The Garry Oak Gardener’s Handbook
“I recently came across the Garry Oak Gardener’s Handbook, and what great timing, as I am in the process of converting my front yard into a native plant garden and was just starting the detailed plan to figure out what to plant where. This book has done most of the work for me. What a fantastic resource!”—Jody Watson, CRD Harbours & Watershed Coordinator
“I just received your wonderful publication yesterday and have already read it cover-to-cover. I now feel so encouraged instead of defeated by our rocky, exposed, broom-ridden slope, I can't wait to get going!” —Mary Anne Crossman, Galiano Island resident
The expanded second edition of The Garry Oak Gardener’s Handbook: Nurturing Native Plant Habitat in Garry Oak Communities has been reprinted (2011) and is free to download (PDF 9MB). We've kept the same great designs for Garry oak meadows, woodlands, rock outcrops and container gardens, and we've added tips for attracting pollinators and removing invasive plants. You'll also find tips on planning your native plant garden, acquiring plants, mulching, caring for Garry oak trees, dealing with deer and more — all with full-colour photos and plan drawings. Request a print copy by clicking on 'donate now' below, OR by emailing info@goert.ca, OR by calling 250-383-3427.
Want a copy of the Gardener’s Handbook?
Download it for free in PDF (9MB) or have a print copy mailed to you by making a $15 minimum donation to GOERT. Donate and request a book now.
To learn more about growing native plants, see our propagation guidelines and our quick guide to native plant gardening, including new mulching guidelines.
The Benefits of Becoming a Garry Oak Gardener
Native plant gardening has become popular in this region and no wonder! A glance through any field guide to the flora of coastal BC offers up a lush selection of colourful plants with exquisite textures and shapes, all locally adapted to our fickle climate and generally acidic soils. What more could a gardener ask for in these days of climate uncertainty than a charming plant that is completely at home in this environment?
Native plant gardening is highly rewarding:
- Help conserve Canada’s natural heritage and create a healthy environment for your children and grandchildren by helping to bring back diversity of life to your neighbourhood
- Enjoy the beauty of your habitat’s attractive wildflowers, butterflies, mosses and birds
- Save on your water bills by replacing water-hungry lawns and ornamental gardens with water-thrifty native plants. Once native plants have become established, they require very little watering
- Save on your winter heating costs with well-placed trees for windbreaks and save on summer air conditioning costs with shade from trees
- Eliminate the need for harmful chemical fertilizers and herbicides by using native plants
- Watch your property values grow as trees mature and your easy-care native garden becomes more highly regarded
- Observe and learn from the fascinating diversity of life in your own backyard
- Improve your health from gardening and working in your yard and experience great satisfaction in your work
- Reduce maintenance chores such as mowing lawns, watering and replacing short-lived ornamental plants
When many people in an area choose to protect and restore Garry oak habitats, the benefits are even greater. Neighbourhoods with plenty of greenspace are known to have lower turnover, creating a greater sense of community. And, when the time comes to sell, these properties usually sell very quickly and at higher prices. Natural areas also help to clean the air and water, and reduce flooding.
Spread the word!
Let others know what you are doing and why it is so important.
- Install interpretive signs at the edge of the property so that people will know what you are doing
- Talk to your neighbours. If you can get them interested, they may offer to help!
- If you are willing, you could offer tours to local naturalist and garden clubs, schools and other interested individuals.
Alien Invaders
Invasive species such as Daphne laureola may be lurking in your garden.
There are alien invaders lurking in residential gardens. Did you know that the poisonous plant, Daphne laureola, or spurge laurel, is often mistaken for rhododendron? Check your yard for this plant and remove it with caution. See the WorkSafe BC Toxic Plant Warning. There are many more invasive plants that can harm Garry oak habitat, including English ivy, Scotch broom, English holly and Himalayan blackberry. Read more about invasive plants.
Design Plans and Plant Lists
Design plan for container garden from The Garry Oak Gardener's Handbook.
Container size: 2' x 3' by 2' deep (0.6m x 0.9m by 0.6m deep).
(illustration by Kathy Dunster)
Plant list for the above illustration
Vine
- A
-
Western trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) — 1 plant
Herbaceous plants
- B
-
Broad-leaved stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium) — 2 plants
- C
-
Common camas (Camassia quamash) — 10 bulbs
- D
-
Chocolate lily (Fritillaria affinis) also known as F. lanceolata — 6 bulbs or plants
- E
-
Nodding onion (Allium cernuum) — 6 bulbs
- F
-
Spring-gold (Lomatium utriculatum) — 3 plants
- G
-
Broad-leaved shootingstar (Dodecatheon hendersonii) — 2 plants
- H
-
Woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) — 2 plants
- I
-
Satinflower (Sisyrinchium douglasii) — 2 plants
- J
-
White fawn lily (Erythronium oregonum) — 1 plant
- K
-
Menzies larkspur (Delphinium menziesii) — 1 plant
- L
-
Tiger lily (Lilium columbianum) — 1 plant
Even apartment-dwellers can have a Garry oak garden! This design is scaled to fit a balcony container and includes some of our favourite wildflowers that naturally occur in Garry oak meadows. We’ve made room in one corner of the planter for a honeysuckle that can be trained along the balcony railing and could attract a few hummingbirds. You could just as easily grow the honeysuckle in a separate planter. Let the stonecrop spill over the side of the container. We show a few plants in some cases to help fill out the space a little faster. Remember that the plants will grow and need dividing so don’t try to cram too many plants into the container to begin with. The trick to keeping a container garden healthy is to thin and divide the plants every few years. If you can only find or afford a single chocolate lily, start with one and divide the bulbs after it has flowered for a few years. Some plants such as nodding onion will reproduce and spread from seed. In the spring look around your plants for little onion shoots. Carefully lift the tiny bulbs without harming the roots and transplant them into a small pot. When they have grown a bit larger you can transplant them into a new space or trade with other native plant gardeners. A wide assortment of Garry oak-associated plants can be grown in containers. This is one design out of many possibilities!
The Garry Oak Gardener’s Handbook provides design plans and plant lists for:
- Garry Oak Meadows
- Woodlands
- Containers
- Rock Outcrops
- Moist-soil Gardens
- Pond Edges & Wet Areas
- Hedgerows
- Shrub Thickets
- Butterfly Gardens
Have a print copy mailed to you by making a $15 minimum donation to GOERT: donate now. Or contact us: info@goert.ca or 250-383-3427.