Hi, Kenneth,

Thank you for your inquiry.  You sound as if one parameter is decided - native - but you will also want to consider your soils, sun exposure, and soil moisture levels when making your final plant selections.  Examine your site with the method described on the "Grow Wild - bringing habitat home" site.  This site also goes into detail about how to choose specific plants and provides several excellent lists.  "G.W.'s low ground-cover list" will be of particular interest to your project.

Daylily (Hemerocallis species) and creeping myrtle (Vinca minor) are not native to North America, but they are naturalized widely and are often indicators of old homestead sites.  Some Juniperus species and Veronicas are native to our region.  Check out the UVM Extension Master Gardeners Resource page under "Native Plants" to learn more about various natives.

You may be surprised, too, that when you stop mowing, a number of plants may finally have room to grow fully, including goldenrods (Solidago), black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia), turtlehead (Chelone), asters (Symphyotrichum), violets (Viola), milkweeds (Asclepias), various grasses, vines, and many more depending on your soils and sunshine.  From a design perspective, you may also plant a few clusters of your newly introduced plants, while allowing whatever else is there to grow.  These clusters may be just perennials or a mix of shrubs and perennials.  Including taller shrubs would act as shelter for birds and other animals, and also act as incubator zones for existing natives to grow under until they are bigger and seed out into the existing turfgrass.


Let me know if you have any additional questions, and have fun with your project.

Cheers!
Genica.