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
American beech in fruit in the fall
Beaked Hazel, Corylus cornuta
The minuscule, brilliantly-coloured red flowers are female, drooping male flowers (catkins) on the left (Betulaceae, birch family)
Black chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa
Black chokeberry, or "Nina's favourite jam plant", a gorgeous native shrub (rose family)
Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis
Bloodroot is one of the first to flower in early spring
Blue-eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Blue-eyed grass is a member of the family Iridaceae, pictured in early June
Blue Flag Iris, Iris versicolor
mid spring bloomer
Blue Vervain, Verbena hastata
Blue vervain is a member of the Verbenaceae, or vervain family.
Butterfly Milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa
Essential for caterpillars, pollinators and brilliant orange color!
Canada Wild Rye, Elymus canadensis
Tall grass adds character, spreads quickly but easily pulled in spring
Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca
An essential plant in any garden
Compass Plant, Silphium laciniatum
In our garden it is easily out-competed by neighbouring plants and has not spread
Cup Plant, Silphium perfoliatum
American goldfinches flock to cup plant to eat the seeds in late summer
Fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium
A beautiful addition to the garden that gets destroyed by Japanese beetles every year!
Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida
Spectacular fall color of flowering dogwood, "Cornus florida", in October
Flowering Raspberry, Rubus odoratus
Blooms for many weeks; loved by native pollinators
Forget-me-not, Myosotis laxa
Minute flowers appear later in spring compared to the common forget-me-not, an invasive alien species.
Hoptree, Ptelea trifoliata
Larval food plant of giant swallowtail butterfly; important spring pollinator plant
Kalm's St. Johnswort, Hypericum kalmianum
Such a beauty but sadly has not done well in our garden (undoubtedly our fault!)
Michigan Lily, Lilium michiganense
Simply stunning; hard to grow in our garden because the mammals love it!
New England Aster, Symphiotrichum novae-angliae
Late summer/early fall color.
Ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius
This native rose is an essential early spring pollinator plant.
Northern Bush Honeysuckle, Diervilla lonicera
Abundant blooms frequented by pollinators, especially bumble bees
Ostrich Fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris
Very easy to grow and tolerates a wide range of conditions.
Prairie smoke, Geum triflorum
A tiny rose; early spring flowers. Let it go to seed, see why it is called "prairie smoke".
Shining sumac, Rhus copallinum
Cashew family (Anacardiaceae); pollinators love the tiny green flowers in mid-late summer
Sugar maple, Acer saccharum
Foliage of sugar maple and American beech is larval food for numerous species of Lepidoptera
Swamp Rose Mallow, Hibiscus moscheutos
Swamp rose mallow is our native hibiscus; huge pink blooms begin late July
White Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum
Spring ephemeral
Wild Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis
Flowers fragrant; fruits make delicious jam, read about it on the blog...
Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense
A must-have, easy-to-grow, shade-loving ground cover (family Aristolochiaceae)
Wild Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana
Great native ground cover!
Yellow Coneflower, Ratibida pinnata
Yellow coneflower (Asteraceae) with a gorgeous 8-legged animal on an inflorescence