Our Story

Slade Botany came to life in August of 2024 after our CEO Matthew received a bouquet of flowers from his partner, Amber. This bouquet of flowers happened to include a packet of “native wildflower seeds”. It had incredibly effective branding, telling its consumers to “save the bees” and “restore wild areas” by sprinkling the contents of this packet anywhere the consumer would like to see pretty flowers and, as a by-product, help the pollinators. 

Matthew, an avid gardener with a life-long interest in conservation and environmentalism, looked at this seed packet and realized that the contents were not, in fact, native to his area. Upon further research, he found that the seeds in this wildflower packet were not even native to the United States! Primarily hailing from Europe and Asia, Matthew realized that the seeds contained in this packet, although not invasive, were not native to his area and would ultimately do more harm than good not only to the environment, but to the unique beauty of his home state of Indiana. 

Matthew, using his knowledge of native plants and the power of the internet, compiled a diverse and beautiful list of wildflowers, specifically native to the Midwest region of the United States (Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri). He had hoped simply to find a packet of wildflowers native to his area, but during his research he found that all of the available “native” seed packets had the same problem: they had no distinct native origin. Seeds in these packets were often coming from all over the world to be marketed as “native”, and well meaning people were being duped into potentially causing more harm than good in their local environments by introducing non-native plants. 

Matthew, frustrated with his findings, found all of the individual seeds in his list of Midwest Natives, and mixed them up into packets that he gave to family and friends. With their encouragement, and the realization that there was a gap in this market, Matthew decided to introduce his product to the public. From there, Slade Botany was born.

Slade Botany was founded on the belief that small actions can make a big impact. The mission of Slade Botany is not only to have more native plants and flowers around, but to inform and empower people to make a difference in their communities. This is why every packet of native wildflower seeds you get from Slade Botany lists the species included in each proprietary mix. You don’t have to take our word for it that our seeds are truly native, and we encourage people to see for themselves the impact they can have in their own backyard (or apartment windowsill).

Native wildflowers are beautiful, but they also help to protect and restore the delicate natural balance that we often take for granted. Slade Botany has an ever-growing library of resources on how to responsibly plant native wildflowers, protect the environment, get involved in your local community, and take the small steps that result in big impact.

Slade Botany is a small company with big dreams to grow and make truly native seeds available to every region of the United States. If you would like to support our mission, please consider visiting our library of resources, following us on instagram, talking to your friends about the importance of native flora and fauna, and maybe even buying some seeds to help make your garden more beautiful :)

Have questions, comments, suggestions? Want to know which region we’re bringing truly native seeds to next? Feel free to contact us using the contact link below.