Why Native Plants?

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• They are low maintenance. Once established and planted in the right place, they don't need watering, are very hardy, and will grow successfully to outcompete weeds. 

• They are adapted to our soils, so they don't need fertilizer, and to our native insects, so they don't need pesticides.

• They are highly specialized in attracting native butterflies and bees because they provide ample nectar at the right time. The plant's physiology coevolved with native pollinators to be attractive, nutritious and accessible.

• Ornamental plants are bred for bloom size and colour but not for nectar production. They can look beautiful to our eyes, but may not provide any benefit for pollinators. It is hard for pollinators to access double-bloom varieties.

• Vegetable gardens and fruit trees benefit tremendously from pollination by native wild bees.

• Native plants are larval hosts for our native insects and their predators, thereby supporting their entire life cycles. Insect predators are a natural pest control, helping keep our gardens in balance.

• Native plants feed local and migrating birds with insects, seeds, fruit and berries.

• If native plants escape from your garden into the ravines or natural parks, they will not cause the collapse of natural ecosystems, which some introduced plants do.

• Native wildflowers are incredibly beautiful and enhance the sense of place in our locality.

• They increase biodiversity and, in turn, ecological health and the resilience of our ecosystems. 

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In short, native plants bring wildlife back into our gardens.

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"Grow Me Instead" is a brochure from the Ontario Invasive Plant Council that offers recommendations on what to grow instead of some invasive species found in our gardens.