
Design
Some things to consider when planning a habitat garden.
What do you do in your yard? Do you like to have parties? Play sports? Do you want to have a seating area or a ball field? Do you want to grow vegetables or herbs? Are there nice views from windows or places in the yard? Are there ugly views you want to block? Do you have water runoff issues or standing water? Are there weedy plants coming in from other yards? What is the health of old trees?
Author Nancy Lawson is an author and writer of the blog, the Humane Gardener. She has some good ideas about designing habitats with neighbors in mind.
Ecology
Having some idea about our local ecology can really help when planning and supporting a habitat garden. Here is a website that changed how I think about natural areas. It delves into the plants, geology and ecology of local natural communities such as Rock Creek Park and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.
Also, check out my page, What is a Habitat.
Local Habitats
A great way to get ideas and learn about the natural history of your property is to explore natural areas closest to your property. In my case it’s Sligo Creek but there are hundreds of habitats in the area.
Google Maps is a good place to start. In satellite view, just look for solid areas filled with trees. Also look for spaces that aren’t interrupted with housing developments, impermeable surfaces or agriculture.
iNaturalist and field guides can help with identification of flora and fauna. Pay special attention to the way plants grow as a community in various situations such as steep slopes, wetlands, upland woods and riparian areas.
The Maryland and Virginia native plant societies have lots of information as well as webinars.

Notable habitats include Rock Creek Park, Patuxent Research Refuge, Potomac Gorge, Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, Harpers Ferry, Manassas National Battlefield Park and Soldier’s Delight.
The Importance of Local Ecotype Native Plants
To understand what this means read this. When buying native plants, I try and stay as local as possible as well as steering clear from using plants that are rare or even extirpated from Maryland. To learn more about rare plants go here.
To cross reference whether a plant is native and common in Maryland I often use the Maryland Biodiversity Project site which catalogs all species of Maryland. This is also a great reference to use for other species.
If you really want to get into regions, check out this site featuring clickable maps with corresponding descriptions of geological features and plants.