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Quick Guide to Native Plant Gardening

Getting Started

See the Garry Oak Gardener’s Handbook and our native plant propagation guidelines for details on planning your garden and working with native plants. Choose plants whose needs will be satisfied as much as possible by the environmental conditions of your site, and know your plants’growth requirements and natural habitats as well as your property’s natural features. Grow several different species of native plants, as diversity is essential for healthy Garry oak habitat.

Propagating native plant seedlings

Propagating native plant seedlings

Plant Propagation

If you have a friend or neighbour who is able to give you a cutting or division of a native plant, this is an ideal way to acquire plants for your Garry oak garden. It is the least expensive, and if the plant comes from a nearby site, this may help to retain the genetic integrity of plants in your area. Divide perennials in late summer/early fall, or take cuttings in late summer or late winter. Trade with your friends and neighbours! See our native plant propagation guidelines.

Seeds

There are several reputable suppliers of native plant seeds. This is an inexpensive way to find plants for your garden. Beware of commercially available ‘wildflower mixes’, as they often contain non-native and sometimes invasive species. See our list of suppliers.

In addition, the Native Seed Network is a resource for both the restoration community and the native seed industry, providing powerful search tools and information on aspects of native seed (USA-based).

Plant Salvaging

Never take plants from local parks or natural areas. Often they do not transplant well, you will be harming the natural environment, and the practice is illegal. Be careful about suppliers of salvaged plants, as illegal plant scavenging is a concern for the future health of natural areas the plants came from.

Local naturalist groups may be aware of legitimate plant salvaging opportunities. When a new road or subdivision is going in, for example, a local group may ask for permission to remove healthy plant material for use elsewhere. Offer to help with these salvaging operations, and you may be able to keep some of the salvaged plants. See our Guidelines for the Collection and Use of Native Plants.

Contact your local naturalist group to ask if they are aware of salvaging programs in your area or contact the Environmental Education Officer at Saanich Planning: 250-475-5475; darren.copley@saanich.ca.

Rare Plants

Use of rare plants is not recommended. When you are getting native plants for your garden, make sure they are local, common species and not rare ones. The use of rare plant species is a complicated process that needs expert assistance and carefully prepared plans. For further information, go to our list of rare and endangered species (XLS 56KB), COSEWIC or the BC Conservation Data Centre.

Nectar Plants

Native plants are more useful for attracting butterflies because the flowering of specific plants coincides with the emergence of the adult butterfly, and while feeding on nectar, butteflies assist in the pollination of plants. A number of plants in Garry oak ecosystems provide food for the larval (caterpillar) stages in the life cycle of native butterflies. Large butterflies such as swallowtails prefer to land on flowers with large composite heads because they can rest on them while feeding. Composites include asters, goldenrod, pearly everlasting, and yarrow. Flowers in the carrot family are also popular with swallowtails. Other butterflies are attracted to plants with large numbers of fragrant flowers such as honeysuckles (Lonicera ciliosa and Lonicera hispidula), mock orange, oceanspray, kinnikinnick, red-osier dogwood, columbine, sedum, violets, clovers, wild mint, alliums, and strawberry.

Buying Native Plants

See our list of nurseries that supply native plants

Camas bulbs

Camas bulbs

Planting and Watering

  • Do test plantings in small areas, to see how well the plants establish.
  • Water well during the first year. To conserve water, use a soaker hose or drip irrigation and water deeply early in the morning.
  • Once they are established, most Garry oak ecosystem species are adapted to summer drought and you can allow the plants to dry out between watering. This will help them grow deep roots and become more drought-tolerant. You may need to water every few weeks in very dry summers.
  • Add new plants gradually. Remember that they will spread naturally over time, and small shrubs will become much bigger!
  • Plant some acorns or young oak trees, as these will take a long time to establish. This is particularly important if your existing Garry oak trees are old or dying.
  • It is best to establish perennials in the spring or early fall in loose, well-drained soil that has been deeply mulched with compost.

Maintaining Your Garden

Native plants have survived in this area for many hundreds of years. Let nature take its course.

  • Continue to remove invasive species as they reoccur
  • Avoid pesticides and herbicides, and use only organic fertilizers
  • Mulch at least once a year
  • Let oak leaves remain around the base of Garry oak trees and elsewhere. The Propertius duskywing butterfly, a species at risk, over-winters in the leaf litter. Also, leaf cover protects the soil underneath and enriches the soil as it decomposes. If you have to remove leaves from one area, consider spreading them in another or adding them to the garden compost. Remove and throw away any diseased leaves. A low fence can help to keep leaves from blowing onto a neighbour’s property, and can protect the area from human and dog activity.
  • Be patient and persistent. Some plants take years to become established, and even longer to bloom. Removing and controlling weeds and invasive plants on your property may also take time.

Workshops

  • CRD Water offers native plant gardening workshops with Patricia Johnston and lists of suggested plants
  • The Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre offers workshops on native plant gardening and permaculture.
    1216 North Park Street, Victoria
    250-386-9676
    info@compost.bc.ca
    www.compost.bc.ca
  • Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary offers native plant gardening workshops with Patricia Johnston and others and holds a native plant sale every spring.

Websites

Publications

  • Guidelines for the Collection and Use of Native Plants (2004), by GOERT’s Native Plant Propagation Steering Committee
  • Native Plants in the Coastal Garden: A Guide for Gardeners in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest; by April Pettinger with Brenda Costanzo.
  • Propagation of Pacific Northwest Native Plants; by Robin Rose, Caryn E.C. Chachulski, and Diane L. Haase.
  • Plants of Coastal British Columbia, including Washington, Oregon & Alaska; by Pojar & MacKinnon
  • Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest; by Mark Turner and Phyllis Gustafson
  • Trees, Shrubs & Flowers to Know in British Columbia & Washington; by C.P. Lyons and Bill Merilees
  • Indicator Plants of Coastal British Columbia; by K. Klinka, V.J. Krajina, A. Ceska, and A.M. Scagel
  • Caring For Wildlife Habitat At Home: Provincial Guide; Naturescape BC.
  • The British Columbia Stewardship Centre has several online publications.
  • For a discussion of plants found in Garry oak ecosystems, see Towards a Recovery Strategy for Garry Oak and Associated Ecosystems in Canada: Ecological Assessment and Literature Review (PDF 768KB). An entire chapter is devoted to the topic, including a list of plants associated with Garry oak ecosystems (Latin names only) on pages 9–22.