Whether you’re hunting for a native perennial or designing a pollinator-friendly landscape, the NC Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox is your go-to research-based reference. This free resource that anyone with a wifi connection can use takes the guesswork out of gardening by providing more than 4,600 locally-relevant plant profiles and over 100 inspiring garden design galleries. Refer to the Plant Toolbox the next time you need to find the right plant for your space!

In 2025, a dedicated team of 25 NC State Extension Master Gardener℠ volunteers invested more than 1,250 hours to expand the Plant Toolbox—researching data, curating photos and writing and enhancing plant descriptions.

Read Extension Master Gardener Volunteers Help the Plant Toolbox Bloom in the online 2025 Annual Report to see how our volunteers have helped to ensure that the Plant Toolbox remains accurate, up-to-date and easy to use.