Native Plants

Back to ‘Native’ as well as nature is a good way to reduce your carbon footprint.  Native plants are the ones that were found in this area long before the horticultural industry started cultivating ‘new’ plants.

Native plants often aren’t as ‘flashy’ or ‘unique’ as their newer relatives but they do grow well here because it is where their roots originated.

The Trillium is a native plant and the official flower of Ontario.  The idea that it is illegal to grow them is untrue.  Ideally purchasing them from a grower who is cultivating the bulbs for re-sale is preferred to digging them up in the wild so one can have them in the garden.  These flowers prefer a forest/shaded location for growth.  In the native setting, the organic matter (decaying leaves and branches) as well as an abundance of moisture available in the spring is ideal for Trilliums and other native plants.  This recipe must be duplicated in the home garden in order for these plants to flourish.  The Trillium is a great plant to enjoy in the spring, but like other woodland plants, once the heat of the summer arrives their growing season is done and they disappear into the ground until the next spring.

There are many native plants that were removed from the ‘Best Seller List’ because they didn’t have showy enough flowers, were susceptible to disease or were considered weeds when the newer ‘Cultivated’ cousins came along.  The trend to go ‘Native’ is popular in spite of the few downfalls some (not all) native plants exhibit.

The native plants at Ridgeview Garden Centre have been chosen because they have good characteristics and have often been overlooked for the landscape but are truly worth planting in the garden. If you are interested in other native plants, please stop in or call Ridgeview and we can often give you information about your choice, whether it is available and where it will grow best in the garden situation.