Rooted Naturally

Took a quick gardening break to make some branded shirts this weekend! Super fun process. Maybe I’ll have to make some native species merch soon 👀🌼🌸

These native plant pairings combine colour, texture and structure in the garden. Not only do these plants look great planted together, but they also provide essential food and shelter for our local wildlife! It doesn’t get much better than that 💛🌼 What is your favourite pairing?

Almost every homeowner has a section of fence that could use some sprucing up. Sometimes landscaping simple strip gardens can actually be the most difficult. They often have a short depth, and placing plants isn’t intuitive, unless you just plant in a straight line.

To make these spaces more visually interesting, I ignore symmetry along the length of the bed. I place the tallest plants closest to the fence for two reasons:
1. If they were in front or in the middle layer, other smaller plants would be hidden.
2. The fence behind and the plants in front act as a support if they ever want to flop over.

I try to make the back layer undulate in height along the length of the fence. This helps you distinguish between plants easier which in my opinion, is more appealing to the eye.

In this design, the back layer consists of shrubs, grasses, and tall perennials that bloom at different times throughout the season and provide fall colour.

The middle and front layers are mounding perennials that are staggered forward and back. The placement of these plants is important because you see them unobstructed by other plants. I like to stagger them instead of placing them in straight lines for a more natural look, like they just popped up there by themselves!
The plants in this design were specifically chosen to bridge the gap between landscape design and ecologically friendly gardening.
The goal is that mixing native species and well-behaved cultivars in garden designs will open the door to a group of homeowners that may not consider anything other than traditional landscaping. The future is better with biodiversity!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 💛

One of our more common summer butterflies in Southern Ontario. Every time I see one drift by is a pleasant surprise.

This one was sitting in the middle of the street on a chilly morning this weekend. I gently scooped it up and placed it in the nearby woodland, in a sunbeam, to warm up for the day.

These butterflies are spectacular to see in person, and their large size and colour patterns make them easy to observe as they float by.

If you want to attract Eastern Tiger Swallowtails to your garden, plant nectar sources for their adult stage that are available throughout the season, minimizing blooming gaps. Plant their host species on which they can lay eggs, such as Tulip Tree, Hop Tree, and Black Cherry!

If you think native plants are “messy”, you’re not entirely wrong.

Native plants didn’t evolve for the human eye, and because of this, not all species will appeal to everyone’s taste in a garden.

Some species do give off a wilder look, and that’s okay! Some gardens call for that, and some people prefer that. The important thing is to add ecological value to a garden. It’s all about balance.

That being said, there are many native species with ornamental value, which may appeal to those with tidy, kept garden beds.

If you are someone who prefers traditional landscaping, try mixing in a few of these species to increase the ecological value of your landscaping.

For example: instead of another Panicle Hydrangea, why not try a New Jersey Tea??

My (mostly) native pollinator garden is loving this summer heat! 🐝

The most notable additions are:
- Purple coneflower: I dug up seedlings from another plant in my garden and transplanted them here
- Dense blazing star: grown from corms purchased at Home Depot!
Both of these plants will
1. Fill in bloom gaps when the pale coneflower finishes in July
2. Add contrasting colour (purples) when blooming alongside butterfly milkweed (orange)

I can’t wait to see this space evolve over the summer! 🌸🌼

Gardening is practicing patience 🧘‍♀️

If you’re waiting on pollinators to find your garden, here’s a few reasons why they might not be showing up.

The key takeaways from this post:
- Plant host plants, not just nectar sources.
- Encourage your neighbours to add native plants into their landscaping.
- Be patient! They will come 🐝