In summer 2024, Carolinian Canada intern, Keira McManus, travelled across the Carolinian Zone to speak to native plant gardeners and tour their properties. Keira asked gardeners how and why they got started native plant gardening, about the native species and habitat features in their gardens, and how they overcome challenges.
Below is Jennifer Leat's native garden story from Waterloo Region.
Keira McManus: How did you get started?
Jennifer Leat: I became interested in native plants because I like the look of naturalized landscapes. Then, about three or four years ago, I read a book by Doug Tallamy called Nature's Best Hope, which really influenced me because it made me realize how much habitat has been lost through urbanization, however, if everybody who has a garden or even just a balcony were to plant native plants that would result in contiguous habitat corridors. That really opened my eyes to the potential that we have as individual gardeners.
KM: Why do you choose to plant native?
JL: The importance of native plants is that they are much more nutritious for the pollinators and for animals in general than non-native plants, so it's much more beneficial to plant native plants. Even though you may see butterflies going to your exotic plants, they actually get more nutrition from the native plants.
KM: Tell us about your garden.
JL: I have a fairly big garden. We have two-thirds of an acre and it backs on to a conservation area, so in the bottom part of my garden I started naturalizing it with mostly native plants and I did it the slow way. When I first started, I read that if you just don't mow your lawn you'll get loads of pretty wildflowers. That didn't happen. What actually happens is you get a lot of grass and what most people call weeds. Instead, I used blocks of wood or big flat stones. I put them down and left them for a couple of months to get rid of the vegetation underneath them and create a gap where I could plant native plants. I did that gradually over the years and now that area of the backyard is just full of coneflowers, black-eyed susans, brown-eyed susans, and cup plants.
KM: How did the Pollinator Roadsides project get started?
JL: One of my cousins mentioned how in the UK they've been planting wildflowers along the sides of the road, and I looked at some pictures and I thought "Wow, why don't we do this?" Native plants look so much prettier and provide habitat. That's what started me with this idea of pollinator roadsides as we call it now. We got a group together in November 2022, and that's when it really all started. I got in touch with Waterloo Region Nature and presented the idea to them and they were very keen. I also approached the Waterloo and Kitchener Horticultural Societies and Waterloo was very supportive and put a piece in their newsletter. I also put pieces on the gardening Facebook pages, and through those three main methods, I got a group of people together who are interested in this project.
We also have a Facebook page called Pollinator Roadside Waterloo Region that people can find. If people are interested, you can get on that and find out when these extra opportunities are going to happen.
Pollinator roadside in Waterloo. Photo: Keira McManus