Workhorse//Brand book/v1.0.0
Brand Standards Manualv1.0.0 · 2026-04-30

Native Plant Trust

Plants matter. People matter. Place matters.

Document
ClientNative Plant Trust
Established1900
Issued2026-04-30
Versionv1.0.0

America's first plant conservation organization. Founded 1900 in Massachusetts.

Contents
  1. 1.0Audience§
  2. 2.0Color§
  3. 3.0Typography§
  4. 4.0Voice§
  5. 5.0Sub-brands§
1.0Audience2.0Color3.0Typography4.0Voice5.0Sub-brandsspec.mdspec.jsondata view
1.0 AudienceNative Plant Trust · Brand Standards

New England gardeners, conservation professionals, students, donors, and the broader audience choosing native plants for home, farm, school, and public landscapes.

1.1

Personas

Home Gardener

Member, customer at Garden in the Woods or Nasami Farm

Lives in New England. Cares about doing right by the land they steward. Wants to plant for pollinators, birds, and soil health, and needs reliable identification, advice, and source-trustworthy plants. Trusts Native Plant Trust because the organization has been doing this for over a century.

Conservation Professional

Field ecologist, land manager, restoration practitioner, agency staff

Works at municipal, state, federal, or NGO scale on plant conservation, habitat restoration, or landscape-level planning. Uses Native Plant Trust as a peer organization and a source of regional expertise. Cares about scientific rigor, data, and the institutional credibility the brand carries.

Educator and Student

Teacher, university student, certificate participant

Engaged with botany, ecology, native plant ID, or landscape design through Native Plant Trust's certificate programs, public lectures, or partner-school curricula. Cares about access to authoritative regional content delivered with rigor.

2.0 ColorNative Plant Trust · Brand Standards
2.1

Palette

Select any step to copy its hex. The widest step in each ramp is the working default.

pine

Mid, primary focus · #016f5f3 steps

neutral

muted text · #a1a1aa7 steps

Base

4 steps
3.0 TypographyNative Plant Trust · Brand Standards
3.1

Typefaces

Aa
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
primaryBasetica
Aa
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
editorialNewsreader
3.2

Hierarchy

Every role stacked the way it ships.

Hierarchy in use2 roles
PrimaryBasetica
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Basetica (205TF). Sans-serif for body, UI, and most headings. Self-hosted at public/fonts/basetica/ in the client repo.
EditorialNewsreader
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Newsreader (Google Fonts). Editorial serif for long-form, field-guide-style headings, and donor-facing material.
4.0 VoiceNative Plant Trust · Brand Standards
4.1

Principles

Botanical specificity earns trust. Name the species, the region, the season.

Native Plant Trust speaks for the regional flora. Generic 'pollinator-friendly' or 'wildlife-supporting' language reads as marketing. Specific species names, regional context, and seasonal detail read as authority.

Speak to a curious adult, not a beginner or an expert.

The audience is mixed: home gardeners, conservation professionals, students. The voice never patronizes the home gardener and never alienates the conservation professional. Plain language, real specificity, no in-group jargon and no oversimplification.

Conservation comes first, but never moralizes.

Native Plant Trust holds a 125-year position. The voice carries that weight without lecturing. State the conservation reality. Let the reader draw the conclusion.

Place is part of the message. Name it.

New England, the Connecticut River valley, the Berkshires, the Cape, Garden in the Woods, Nasami Farm. The brand is rooted in actual places. Name them.
4.2

Write this, not that

The fastest way to hear the voice.

Do

Lupinus perennis, the wild lupine, anchors the eastern oak savanna and is the only host plant for the Karner blue butterfly.

Don’t

Native plants like wild lupine support biodiversity by providing habitat for pollinators.

Do

Garden in the Woods opens for the season on April 15.

Don’t

Our beautiful gardens are ready to welcome you for an unforgettable spring experience.

4.3

Vocabulary

Words we use

Native Plant TrustNative plants of New EnglandGarden in the WoodsNasami FarmNew England floraConnecticut River valleyConservationField guideCertificateStewardshipRegionHabitatSpeciesKarner blueWild lupineFounded 1900America's first plant conservation organization

Words we never use

utilizeleveragesynergyworld-classbest-in-classindustry-leadingthought leaderpassionate aboutwe strive todiscover the magicwhere plants thriveyour journey starts hereclick herelearn morebiodiversity hotspotnature-based solutionsustainable future
4.4

Prompt kit

Ready-to-run prompts for anyone writing as Native Plant Trust.

Open the member newsletter
newsletteremail_body

Write a 60-90 word intro for the Native Plant Trust member newsletter for {month}. Lead with one season-specific botanical observation, conservation finding, or program update. Voice: authoritative, grounded, curious, plain-spoken. Reference an actual place (Garden in the Woods, Nasami Farm, a New England region) where the season fits. No 'we are excited.' No generic biodiversity language.

Write a species spotlight
bodynewsletter

Write a 100-150 word spotlight on {species} (use scientific name and common name). Include: regional range in New England, one ecological role (host plant, pollinator support, soil function), seasonal detail, and one practical note for a home gardener. Avoid generic 'good for pollinators' language. Cite a specific relationship or interaction.

Announce a program or certificate
announcementnewsletter

Announce {program} (certificate course, public lecture, garden walk, or volunteer call) in 60-80 words. Voice: institutional but warm. Include date, location, who it's for, and how to register or apply. No marketing wrapper.

Write a conservation position statement
press_quotesubhead

Write a 2-3 sentence position statement on {issue} (invasive species, habitat loss, climate-driven range shift, etc.) for the Native Plant Trust audience. Authoritative voice grounded in regional ecology. State the position. Don't moralize.

Open a donor appeal
email_body

Write the opening 2-3 paragraphs of a donor appeal for {campaign}. Lead with a specific conservation outcome or program need. Reference Native Plant Trust's 125-year position. Voice: institutional, plain-spoken, never gratuitously emotional.

5.0 Sub-brandsNative Plant Trust · Brand Standards
5.1

The wider system

Garden in the Woods

Place / Public Garden

The flagship public garden in Framingham, Massachusetts. The institutional home of Native Plant Trust. Open seasonally, hosts public programs, certificate courses, and garden walks.

Nasami Farm

Place / Working Nursery

Working native-plant nursery in Whately, Massachusetts. Source of the regional flora that retail customers and restoration projects buy from.

New England Wild Flower Society

Legacy Identity

The historical name of the organization, retained as a legacy reference and in long-running publications. Use sparingly and only where institutional continuity matters.

Native Plant Trust · Brand Standards Manual · v1.0.0 · reconstructed from the Figma brand guideFor agentsspec.mdspec.jsonllms.txtdata view