It is good

When my childhood friend Inge de Beus landed at Pearson International Airport three decades ago for a visit, she sheepishly carried with her a Canon EOS 1000. Neither of us had a clue how to operate it.

“No worries,” her partner had said at home in the Netherlands. “It’s foolproof.” And indeed, he was right. Some of the best flower photos I’ve taken happened during that spring in 1996 when Inge and I took the fancy camera to the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario. Little did we know, at the time, that the Bruce is a hotspot for finding northern orchids. Unexpectedly, we found ourselves following around flower hunters from seemingly everywhere, loaded down with massive lenses and cameras even more fancy than our Canon EOS 100, tripping all over each other to score a sighting of, say, the incredibly delicate Calypso Orchid (Calypso borealis).

The goodness of God

I can’t think of a better way to be reassured of God’s generative goodness than to walk through a northern forest filled with spring flowers just as the leaves pop out. It takes many seasons for a colony of white Bunchberries to slowly spread along the trail, but as the Creator declared long ago, “It is good.”

And so, my life-long passion to search for Canadian wildflowers in their habitats was born in spring 1996. Let’s be clear: I’m a hobbyist, not a botanist or ecologist. I’ve just dragged along partner, kids and friends on flower hunts in habitats across the country since Inge brought along that camera. I have strayed from the path and broken some rules when diving into a swamp to see a rare orchid. I’ve risked tipping our canoe to take photos of a favorite aquatic plant. I’ve hiked too far, too steep and too late in the day in the hope of finding some species new to me. After all, I reason with myself, “I’m searching for it at the right time of year, in the best spot to potentially find it – what else matters, and when would this opportunity present itself again to see this flower?” The margins of my field guides are inked up with notes about when and where I saw a plant and with whom.

Native species

More recently, I’ve also shifted to growing these plants in my own garden and I am not alone. Many Canadian gardeners are becoming more serious about cultivating plants that are indigenous to the region where they live. Such species are now available in many nurseries and online.

Why does it make sense to grow native species in a Canadian garden? First and foremost, these plants belong here. (The term “native” is used by biologists to categorize species that haven’t been introduced from other parts of the world). Now, don’t get me wrong. I love planting annuals like bright orange marigolds. Probably, I will sneak some into my garden every year until my last breath. However, if our Creator had wanted marigolds to survive -20 C winter weather, I’m pretty sure God could have made that happen! As it is, marigolds in Canadian gardens die in autumn. Instead, we have been given Butterfly Weed. It’s a family member of the more familiar Common Milkweed and has survived harsh Canadian winters since time immemorial. Its complex flowers grow in bright orange clusters, which begs the question, “If we can splash bright orange throughout our gardens by planting Butterfly Weed, why not walk in step with what the Creator intends to grow right here in the first place?”

Lorraine Johnson, author of popular books on gardening with native plants, identifies key elements of “traditional” gardening with non-native species that seem to make little sense. For example, she says, gardeners often focus on controlling nature rather than being part of nature. It’s a lot of work to control nature (think weeding and weeding the same patch again and again). And, more often than not, it’s a losing battle. When growing native plants, a gardener is often more prepared to let nature do its thing. Biblical language speaks about stewardship and care for creation; there’s never been a Biblical mandate to control.

Also, traditional gardeners often receive special recognition when growing a plant successfully against the odds, says Johnson. For example, they may plant a tree in a south-facing spot where it is protected from wind, wrap it up carefully in winter, and, subsequently, fret over its survival. Turns out, no native species will ever need that type of help to survive our winters, so why fret if you don’t have to? Finally, the author explains we tend to be quite irrational about how plants are labelled to be “a weed” versus a desirable species. Most gardeners love to see their Daffodils naturalize and spread throughout the garden, but detest bright yellow Dandelions taking over the lawn! Neither of these plants are indigenous to Canada.

Future survival

Planting native species also supports biodiversity. Habitat loss, climate change and other factors threaten the survival of pollinators such as butterflies and bees. These creatures are absolutely essential to the future of plants, and by extension, the future of humanity. A plant and its pollinators “grow up together” in an evolutionary sense over very long periods of time.

Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Home Nature: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, says non-native garden varieties in North America are specifically imported “because of their unpalatability to our insects.” In a radio interview with Margaret Roach, Tallamy defines a plant to be indigenous to a region when it “has evolved in a particular place long enough to be able to establish the specialized relationships that are nature. Most of the relationships between plants and animals are highly specialized, and they take a long time to develop.” When plants are moved around the world, like marigolds planted in Canada during summer, these special relationships are broken down.

“Local insects typically can’t eat these plants and all the things that depend on those insects disappear as well, because there’s nothing generating those insects,” explains Tallamy. Thus, biodiversity is at risk.

In addition to supporting biodiversity, gardeners don’t have to worry much about introducing noxious weeds into their gardens when planting native flora. The local species for sale in gardening centres generally fit established criteria to thrive in typical gardens tended by average Canadians. After all, a garden is just that—a managed space filled with plants that tend to behave well. For example, garden varieties can’t be too aggressive. And they need to be able to adapt to a range of conditions and soils.

Thus, there’s no need to fret too much about introducing native species that will overtake a garden or won’t thrive at all. For example, gorgeous northern orchids and many native woodland flowers such as yellow Trout Lilies are rather picky about soil conditions and take years to establish. They probably don’t make great plants for most gardeners. Thus, they aren’t widely available in garden centres. In contrast, a native species such as the Cardinal with its bright red flowers seems quite adaptable to various growing conditions in Canadian gardens even though in nature it has a preference for wet habitats. And, unlike Butterfly Weed, its cousin the Common Milkweed tends to be a “thug” — far too aggressive in most gardens. I can’t recall ever seeing this plant for sale anywhere in my area.

Native plants can meet almost all of a gardener’s wishes. There are low plants (Prairie Smoke) and tall plants (Joe Pye Weed). Gardeners with shady lots can try a shade-loving plant such as Zig Zag Goldenrod. And Pearly Everlasting will bloom almost the entire season. New England Asters, Flat-topped Asters and certain varieties of Goldenrods provide colour well into fall without spreading too aggressively.

Anyone can do it

So, for me, here’s the good news. First, anybody with a little garden, or even a flower box on a balcony, can support biodiversity and our planet by planting some native species. It’s probably one of the easiest and happiest steps a gardener can take to be eco-friendly. Why not help fight climate change by doing what you already love to do? Plant some species that belong where you live.

Second, native plants can help us better understand God’s absolute delight in creating all of our world. God’s love for creation extends to even the coldest, darkest parts of our planet. God gave us Butterfly Weed and Zig Zag Goldenrod! In June each year, just as the snow starts melting in Canada’s most northern regions, low purple flowers pop up from soil that has been deeply frozen for many long, dark months. Purple Saxifrage (Saxifrage oppositifolia) is the official native wildflower for Nunavut. I hope to finally see it this coming spring around Whitehorse in the Yukon when I visit my niece. I’ll bring a camera. And, no doubt, I will leap with joy if I find this little plant. I’ve been told I will. Nothing speaks louder than spring flowers in our northern climate: Joy will find a way. The Light will overcome darkness.

A note about Latin names

In her little book The Serviceberry, Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, author Robin Wall Kimmerer mentions that the Serviceberry, known by the Latin name Amelancier alnifolium, has many other common names, including Saskatoon, Juneberry, Shadbush, Shadblow, Sugarplum and Sarvis. She adds that “Ethnobotanists know that the more names a plant has, the greater its cultural importance.” However, scientists use agreed-upon Latin names to ensure everybody studying a plant is, in fact, referring to the same species. If shopping for native species be aware of plants that include pretty sounding names in brackets. For example, a species sold as Amelanchier canadensis ‘Rainbow Pillar’ is not a native species but a nativar. It is derived from the native Serviceberry, but has been bred for a specific trait, such as height or other considerations. True native species will never have a name that includes marketing idioms.

Native species listed in the article in order of appearance
Calypso Orchid (Calypso borealis), Bunchberries (Cornus canadensis), Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Trout Lilies (Erythronium americanum), Red Cardinal (Lobelia cardinalis), Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum), Purple Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum), Zig Zag Golden Rod (Solidago flexicaulis), Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), Flat-topped Aster (Doellingeria umbellate)

More reading
Johnson, Lorraine and Sheila Colla. A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee: Creating Habitat for Native Pollinators: Ontario and Great Lakes Edition. Douglas & McIntyre, 2022 Johnson, Lorraine and Sheila Colla. A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators. Island Press, 2023.

Online sources
onplants.ca
acultivatedart.com/native-plant-store