BIODIVERSITY GARDENING
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    • Our Favorite Native Plants (All)
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Our Favorite Native Plants

The flowers of many of North America's native plants are small and inconspicuous. Their form is natural; a result of an evolutionary process called natural selection. Most common garden plants are non-native species, and many have larger, showy flowers because they've been transformed by artificial selection -- a process of selective breeding by humans. The subtle beauty of native plants often requires a careful, observant eye, and a good lens! But the role of native plants in ecosystem food webs is essential. They feed the native animals they coevolved with. All photos from our biodiversity garden in Ontario, Canada. 

American Beech, Fagus grandifolia

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American beech in fruit in the fall

Beaked Hazel, Corylus cornuta

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The minuscule, brilliantly-coloured flowers are female (Betulaceae, birch family)

Black chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa

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Black chokeberry, or "Nina's favourite jam plant", a gorgeous native shrub (rose family)

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis

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Bloodroot is one of the first to flower in early spring

Blue-eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium angustifolium

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Blue-eyed grass is a member of the family Iridaceae, pictured in early June

Blue Flag Iris, Iris versicolor

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mid spring bloomer

Blue Vervain, Verbena hastata

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Blue vervain is a member of the Verbenaceae, or vervain family.

Butterfly Milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa

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Essential for caterpillars, pollinators and brilliant orange color!

Canada Wild Rye, Elymus canadensis

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Tall grass adds character, spreads quickly but easily pulled in spring

Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca

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An essential plant in any garden

Compass Plant, Silphium laciniatum

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In our garden it is easily out-competed by neighbouring plants and has not spread

Cup Plant, Silphium perfoliatum

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American goldfinches flock to cup plant to eat the seeds in late summer

Fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium

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A beautiful addition to the garden that gets destroyed by Japanese beetles every year!

Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida

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Spectacular fall color of flowering dogwood, "Cornus florida", in October

Flowering Raspberry, Rubus odoratus

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Blooms for many weeks; loved by native pollinators

Forget-me-not, Myosotis laxa

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Minute flowers appear later in spring compared to the common forget-me-not, an invasive alien species.

Hoptree, Ptelea trifoliata

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Larval food plant of giant swallowtail butterfly; important spring pollinator plant

Kalm's St. Johnswort, Hypericum kalmianum

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Such a beauty but sadly has not done well in our garden (undoubtedly our fault!)

Michigan Lily, Lilium michiganense

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Simply stunning; hard to grow in our garden because the mammals love it!

New England Aster, Symphiotrichum novae-angliae

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Late summer/early fall color.

Ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius

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This native rose is an essential early spring pollinator plant.

Northern Bush Honeysuckle, Diervilla lonicera

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Abundant blooms frequented by pollinators, especially bumble bees

Ostrich Fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris

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Very easy to grow and tolerates a wide range of conditions.

Prairie smoke, Geum triflorum

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A tiny rose; early spring flowers. Let it go to seed, see why it is called "prairie smoke".

Shining sumac, Rhus copallinum

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Cashew family (Anacardiaceae); pollinators love the tiny green flowers in mid-late summer

Sugar maple, Acer saccharum

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Foliage of sugar maple and American beech is larval food for numerous species of Lepidoptera

Swamp Rose Mallow, Hibiscus moscheutos

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Swamp rose mallow is our native hibiscus; huge pink blooms begin late July

White Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum

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Spring ephemeral

Wild Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis

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Flowers fragrant; fruits make delicious jam, read about it on the blog...

Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense

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A must-have, easy-to-grow, shade-loving ground cover (family Aristolochiaceae)

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana

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Great native ground cover!

Yellow Coneflower, Ratibida pinnata

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Yellow coneflower (Asteraceae) with a gorgeous 8-legged animal on an inflorescence
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  • home
  • learn
    • What is Biodiversity?
    • What is Biodiversity Gardening?
    • What is Native Biodiversity?
    • Why Does Native Biodiversity Matter?
    • Resources
  • documentary
    • Introduction
    • Our Favorite Native Plants (All)
    • American Beech
    • Bloodroot
    • Blue Flag Iris
    • Hoptree
    • Ninebark
    • Animals and Fungi (All)
    • Boogie-Woogie Aphid
    • Black Swallowtail Butterfly
    • Giant Swallowtail Butterfly
    • Gray Tree Frog
    • Lichens
    • Milk Snake
  • about
    • Contact Us
  • blog