Grow Natives!

Simcoe County Master Gardeners urges everyone to grow natives!

Native plants were here before European settlement. Having adapted physically, biochemically, and genetically to local climate and soil conditions, they are the most sustainable species to grow. Native plants are more drought-resistant and require less water and maintenance than non-native species.

Adapted to the local environment for thousands of years, native plants have co-evolved with insects, birds, and mammals that depend on them for food and habitat. Many bees specialize on a few kinds of native plants as a larval host. Without that plant, those bees cannot survive. The more diverse your native plant garden, the more pollinators it supports.

It’s not just about bees. Native plants enable pollination but they also make many other essential contributions to local ecosystems. They improve soil health, prevent erosion, and filter water that reduces flooding. They provide food, improve air quality, regulate the temperature, conserve water, sequester carbon dioxide, store carbon and support an entire biome above and below the ground.

Growing native plants is something everyone can do to mitigate the loss of insect and bird species and to counteract the effects of climate change.

What native plants should you grow? This website has the information you need to choose, and to successfully grow, native plants. You may be looking for a big tree to occupy space, a woody shrub that looks good all year round, an elegant grass that complements your perennials, or a vine to clamber over a fence. And you probably want a lot of beautiful flowers that attract butterflies and support pollinating insects­—tall ones at the back, short ones covering the ground, and medium ones to fill in everywhere else. We hear you! We invite you to explore our website and discover the native plant species that work best for you.