Monmouth County, NJ Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Monmouth County broadly supports native plant landscaping through state and county programs. NJ DEP's Jersey-Friendly Yards Program promotes native species selection appropriate for Monmouth's coastal and inland ecosystems. Recommended Monmouth natives include: American holly, beach plum, bayberry, eastern red cedar, switchgrass, little bluestem, bee balm, butterfly weed, and various sedges. Monmouth County Park System (MCPS) maintains native plant demonstration gardens at Thompson Park (Lincroft) and Holmdel Park, plus the Deep Cut Gardens horticultural center. The Monmouth County Master Gardeners (Rutgers Cooperative Extension) provide residential landscaping guidance emphasizing natives. Municipal codes have evolved: Middletown Code §525-42 allows and encourages native landscaping exempt from typical turf requirements; Red Bank Code §490-51 specifically encourages pollinator-friendly native plantings; Asbury Park's Green Infrastructure initiative under Code Chapter 205 incentivizes native species. Rumson and Fair Haven include native plant recommendations in site plan review. Coastal properties subject to N.J.A.C. 7:7E (Coastal Zone Management) may be REQUIRED to use native plantings for dune stabilization (beach grass, beach heather, bayberry). Middletown's Bayshore Regional Sewer Authority wetland buffer areas mandate native species. HOA communities including Leisure Village West, Covered Bridge, and Greenbriar have increasingly adopted CC&R amendments allowing native gardens. The NJ Invasive Species Strike Team identifies restricted species including Japanese stiltgrass, mile-a-minute, multiflora rose, Asiatic bittersweet, and autumn olive; removal may be required on certain properties. Rain gardens and bioretention areas required in major developments under N.J.A.C. 7:8 stormwater rules often specify native species.