This page is a dedicated space for native plant resources. The majority of information is geared to gardeners in the Toronto area and focuses on plants that are considered native to this region. We will update this page with additional resources as they become available.
WHY GARDEN WITH NATIVE PLANTS?
There are many reasons to add native plants to your garden. Native plants are adapted to our native soils and have coevolved with our local insect, bird and mammal populations over thousands of years. Studies have shown that native plants support a greater number and diversity of insects that depend on those plants for food and shelter than non-natives. In fact, many insects are specialists in that they rely on one specific host plant for at least part of their life cycle.
There is a growing understanding that nature needs help, due to habitat loss from increasing urbanization and agricultural practices. Exotic plants and invasive species are also a contributor to habitat loss, pushing out our native plants, resulting in a dramatic decline in pollinators, other beneficial insects and the insect-eating birds that depend on them. When we use native plants, we create places for wildlife to find food and shelter in a welcoming space.
TORONTO MASTER GARDENERS GARDENING GUIDES
Native Plants for Habitat – Native Plants of Interest
Native Perennials for Shade: Your Living Landscape
OTHER TORONTO MASTER GARDENERS RESOURCES
Guide to Plant Categories – From Native to Invasive
CITY OF TORONTO RESOURCES
The Best Native Plants for Toronto Gardens
How to Help Wild Bees and Other Native Pollinators
NATIVE PLANT/SEED SOURCES
The Master Gardeners of Ontario maintain a list of Native Plant Nurseries.
Halton Master Gardeners also maintain a list and map of Native Plant Nurseries in Southern Ontario which has been updated in March 2022.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Gardening with Climate-Smart Native Plants in the Northeast provides great suggestions for native alternatives to common invasive plants.