It feels overwhelming at first; do not worry, we have your back! We have design instructions, additional resources and pictures of plants that you can use for inspiration.
The best way to confirm a plant is native is to buy them from trusted sources. Trusted sources declare where their seeds or plants come from, and confirm that they have been harvested ethically.
But if you're out at a garden centre or nursery and a plant catches your eye that says "native" on the plant tag, you can double check by entering the LATIN name of the plant into VASCAN's search function (this is THE resource for native plants in Ontario). Note that this search function doesn't work well with common names, so please only use the Latin name.
To learn more about how to use VASCAN, you can watch this video by Sundaura Alford-Parvis.
Many plants in garden centres are actually cultivars of native plants. These plants were originally native but genetically modified for a specific characteristic (brighter colour, longer blooming period, etc.). A great example of this is Black Eyed Susan "Goldstrum". Notice the use of quotation marks on the cultivar name of the plant. If you see a plant with a Latin (or English) name and then a name in quotation marks, it's definitely NOT native.
These cultivars may still hold some benefit for pollinators (the plant tag will most likely tell you that it's "bee friendly" or "attracts butterflies"), but it's mostly beneficial in the same way that dandelions are junk food for native bees. Sure you may see a pollinator at the plant, but it's not getting the same nutritional value that a native plant will offer. Or that plant may be beneficial for non native pollinators (like honey bees) instead of local native pollinators. This is why we promote native plants so much. Think of cultivars as junk food and native plants as a healthy nutritious meal.
In the interest of keeping your carbon footprint low, and making sure that your plants are native to our region, consider sourcing and purchasing your plants locally. Here are some companies that we recommend:
If you can't find what you're looking for in town, you can purchase native plants or seeds from the following online retailers.
You may have noticed that some box stores like Loblaws, Home Depot, Ritchies etc. are selling native plants this year. Caution should be used as their "native" or "wildflower" labels can be misleading.
How to prepare your site:
How to select the right plants, based on your conditions:
How to create a native plant garden:
What to grow to replace lawn:
Garden design templates: