Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium

Directions Website Contact the business

Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium Bringing life to the area one yard at a time. Visit for a wild array of Wicked Awesome Plants!

10/20/2026

What Doug Said!!

Fun Fact…Before we’d ever heard of Doug Tallamy or Homegrown National Park we learned about creating habitat at home through the National Wildlife Federation. Our property was certified decades ago and we’ve been chipping away since!

Another Fun Fact - “Mrs. Prickly Ed” (AKA, Cindy, Boss Lady, or the Chatty One depending on who you ask) first saw Doug Tallamy speak in a church basement more than 15 years ago with only a couple dozen people present (imagine!) and despite his lack of celebrity status at that point, he compelled passionate forward action here (which was already in motion thanks to another serendipitous encounter with a team from The Xerces Society another group who has been doing the research and spreading the good word on protecting the little things that run the world long before it was hip to be pro-pollinator!)

This notion that our yards can be so much more than they are is not new. The idea that we are each individually and collectively the future of conservation is also not new. Rapidly growing traction is what is new and is so encouraging to see! Central to traction is the notion of connectivity. Connecting people, properties, ideas, and organizations. On our website there is a page titled “Get Connected” - visit it to learn more about the myriad of organizations leading this charge.

A few final blooms are hanging on in our own wildscape, but the telltale signs of Autumn and the garden’s descent into d...
10/19/2026

A few final blooms are hanging on in our own wildscape, but the telltale signs of Autumn and the garden’s descent into decay and dormancy are growing more abundant. These Autumn signs and the next steps for the landscape inspired our latest blog post which is full of some fall tips & reflections including an urging to go easy on the fall frenzy clean up for the sake of the landscape & all it’s inhabitants (including you). The piece is also full of links and resources to help you settle into the Planning Season well equipped! Read it in it’s entirety here https://pricklyeds.com/life-in-the-garden-blog/f/the-gift-of-the-darker-months-what%E2%80%99s-next-this-garden-season - or if the link doesn't work just head to our website (link in Bio) - go to the "Life in the Garden" page and it is the first article you will find (be sure to explore some of the others while there too :-)!

Some excerpts are below.

“Autumn has fully settled over Southern New England. Summer’s hard glare has softened, garden colors deepen even as they fade, and the warmest afternoons carry a telltale edge of chill. After months of heat, drought, downpours, and relentless tending, the turn of the season feels like permission to exhale. Step into the garden and the message is unmistakable - it is tired. Honestly, most gardeners are, too…

Yet just as nature begins to settle, landscaping culture summons us into one final frenzy. Somewhere along the way, fall became the cue to shear every stalk, chase down every leaf, and scour the yard spotless before winter - and the misguided ritual stuck. The result may look tidy to us, but to most living things it looks anything but natural. Leaves and stems insulate roots, shelter swallowtails, bumblebees, and fireflies, and shield the garden from cold, wind, and pounding rain…

Perhaps, then, the wisest fall task is not another burst of cleanup but a shift in perspective. The darker months are not dead space. They are the garden’s reset - a season to keep what still serves, read the lessons written across the yard, and imagine a landscape that will demand less from you while giving more to the wider web of life next summer…”

To anyone missing summer sun and garden fun on this gray & gloomy autumn day, this is your reminder that in exactly 27 w...
10/16/2026

To anyone missing summer sun and garden fun on this gray & gloomy autumn day, this is your reminder that in exactly 27 weeks (189 days) your favorite Native Plant Emporium, Roadside Attraction - and source for all the local garden buzz - will be back open and ready to welcome old friends and new friends to the biggest, best, and most bountiful season yet!

In the meantime, take a cue from the garden and rest. But also, get planning! Those garden dreams bring lots of light to darkening days. Even if you use and visit our website lots, we guarantee there are parts you’ve yet to explore. And we sneak new things in all the time. Venture down the rabbit hole of the many musings, resources, readings, links, videos and more you’ll find there - we dare you!

As you might have heard … drop in shopping festivities have wrapped up for this truly fabulous season (but mark those ca...
10/15/2026

As you might have heard … drop in shopping festivities have wrapped up for this truly fabulous season (but mark those calendars for April of 2027!). So we thought some of you might be curious about what we’ve been up to this week (you miss us already, right 😉). No, we haven’t headed South, or planned leaf peeping trips across New England…

We’ve been unloading trucks and sorting plants! Wait, what? 😊 That’s right, although we are closed for weekend drop in days, the native plant beat goes on! These little photo montages are a good way of emphasizing a few points.

🌵A significant part of our business is orders. Orders for eco-landscape pros, for community groups, schools and others (including DIYers with plans) doing cool, fun, beneficial projects round the region. This helps us keep an incredible array of plants flowing into our area every single week of the season and we are grateful to all who trust us with their plant procurement needs. Together we are working to create connected patches of unique, beneficial and beautiful spaces across our communities.

🍂 Although most home gardeners are winding down planting at this time of year, most pros are right in the thick of it. Keep that in mind next year (and all the years after) as you think about your own projects!

🪾 Shrubs & trees are where it’s at when it comes to building the ecological bones of resilient landscapes. And that shows in the planned projects we help procure amazing plants for. Structure in the landscape is essential ecologically and aesthetically. Keep that in mind as well as you begin to dream your wild 2027 garden dreams.

Stay tuned for more updates, ideas and inspirations as we nudge you to dream even bigger and bolder for your own space next season!

10/11/2026

For all of you who needed a just like this one! Your yard matters!

And just like that, on an absolutely perfect October afternoon having basically entirely run out of plants, we’ve offici...
10/10/2026

And just like that, on an absolutely perfect October afternoon having basically entirely run out of plants, we’ve officially swung the gate closed on a utterly remarkable season here at Prickly Ed’s Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium, Roadside Attraction and Continuous Soirée! Officially now CLOSED for drop in shopping! See you round town and on the internet and mark those calendars now for the countdown to reopening in April of 2027.

There are literally no words to fully describe this season. It was wild entirely beyond words! The energy - the people - the plants (SO MANY plants!) - the determination to build better, greener, wilder, more sustainable communities was contagious and inspiring. Most of all the small businesses support from old and new found friends was appreciated more than you will ever know. More thanks later - for now some logistics details…

IF you have prepaid for plants do not worry, we promise they are here safely waiting for you! Give us a shout to arrange pick up. If you have placed special orders - thank you, thank you… they will be arriving later this week and we will be in touch to arrange pickup! So many more plants to send out into the region.

During these darker days and months as wildscapes wind down, we hope you will spend time reflecting on what worked well and on your hopes and dreams for next year’s habitat building projects. Our website is overflowing with resources for you to use (and share). And in the coming weeks and months we will be adding lots more, organizing things in ways we hope are more intuitive, and building new resources to help you gain more confidence in your planning and planting.

STAY TUNED to social media and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Lots of great things coming your way this fall & winter! Until then … May All Your Weeds be Native Plants. ✌️🌵🦋😎

Soaking up the absolutely perfect October weather and the amazing fall foliage in our forest areas - enjoying fun end of...
10/09/2026

Soaking up the absolutely perfect October weather and the amazing fall foliage in our forest areas - enjoying fun end of season visits from some of our most amazing regulars - and sending the last of the plants off to their new homes.

It’s hard to believe that after the wildest of wild 25 weeks we are nearing the end of the most amazing season yet. There are still a few nice plants for good deals! And if you can use some Buckwheat hulls mulch or compost, we’ve still got some of that too! Stop in Saturday 11-5!

It’s the final plant adoption push here at the Patch. The overflow has flowed out into the world and we are down to the ...
10/08/2026

It’s the final plant adoption push here at the Patch. The overflow has flowed out into the world and we are down to the very last 120ish plants seeking new homes! All are great plants with rugged roots and all are 30% off! The final list is available on our website (check the Plant Shopping page). We have just this minute updated and uploaded the latest inventory list, so what you see is what there is - until there isn’t! Thank you to everyone who has already helped find homes for some of last plants standing. No native plant roots or stems or branches or seeds will ever go to waste here or spend the winter in a pot. Everything will find a spot in the ground - somewhere - before the season is done!

Special orders are our specialty! Our in stock inventory has dwindled - what does remain is currently 30% off and you’ll...
10/08/2026

Special orders are our specialty! Our in stock inventory has dwindled - what does remain is currently 30% off and you’ll find a list of that right on the “Plant Shopping” page of our website. Pop by and score a deal.

BUT, also note that we are still accepting special orders through the end of the day this Saturday (10/10). Here’s a snapshot of a few pre-ordered gems that arrived for some fine folks yesterday. Orders placed in the next 48 hours will be here for you next week. After that we will be looking ahead to springtime.

Was there a special tree you were really hoping to plant this fall but didn’t get around to it? There’s still time! Tell us what you need. Is your hedgerow in need of a few specific varieties of shrubs you never managed to get? Give us a shout! There still may be time to turn your wish list into a to-do list, outreach and let’s talk! Worry less about what we can get - outreach to tell us what you are looking for and we’ll take it from there.

To contact us with questions, PLEASE use email or phone (info on the contact page on our website). Post comments are not a reliable way to reach us!! Let’s get those last native roots in the ground.

Happy Home Habitat Day! We’re a day late for the official but we’re making up for it with an all new special day of ce...
10/07/2026

Happy Home Habitat Day! We’re a day late for the official but we’re making up for it with an all new special day of celebration we’ve dubbed Home Habitat Day. In honor of the occasion, there’s a brand new post on our blog - take a few minutes to cruise on over and read it now. It’s simple to find, just:

🌵Head to our website (link in bio)
🌵 Go to the “Life in the Garden” page
🌵 It’s the first post you’ll see! Enjoy!

Here’s a spoiler alert blurb … “A garden is often the place we plant for beauty, food, fragrance, or joy - think a bed of showy dahlias, a row of summer tomatoes, or a favorite corner bursting with ornamental blooms. A landscape zooms out to the whole property, shaping paths, beds, shrubs, trees, and open space into a designed scene. In much of suburban New England, that scene too often leans heavily on tidy, chemically dependent lawns and ornamental plants that do not offer wildlife much to work with. A home habitat raises the bar. It still can be beautiful and intentionally cared for, but its main job is much bigger and its contributions much greater: to support life. It is where human creativity makes room for nature’s own creativity, inviting the complex, buzzing, fluttering, seed-spreading world outside our doors to take center stage…”

Also new on our website, an expanded set of images from our own home habitat (neither garden, nor landscape … habitat & where the wild things are)! You can find the library of images towards the bottom of the “About Us” page of our website. We shared just a few favorites below.

In the spirit of our newly declared Home Habitat Day, a big thanks to the community members, neighbors, and local conservation groups already rolling up their sleeves across our region. Maybe you swapped a slice of lawn for a pocket meadow, planted a native tree, volunteered with a local land trust, or left your garden beds standing through winter instead of clearing everything away. All of it counts. Every planted stem, sheltered leaf pile, and protected patch of habitat helps. By choosing to protect, preserve, and steward these spaces, you are showing that conservation is not something that only happens in far-off wilderness. It starts right outside our doors, one backyard, one neighbor, and one native root at a time!

Address

315 Barneyville Road
Swansea, MA
02777

Opening Hours

Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium:

Shortcuts

Share

Category