When fleeing a natural disaster, many people’s first instinct is to protect mementos of the past—photos or cherished family heirlooms. But when Nina Raj evacuated her home in Altadena last month during the devastating Los Angeles fires, her mind was firmly fixed on the future. The first thing she packed was her seeds.

Step outside for a nature walk and you’re likely to encounter invasive plants—barberry and burning bush, to name just two that are fast encroaching on Northeast woodlands. But you may be surprised to learn that there are nurseries and online plant stores selling these self-same invasive plants.

Not far from the Brooklyn waterfront, the Naval Cemetery Landscape (NCL) is both a memorial to the dead and a haven for the living, teeming with lush native plants and countless birds and pollinators. “By purposefully bringing in life through an abundance of plants to a space that memorializes the dead, the landscape honors the…