With more than 280 varieties of our favorite native plants—including more than 100 new offerings—this year’s selection is our most diverse yet. From classic favorites to unique and hard-to-find selections, you’re bound to find the perfect plant to add beauty and biodiversity to your garden.

Shop online during the month of April, then pick out your pre-purchased plants on April 26 or April 27 at Stoneleigh. While you are at the garden picking up your plant order, browse a selection of surplus plants, connect with fellow plant lovers, seek gardening advice from our experts, or simply enjoy a beautiful spring day at Stoneleigh.

How our plant sale works:

April 7 – 11: Plants will not be available to purchase during this time, but it’s a great opportunity to browse our selection and learn more about the ecological benefits of each plant. Online plant preview.

April 11: Last day to become a Natural Lands member for Saturday’s members-only sale.
Plants sell out fast, and members get first dibs. Join by April 11 to receive your special access code for Saturday’s online sale. Become a member below.

April 12: Online shopping opens for Natural Lands members only at 8:00 AM. Members will receive an email with the access code needed to enter the plant sale website. Please don’t share your password with anyone.

April 13: Online shopping opens for all at 8:00 AM. The online shop will close on April 21 or when sold out.

April 26 and April 27: Pick-up your pre-ordered plants during your chosen time slot (selected before checkout). Pickup times are available between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM. If you place multiple orders, we will use the first pick up time you choose.

There is no shipping or delivery. Limited onsite purchases.

MEDIA, Pa., December 2, 2024 – Natural Lands announced today the conservation of the 14.4-acre Shillelagh Farm in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County. The property offers essential habitat for wildlife, helps protect the quality of Hogestown Run, and helps mitigate the effects of a warming climate.

Shillelagh Farm consists of both woodland, agricultural fields, and floodplain. About 1,050 feet of Hogestown Run meanders through the eastern edge of the property. The land adjacent to the stream—which the landowner, Starr Offenger, has committed to leaving as a vegetated buffer—helps absorb and filter floodwaters during storms.

The property is now protected by a conservation easement held by Natural Lands, the region’s oldest and largest land conservation nonprofit. This perpetual, legally binding agreement ensures the farm will remain undeveloped forever.

“Starr and Howard Offenger’s efforts to conserve Shillelagh Farm will forever keep this remnant of Silver Spring Township’s agrarian heritage open for farming and wildlife,” said Land Protection Project Manager Robyn Jeney. “The landowners’ willingness to ensure the permanence of a naturally vegetated buffer along Hogestown Run will help to preserve and protect water quality as well as secure a meaningful corridor for wildlife habitat. It’s truly rewarding to see their conservation vision realized.”

In the early 2000s, after nearly three centuries of agricultural use, the area around the Offenger property began to be developed for residential, commercial, and industrial uses. To the east, the Property is bordered by the expanding residential and commercial development in the village of Hogestown, and to the west, by warehouses and numerous car dealerships. As a result, Shillelagh Farm is one of few remaining historical farmsteads in this part of Silver Spring Township.

“I could never in good conscience let this sacred land become another car lot or warehouse, which now surround our boundaries,” said landowner Starr Offenger. “It is a little piece of paradise for the wildlife to enjoy. It is indeed very calming to look out over the meadow and enjoy the beauty. I am glad for the opportunity to preserve!”

Silver Spring Township funded this conservation project.

Said Silver Spring Township Supervisor Laura Brown, “When the current owner’s father, Bud Gaskin purchased the farm in 1965, he planted more than 5,000 trees on the property. The foresight of Starr’s father allowed this land to stay protected and helped ensure it as an oasis for people and wildlife in the midst of rampant development. Silver Spring Township is proud to fully fund the preservation of Shillelagh Farm. With the completion of this project, the Township has now preserved more than 792 acres of farmland and woodland through our municipal Land Preservation Program.”

Natural Lands is dedicated to preserving and nurturing nature’s wonders while creating opportunities for joy and discovery in the outdoors for everyone.  As the Greater Philadelphia region’s oldest and largest land conservation organization, Natural Lands—which is member supported—has preserved more than 135,000 acres, including 40+ nature preserves and one public garden totaling more than 23,000 acres. Nearly five million people live within five miles of land under the organization’s protection. Land for life, nature for all. natlands.org.

Please note: “Natural Lands” is the organization’s official operating name and should be used instead of its legal designation (Natural Lands Trust, Inc.).

Media Inquiries:

Kit Werner, Senior Director of Communications
610-353-5587 ext. 267

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA, Pa., November 25, 2024 – Natural Lands and ClearWater Conservancy announced today the preservation of the 667-acre Ridge Farm in Jackson and Miller Townships, Huntingdon County. The property is now under a conservation easement with Natural Lands that will forever protect the forest and streams, and the wildlife that call these places home.

Ridge Farm is 90 percent wooded with mature conifers and hardwood trees. The dense forest provides essential habitat for songbirds and other wildlife and helps to filter rainwater before it flows into the more than 7,000 feet of Standing Stone Creek that, along with Geiser Run tributary, meanders through the property. Classified by the PA Department of Environmental Protection as a high-quality, cold-water stream, the creek is part of the Juniata River Watershed, which provides recreation and clean drinking water to millions of people.

“This conservation easement is the culmination of more than two years of working with the landowners and our partners, Clearwater Conservancy, and Open Space Institute,” said Todd Sampsell, Natural Lands’ vice president of conservation. “As the climate crisis intensifies, with rising temperatures and stronger storms, protecting open space is essential to improving climate resilience and reducing flooding.” Added Sampsell, “We applaud the Wojdylak family for choosing conservation.”

The property is located between Rothrock state Forest to the southeast and The Pennsylvania State University Stone Valley Forest to the northwest. Contiguous forest cover is essential habitat for songbirds like Scarlet Tanager, Wood Thrush, and several species of warblers that spend winters in warmer climes but breed in our region’s forests. Many of these migrant species have declined because the woods they rely on for food and shelter are disappearing or being subdivided.  Forests that are fragmented into smaller plots by roads and developments favor predators that thrive along the edge of the woods, such as raccoons, snakes, Blue Jays, domestic cats, and Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Said landowner Steve Wojdylak, “My wife and I both feel that Ridge Farm has been heaven-on-earth for our family and friends and needs to be preserved. Thanks to Natural Lands for all your help.”

“ClearWater Conservancy was excited to collaborate with Natural Lands and the Wojdylak family to preserve this beautiful property in perpetuity,” said Elizabeth Crisfield, executive director of ClearWater Conservancy. “Maintaining habitat connectivity through forested ridgelines is an important contribution to climate resilience in central Pennsylvania, facilitating natural dispersal of native plants and animals. We look forward to continuing to work with the Wojdylaks and others in Huntingdon County.”

The project was supported through the Open Space Institute’s Appalachian Landscapes Protection Fund (ALPF), which supports the protection of climate resilient lands for wildlife and communities. The ALPF is made possible with a lead grant from the Doris Duke Foundation and with significant support from the Lyndhurst Foundation, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Riverview Foundation, Tucker Foundation, Lookout Foundation, Footprint Foundation, Anonymous Foundation (2), as well as other foundations and individuals who understand the critical role that land protection plays in addressing the threats of climate change.

Natural Lands is dedicated to preserving and nurturing nature’s wonders while creating opportunities for joy and discovery in the outdoors for everyone.  As the Greater Philadelphia region’s oldest and largest land conservation organization, Natural Lands—which is member supported—has preserved more than 135,000 acres, including 40+ nature preserves and one public garden totaling more than 23,000 acres. Nearly five million people live within five miles of land under the organization’s protection. Land for life, nature for all. natlands.org.

Please note: “Natural Lands” is the organization’s official operating name and should be used instead of its legal designation (Natural Lands Trust, Inc.).

ClearWater Conservancy is a nationally accredited land trust and conservation organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of Central Pennsylvania’s natural resources through land conservation, water resources stewardship, and environmental outreach across central Pennsylvania. Learn more at: clearwaterconservancy.org

Media Inquiries:

Natural Lands
Kit Werner, Senior Director of Communications
610-353-5587 ext. 267
kwerner@natlands.org

ClearWater Conservancy
Katie Molinengo, Communications Director
814-237-0400
katie@clearwaterconservancy.org

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