Sales abound for those seeking native plants
There is much nattering nowadays about native plants. How great they are, how environmentally sustainable, how we owe it to our threatened planet to grow more and more of them.
Which is fine. But where are we supposed to find these highly desirable “natives”? Garden centre staff can be annoyingly vague (“Yeah, I think that’s a native shrub, but I’m not real sure”) and sleuthing for them yourself, amid all the potted hydrangeas and spireas on offer, is like trying to find cranberries in a Tim Hortons muffin. They aren’t exactly plentiful.
So enter a new phenomenon: native plant sales. In our environmentally conscious times, they are sprouting everywhere, with no less than four coming to the GTA in the next month.
More on these in a minute. But first, I want to put in a good word for some native plant booklets produced recently by the Credit Valley Conservation Authority, based in Mississauga.
These compact publications are well-researched, full of colour illustrations (so we can, hallelujah, recognize the plants) and — the best part — well focused. They contain refreshingly little preaching about the environment. What you get instead is practical charts and lists, showing both Latin and common names of many native plants, shrubs and trees that we’re encouraged to grow here.
The one called Woodland Plants for Landscaping is particularly useful for city gardeners because it offers suggestions for shade. The authors advocate, for instance, Tiarella (foam flower) and red and yellow wild columbine. So do I. Both look daintily delightful in spring, although be warned: one drawback of most native flowers is that they tend to be less showy than their cultivated cousins.
The booklets cost only $2 each, plus postage, and are also available as a digital download at creditvalleyca.ca.
Now the sales, which are all free admission:
Royal Botanical Garden’s native plant sale: Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. 680 Plains Rd. W., Burlington, rbg.ca.
This annual smash and grab, held in the Rock Garden parking lot (follow the signs) is always a zoo, and goes rain or shine — so arrive early. Vendors are local producers of native plants, shrubs and trees. Experts are on hand to answer questions.
Ontario Rock Garden & Hardy Plant Society’s super plant sale at the Toronto Botanical Garden: Sunday, May 1, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 777 Lawrence St. E., North York, onrockgarden.com.
Strictly speaking, the ORGS sale isn’t about native plants, but there’ll undoubtedly be a few interesting ones on offer. Considered a “must” by serious gardeners, this one always features out-of-the-ordinary plants, shrubs and vines — some grown by ORGS members.
North American Native Plant Society’s annual spring native plant sale at the Markham Civic Centre. Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 101 Town Centre Blvd., Markham, nanps.org.
The NANPS sale is the largest of its kind in Canada. It’s also, organizers say, “a great place to meet likeminded people.” The variety of wildflowers, ferns, grasses, trees and shrubs is huge.
Toronto Botanical Garden’s spring plant sale: Friday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 14, and Sunday, May 15, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 777 St. Lawrence Ave. E. in North York, torontobotanicalgarden.ca.
Always a “hot” event, the TBG sale offers — for the first time this year — some unusual native plants raised at the St. Williams Nursery & Ecology Centre in Norfolk County, Ont. Once again, go early. soniaday.com