Native plant nurseries are popping up everywhere and many of the established nurseries and garden centres are now including native plants in their stock. Gradually, native plants are being re-discovered as very suitable components in the Canadian garden. Once you start including native plants in the garden, the beauty, familiarity and ease of maintenance will make you want to include more. The following list includes a few plants that would be an excellent introduction to native plants. Native plants and wildflowers are often thought to be the same thing but are actually quite different.
Wildflowers are plants which grow without human intervention.
This includes non-desirable weeds such as Queen Anne's Lace, desirable introduced plants such as Buttercup or California Poppy as well as native plants that are growing wild. Wildflower seed packages tend to contain a collection of some native and mostly non-native flowering plants. The focus with these packages is to provide the buyer with an instant show of miscellaneous colour. These can be very attractive in the short term but are by no means a way of creating a permanent and stable plant community. By including native plants in the garden, gardeners are playing a vital role in restoring pieces of nature and creating suitable habitats for a more diverse community of plants and wildlife.