bumblebee visiting a bright pink coneflower with white text that reads: Green Ribbon Native Plants.

In 2003, Jenkins introduced its Green Ribbon Native Plant® selection program as a way to share the uses and merits of native plants in the landscape. Each year, three plants, typically a tree, a shrub, and a wildflower, are selected. To receive this recognition, plants must be native to eastern North America, adaptable to a wide range of environmental conditions, and have horticultural appeal in a variety of landscape situations. In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, native plants typically possess great ecological value for numerous insects, birds, and other wildlife. These plants can be seen growing in various locations throughout the gardens at Jenkins.

Click on the links below to learn more about each Green Ribbon Native Plant® selection:

YEARTREESSHRUBS & VINESHERBACEOUS PERENNIALS
2023Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
Lady fern
Athyrium filix-femina
Prairie dropseed
Sporobolus heterolepis
2022Woodvamp
Decumaria barbara
Sweet azalea
Rhododendron arborescens
Pink muhly grass
Muhlenbergia capillaris
2021Coastal azalea
Rhododendron atlanticum
Aromatic aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
Wild ginger
Asarum canadense
2020Appalachian mountain mint
Pycnanthemum flexuosum
Whorled tickseed
Coreopsis verticiallata
Stokes’ aster
Stokesia laevis
2019Yellowwood
Cladrastis kentukea
Florida anise tree
Illicium floridanum
Little bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
2018Southern magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora
Black chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa
Carolina jessamine
Gelsemium sempervirens
2017Hubricht’s bluestar
Amsonia hubrichtii
Rose mallow
Hibiscus moscheutos
Obedient plant
Physostegia virginiana
2016Smooth aster
Symphyotrichum laeve
Wild blue phlox
Phlox divaricata
Wrinkleleaf goldenrod
Solidago rugosa
2015 Chokeberry
Aronia arbutifolia
Eastern purple coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Butterflyweed
Asclepias tuberosa
2014American hornbeam
Carpinus caroliniana
Coral honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
Plantainleaf sedge
Carex plantaginea
2013Alternateleaf dogwood
Cornus alternifolia
Rosebay rhododendron
Rhododendron maximum
Largeflower heartleaf
Hexastylis shuttleworthii
2012Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Mountain Laurel
Kalmia latifolia
Indian Pink
Spigelia marilandica
2011Franklin Tree
Franklinia alatamaha
no selectionWhite Wood Aster
Eurybia divaricata
Cinnamon Fern
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
2010Summersweet
Clethra alnifolia
American Wisteria
Wisteria frutescens
Bluestem Goldenrod
Solidago caesia
2009Fringetree
Chionanthus virginicus
Strawberry Bush
Euonymus americanus
Northern Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum pedatum
2008Sweetbay Magnolia
Magnolia virginiana
Bottlebrush Buckeye
Aesculus parviflora
Wild Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
2007Sourwood
Oxydendrum arboreum
Virginia Sweetspire
Itea virginica
Wild Bleeding Heart
Dicentra eximia
2006Carolina Silverbell
Halesia carolina
Dwarf Fothergilla
Fothergilla gardenii
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
2005American Holly
Ilex opaca
Winterberry Holly
Ilex verticillata
Christmas Fern
Polystichum acrostichoides
2004Common Pawpaw
Asimina triloba
Pinxterbloom Azalea
Rhododendron periclymenoides
Foam Flower
Tiarella cordifolia
2003Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia
Allegheny Spurge
Pachysandra procumbens