Gardening can be rewarding when your hard work comes into bloom. But it can also be overwhelming trying to decide which plants are best for your yard. The NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox sifts through hundreds of characteristics for thousands of plants to recommend the ones that will thrive in your landscape and provide exactly what you want.
Led by consumer and community horticulture professor Lucy Bradley, in the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University, researchers have compiled decades of horticultural data into the NC Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, an easily accessible, high-tech decision-support system designed to improve plant health, optimize ecosystem services and maximize gardener satisfaction.
Since its launch in 2019, the platform has experienced massive global adoption, garnering over 56 million views from 35 million users across 242 countries.
The real reward for Bradley, though, is knowing that the toolbox gives gardeners — from novice to expert — confidence in their choices.
“The most important decision a gardener makes is what to plant,” she says. “By enabling gardeners to select plants that will thrive in their landscape and give them the benefits they seek, we set them up for joy!”
Data-Driven Design
Frustrated by the myriad of tools and lists that gardeners were expected to wade through to select plants (one list of plants for pollinators, another to attract birds, a different one on deer-resistant plants, etc) for their space, Bradley began to work on an integrated solution that developed into a research-based search engine for sustainable gardening.
Rob Ladd, formerly with NC State Extension Information Technology, was the mastermind who created the database for the toolbox. By prioritizing “the right plant for the right place,” Bradley says the Plant Toolbox searches 5,000 plant profiles to identify plants that thrive in site-specific conditions (e.g.space, soil pH, light levels, and climate zones), are resistant to specific pests and pathogens (e.g. rabbits, drought, fire), and provide specific benefits (e.g. attract pollinators, provide shade, produce food).
Each plant profile contains text descriptions, a wide variety of curated images showing the plant in various life stages and seasons, and a video introduction of plant characteristics and uses in the landscape. The profiles also suggest native alternatives and common insect and disease problems, each linked to NC State Extension recommendations for management.
“The goal is to minimize plant failure before the first hole is dug,” Bradley says.
By selecting species that naturally thrive in a given environment, the system significantly reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and supplemental irrigation. Users can filter selections by ecological benefits, such as pollinator support, or by risk factors, including toxicity and invasive potential.
The Volunteer Engine
While the platform is powered by software, its accuracy is maintained by a skilled human network. According to the 2024 Extension Master Gardener Annual Report, a dedicated team of 28 volunteers contributed more than 1,400 service hours specifically to “cultivate” the Plant Toolbox.
Under NC State botanist Scott Zona’s leadership, these volunteers perform the rigorous labor of scientific verification. Their work includes researching and entering technical data, writing nuanced plant descriptions, and curating a library of images. This volunteer-led fact-checking ensures the toolbox remains a trusted resource for professional landscapers and home gardeners alike.
The result is a robust and well-curated platform that offers gardeners support 12 months a year.
“The Design Galleries in the Plant Toolbox show how plants look in real landscapes during different seasons,” Zona says. “The plant might fill a space in mid-summer but disappear completely in winter. This helps gardeners plan for year-round beauty and functionality.”
Growing Resources
Complementing the data-driven Plant Toolbox are the international award-winning NC Extension Gardener Handbook and the Gardens, Lawns, and Landscapes online course series.
The Gardener Handbook, available free online as an open-access digital knowledge system, an interactive online textbook, and a 728-page full-color, hardcover book, offers a variety of information on climate-resilient gardening and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), with problem-solving case studies in each chapter. Every botanical name in the digital editions is linked to that plant’s profile in the Plant Toolbox; clicking a botanical name instantly generates a full scientific profile, management links, and video descriptions of plant characteristics and uses in the landscape.
To bridge the gap between digital data and physical soil, the Gardens, Lawns, and Landscapes series features a suite of non-credit online courses designed for gardeners. These six-week modules allow home gardeners and professionals to study the same research-based curriculum used to train Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteers. The series covers a range of specialized topics, including edible landscaping, pest management and environmental stewardship.
In addition to serving gardening hobbyists and professionals, the online courses are utilized by high schools and community colleges throughout the country to prepare the next generation of horticultural enthusiasts.
Cultivating Impact
With millions of users across the country and around the world, both the Plant Toolbox and the Gardener Handbook have given new and experienced gardeners the tools to succeed in their landscape endeavors.
According to Bradley, “Each yard converted into a beautiful, thriving ecosystem joins a network transforming the world, one garden at a time.”
